Getting There.... Slowly.

I get bored easily...   so, on Thursday so I went to Homebase.  *giggle*  I love Homebase.

There was a thin justification for the trip to Homebase though! Honest!!

 I thought if I got this plaster base coat I had my eye on, I could test it out to see just how good it is at covering slight imperfections.... thereby, possibly reducing my sanding time and effort.... thereby getting my floor installed earlier... thereby getting the stairs done sooner... thereby getting to do fun stuff like picking a paint colour and buying accessories!

wheee!

I purchased a product by Polyfilla called "Base Coat", which is supposed to cover thin cracks, stains and bold colours with one coat.  It costs a damn fortune but I must say, it is completely worth it!!  My only fail on this one was not having the right roller to apply this stuff, which you will see below.  If you are going to do this, make sure to get a roller with a short pile to get the smoothest possible finish.

Here's how to do it... 

1.  Make sure your wall is completely free of dust and debris from sanding.  Use a tack cloth or if you are like me and forgot to buy a tack cloth, a clean J cloth or similar and clean water should do the trick.

2.  Paint the edges and corners and around sticky out bits like wall sockets and radiator hangers with a small brush. 

3.  Roll.  For the best results, roll in a "V" pattern to make sure you get even coverage.

Normally I use painters tape (Frog tape in the UK - thank GAWD that finally arrived here!  I was getting tired of harassing my friends and family to bring it over for me!)  but meh,  this was only a test patch and I couldn't be @ssed. 

See?  In the above photo, the paint is a bit bubbly.  Normal paint would have dried flatter... this Polyfilla stuff doesn't.  But, you can't see where the patches of old wallpaper glue and tiny cracks are!  Fantastic!  I love this stuff!