i hired contractors to repaint..

about paint matter, best u can seek advise from those paint consultants directly when u purchase the paint

I thought the contractors will recommend the paint and they will buy themselves cos they will know how much paint is needed ? If U buy yourself, then if excess, then wasted money, right, as can't return the unused cans of paint.

nope..of course you can buy yourself if u want, just pay him for labor fee only

why? because sometimes the contractor usually buy less than amount required or buy lower grade paint with higher price tag or keep request money from u because the paint is finished (more than required quantity) there are many ways for them to songlap ur money if u dont aware.

so usually i will ask how many pail of paint he wanted then i will go to paint shop to buy. if finished, then i will go to buy again. For sure there is balance, but wont be more than 1 pail, unless the contractor is inexperience. The balance i will keep to touch up my house if needed.

I thought contractor would quote a fixed price say RM3,000 to paint the whole house using what type of paint  ? Then U can go see him painting using the stated paint as agreed.

I thought contractor would quote a fixed price say RM3,000 to paint the whole house using what type of paint  ? Then U can go see him painting using the stated paint as agreed.

it can be this way too..

but very subjective ya, some will just get part payment from you first then only started to paint. They might MIA after got your part payment or else paint for few days then MIA. The worst will tell you to give the balance payment because he needs money to buy additional paint..

A good painter will not mind telling you how many cans of paint is required.  If not enough during the course of painting works, they will inform you to get additional cans but usually from my experience, what they tell a customer is usually quite accurate, unless you decided you want to go for additional coating after you've bought the paint. It is better that you purchase your own painting so that you know you are getting the paint that you want.

if you got time, paint yourself is best. i mean it doesn't really take much skill to do so unless there are hard to reach areas  like landed house.

just walk into any hardware shop and buy the paint, if not enough just drive out and get more paints.

just make sure enough ventilation so you don't suck in too much solvent and cover the floor, tape the corners/power points with painter's tape.

unless you painting Nippon textured paint which require a more artistic painter to pull it off you get contractors they also give you general workers.

haha..this one i give up. Imagine u need to paint your ceiling..

tried once and never again 

then pay the labor lo.

ceiling how high btw. if too high no choice.

Wow. I read painters tape. Where you get it bro? I've been looking for it for so frigging long, even google searched.

To TS, its really subjective. I'd suggest going for ICI/Dulux, as I've always used them for my client's house. And so far for the price I pay its worth it. Sealant depends, I use Nippon Wall Sealer to coat exterior walls. Interior also can use the paint as described on the paint pail. Other brands like Nippon and Jotun should be ok, but the rest, use at your own risk la.. HAHAHA. For ceiling I usually go with Maxilite. Its more than enough. But only for ceiling. Maxilite is not suitable for wall. Maxilite White that is. lol.

1) hi, you can get them in Ace Hardware it's together with most of the tapes (branded electrical tape is at separate location and overpriced).

i think it's from 3M and comes in Blue color with label painter tape. price i think not cheap but essential for taping corners. normal tapes will leave residue or pull out existing paints.

alternately you can buy Tamiya's masking tape they are much narrow & smaller but won't leave any residue good for taping power plugs.

2) btw are you a painter?

3) does internal wall require sealers?

4) do you recommend sealing the plaster ceiling? some say they just use acrylic paint because if seal won't be able to cut open in future.

5) is ICI/Dulux better quality than Nippon?

6) for Maxilite, are they matte white? are they acrylic/water based? i prefer more matte look.

7) and for those want to go cheap, most important is the paint doesn't have excessive toxic in them. many people move into new house then family fall sick thinking house is jinxed, in actual it's just the leaded et.al  poisoning.

8) now new paint got new gimmick claims to clean air lol.

1) Oh. Didnt thought of that. Will go and check it out.

2) Haha. Not exactly bro. Lol. I'm actually a contractor. Haha..

3) Internal and external need a coat of sealant, doesnt matter what, but better with sealant, if you dont seal it before you paint the finish coat the paint wont last as described on the pail.

4) What do you mean by sealing the plaster ceiling? They have holes? If got holes better patch it first. Plaster ceiling I usually paint using Maxilite. Or even the slab ceilings.

5) I can't really tell for sure bro, because all the while I use Nippon for wall sealer and ICI/Dulux for finish coat. But I think my house last time use Nippon paint, like more than 5 years ago, still going strong. haha.

6) Maxilite I think is matte finish. They are water based and one of the cheapest paint to get for ceiling.

7) Yeah, I'm not sure which though, I don't buy the other brands often.

8) Yeah. Mostly from Nippon. Dulux not many, they already got their set of paints, even now Nippon or was it Dulux came out with the memento paint, frigging hard to paint. LOL.

o wad contractor do you do?

sealant do you mean primer? coz sealant usually refer to the extra last clear coating?

sealing the plaster like waterseal it so humidity won't seep in resulting the paint flaking off. people say no need seal just straight away paint water paint after plaster dried?

for water base do you still use thinner to thin or add water? i used acrylic paint for hobby my experience is water doesn't really dilute the paint as good as paint thinners. also water takes longer time to dry than thinner.

yea memento paint from Nippon, but other companies also have textured paint. Nippon need 3 tins Primer, Base color & texture color. then you need to wait the paint dry abit then start being artistic. they even have special brush & rollers just for them.

House renovation bro.

Oh? I thought all the while sealant is the same as primer? It will seal/prime the area before applying the finish coat. They may be finishing coat for it, I am not sure, as we just paint the finish coat as the last coat, two times.

