How to fix a really bad paint job in house / basement?
Question:About 10 years ago, my family decided to finish our basement without any experience in doing so. I was a kid at the time, and didn't get too involved. I'm now doing a lot of DIY stuff. We're selling our house, but the paint job in our basement is hideous.
Tape is visible in some spots, a high gloss enamel was used for the entire thing, and you can see it running in several places. Puddy / mud is visible in the corner, and it looks uneven, all together. I want to redo the rooms, but since the underlying drywall / taping is so bad, I'm not sure where to even begin.
All the articles online pertain to painting over a good paint job, which looks pretty straight forward. I've heard about sanding and stuff, but I'm uncertain how to proceed. If anyone knows of a guide, or can provide me with any help, I'd greatly appreciate it
Answers:
The first thing you can do is somehow remove the gloss from the paint either by using a de-glosser or sanding the surface.
Once you have the gloss removed or at least etched, you can take care of the poor drywall job. I am assuming that you are not interested in re-drywalling the basement.
If you just want to make some repairs, all you need to do it to peel off the poorly taped areas and chip back some of the spackle that built up when taping. If you do not chip some of the excess back, you will have a hump where the joint was and will probably be right back where you are now.
Once the bad spots are corrected to your taste, you can texture or paint the basement.
Are the ceilings as bad or are they open? If they are open, maybe think about putting a suspended or grid ceiling in. No messing with painting or drywall. Another positive of a suspended ceiling is that there will always be access to the plumbing and electrical in the ceiling if the new owners want to make changes.
Now I am not a painting expert so you might need to check with a paint store about what I suggested to make sure that it could work - we usually sheetrock over poorly done areas if needed. I hope that this gives you some ideas on how to repair you basement.
Honestly, I would hire a drywaller. They could be MUCH less expensive and do a great job. I am all about DIY, but unless you are experienced with this stuff it is REALLY HARD. The deal breaker is that you already have paint on the walls... You would have to sand off the paint then cover up the tape THEN repaint. Once a wall has been painted (and, I am sorry to say, but enamel is the worst), it is really hard to sand through (evenly).
OK if you can't find someone to do it within your budget range, here is what I would do... Paint the walls with quality paint and a super high quality roller. Probably 2 coats... Then, if it still looks bad (it might not :) ), I would use some sort of texture technique like sponging or you could checker the whole thing. It will take some time, but get creative and work with the landscape the family left you... You can do it!!
try glazing the walls since you already have a high gloss enamel. This technique is very popular right now and very pretty. The imperfections will give it character. Mix a gold paint with glaze mixture, wipe on with a rag.
If you have drywall then I'd begin by taking it down if it is that messed up, and replace it with new drywall. It makes little sense to put a lot of money or effort into a good job on messed up material.
One you have the drywall replaced you should begin by filling in all cracks, holes, gouges, scrapes, etc. If gaps are too wide then use "Mesh Tape' and plaster.
One there is no gap, etc left, and be sure to deal with the gaps between ceiling and wall, and floor to wall gaps too.
Once this is all done you will sand until it is even across, then finish sanding with about 220 grit paper, maybe even higher like a 320 grit. You want your surface to be totally flat for a nice job.
You will definitely want to use a flat base coat of paint on the entire surface, close to the color you intend to use, I would think.
I would consider a gloss pain after this flat base is done. If you require a few coats then complete all of this and allow it to really dry good.
You may want to look into Faux Painting, The Rag Method, specifically - a real no-brainer.
You may get an acrylic paint in a contrasting color, then use a rag method of Faux Painting to put designs on the surface, but not cover over entire under coat.
I think, it is 'really Cool'
I'd at least consider it and maybe test it out on a sample to see what you think - I like it .. it adds to many rooms.
You could use a textured paint like an eggshell to cover up the imperfections. I have used this on some areas in my home that were also badly done, and it covered them quite well.
Eggshell --- not the color, but the texture.
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