So your house has just been rendered and you have decided to tackle the painting job yourself, fair play. But you will need a few tips and tricks up your sleeve to make sure you get the best finish possible, luckily you have already found our guide.
Read on to find some top tips to help you achieve the perfect paint finish on brand new render.
Painting New Render
The first place to start is by choosing masonry paint. I like Sandtex smooth but Dulux weather shield is also a fine choice.
Do not be tempted to use cheaper paint, they are just not worth the cost-saving. Any money you save on paint will be lost in extra labour and reduced lifespan of the paint.
Preparation
Next, you need to prepare the render for painting. As this is a new render there won’t be too much work here.
Just go over the surface of the render with a brush to remove anything that is loose. Once you have done this you are ready to begin painting.
Roller or Brush
I personally like to use a roller for large painting jobs like this. For a rough surface like render you want to choose one with a deep pile.
This is a great kit for painting render and comes with everything you need, including a brush for cutting in around doors and windows.
You want a deep pile roller as this will make it easier to get the paint into all the bumps and hollows on a rougher surface like render.
Mist Coat
To start the job you want to lay down a mist coat first. A mist coat is just a watered (or thinned if using solvent paint) down coat of paint. This works as a sealer and stops the next coat of paint from being sucked into the surface so much.
render is absorbant which is why we want to apply a mist coat to begin with. otherwise, you will just be wasting paint. This is very similar to painting fresh plaster where is it best practice to apply a mist coat first.
I recommend watering down the masonry paint by about 20%. Do this in a separate tub or bucket before painting.
Weather
A rough rule of thumb will be that it will take around a day for each coat of paint on a regular-sized semi-detached house.
So you are looking for 2-3 days where the weather will be dry. This is why it is advised if possible to try and arrange this job in the summer.
The weather should be more predictable and also the increase in temperature will help with the curing of both the render and masonry paint.
How Many Coats of Masonry Paint on New Render?
After you have done the first coat with a watered-down mist coat you will usually require another two coats of paint to achieve a good finish.
This can be affected by a few different factors including the quality of paint you are using and of course the colour of paint you are using.
With new render I don’t imagine you will have too drastic of a colour change going on e.g black to white, but this can also affect how many coats you do need.
So the short answer is as many as it takes! This will usually be one mist coat plus two full coats. If your finish still looks patchy though then add another coat of paint, you won’t cause any harm.
Water or Pliolite Based Masonry Paint?
One big question that comes up time and time again when painting render, or any masonry for that matter, is whether to use water-based or pliolite based masonry paint.
A pliolite paint will be solvent (oil-based) so comes with all the associated hassle. Harder to clean, harder to thin and not as good for the environment.
The benefit you do get however with Pliolite based masonry paints is that they are often shower proof very quickly. some in as little as 10 minutes.
This can save your bacon as we all know too well that showers can appear in the UK on even the nicest days at the drop of a hat.
Beyond that, there really isn’t much difference between the two. The level of finish is the same and the durability is the same with modern water-based masonry paints lasting for up to 15 years.
I would always advise using water-based masonry paint as it is just much easier. The only time I would go against this is if you are painting in winter. Then the showerproof time of Pliolite paint would probably swing the choice in its favour.
How Long Should You leave New Render Before Painting?
Essentially this just comes down to waiting until the render is fully dry. This can be a few days up until a couple of weeks.
You will normally notice a change in the colour of the render as it dries out. Some renders like K-rend require longer to cure than others. If you can, have a look at the manufacturer’s instructions.
But like I said earlier this just comes down to it being dry. You won’t have to wait for more than a couple of weeks at most.
Some people recommend waiting months and months, but I don’t see the benefit. If it is dry it’s ready to paint and what then becomes more important than anything else is the weather.
Recommended Reading
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Painting New Render