Oh. Yeah, we still do that, just paint only. I am not sure about that, probably I should check with my hardware store on that. hahaha.. Thanks for the info though. xD

No. I would recommend not to add thinner/water even though they recommend a 5% percentage to dilute it. We usually use the whole pail without diluting it. If the paint it water base, you have to add water, cannot add thinner. If its oil based, you have to add thinner/turpentine.

Yeah, we did one cafe before a few years back. But now apparently the paint have better brands besides nippon, I have a friend who is supplying/painting i think, paint which will make your wall/column/pillar look like marble, even floor. haha. That product is imported from Italy. haha.

wow. got pic?

i only know you can achieve the marble effect using black paint then press plastic sheets on it to create the pattern then another top coat of lighter paint. but this requires airbrushing on the top layer as brush on will wipe away the pattern.

Hi Sifus,

Just received my new home.
Our developer used Nippon Matex Pro White 9102 as top coat for all the white walls of living room and bed rooms.
Based on web research, that paint is actually top coat for ceilings only.
Moreover, visually I can see that the paint thickness is not really adequate.
Definitely i'll need to repaint the interior.

Questions come in:
i) Do i need to apply sealants before applying new top coat, or merely cleaning the surface beforehand will do?
ii) What factors to be considered during picking the new top coat, to ensure the best adherence and final result?
iii) Is it doable by ownselves or better to hire contractors to repaint the interior?

Thanks all.

Wow. I read painters tape. Where you get it bro? I've been looking for it for so frigging long, even google searched.

To TS, its really subjective. I'd suggest going for ICI/Dulux, as I've always used them for my client's house. And so far for the price I pay its worth it. Sealant depends, I use Nippon Wall Sealer to coat exterior walls. Interior also can use the paint as described on the paint pail. Other brands like Nippon and Jotun should be ok, but the rest, use at your own risk la.. HAHAHA. For ceiling I usually go with Maxilite. Its more than enough. But only for ceiling. Maxilite is not suitable for wall. Maxilite White that is. lol.

i bought the tape already. got 2 narrow & wide, 60yard for wide around rm50. there's also another expensive version for metal & wood cost x2.

ironically ACE hardware has the lowest price compare to online. But their 3M electrical tape was selling for rm40 when online selling rm25...

i bought the tape already. got 2 narrow & wide, 60yard for wide around rm50. there's also another expensive version for metal & wood cost x2.

ironically ACE hardware has the lowest price compare to online. But their 3M electrical tape was selling for rm40 when online selling rm25...

Oh. Wow. Nice. Thanks for the info bro. I don't need it at the moment. If I do I'll go and check ace hardware. Haha. Got a few locations near my place. Lol. How is it? Any review? Haha. I might be customizing a desktop soon, so i might get the tape. Haha.

Can use normal masking tape enough....Can buy from any stationary shop,cheap....I used it for painting my house.....Can paint nice,smooth and straight line for wall decor.....Just need some techniques...

Hi Sifus,

Just received my new home.
Our developer used Nippon Matex Pro White 9102 as top coat for all the white walls of living room and bed rooms.
Based on web research, that paint is actually top coat for ceilings only.
Moreover, visually I can see that the paint thickness is not really adequate.
Definitely i'll need to repaint the interior.

Questions come in:
i) Do i need to apply sealants before applying new top coat, or merely cleaning the surface beforehand will do?
ii) What factors to be considered during picking the new top coat, to ensure the best adherence and final result?
iii) Is it doable by ownselves or better to hire contractors to repaint the interior?



Thanks all.

normal masking tape will either leave sticky residue or rip off part of the paint.

i used tamiya masking tape designed not to tear off paint but it still does on some spot.

haven't used it, but tried it wasn't very sticky. so should be easy to remove. whether it's too loose i'm not sure but you won't worry about peeling paints off.

for smaller stuff like casing actually you can just use A4 paper and tape the edges with normal transparent tapes won't leave much residue anyway.

haven't used it, but tried it wasn't very sticky. so should be easy to remove. whether it's too loose i'm not sure but you won't worry about peeling paints off.

for smaller stuff like casing actually you can just use A4 paper and tape the edges with normal transparent tapes won't leave much residue anyway.

No. I would recommend not to add thinner/water even though they recommend a 5% percentage to dilute it. We usually use the whole pail without diluting it. If the paint it water base, you have to add water, cannot add thinner. If its oil based, you have to add thinner/turpentine.

Can use normal masking tape enough....Can buy from any stationary shop,cheap....I used it for painting my house.....Can paint nice,smooth and straight line for wall decor.....Just need some techniques...

hi bobowyc, since you mentioned thinner, can I use thinner to wash the tool, roller and brush that I used for water-based paint? Then use them to paint water-based paint again? Will any thinner gets into my paint that way?
I paint on weekends, so every Sunday night need to wash them, then start painting again on next weekend. I tried using soap and water but the roller/brush still become hard and dry. If I use them, they 'drink up' my paint like crazy.

I use normal masking tape too. I have always thought they're the same 
To avoid ripping the paint, take them off right after finish painting when it's starting to dry. On area with thickened paint, I use blade to gently cut a line at the border, so when remove the tape, it won't pull the wall paint.

Hi bro. No, thinner is meant for oil based paints. Water based paints u can just actually dip in a container of water. But remember to wash them. Since you only paint on sundays better just wash them. How long more before it is completed? If stilllong you can just dip in clear water. Just use plain water. Dont need with soap. haha..

Haha, yeah, did that last time, ended up touching back some paints which peeled off. Better get the painters tape. Its designed specifically for this reason. And why our local contractors (especially old skool ones) dont change their ways. Its easy if its your own house, we normally paint our client's house so we have deadlines bro. hahaa.. Cant afford going round the house cutting door frames with blades. lolol.

Since its a new place, wondering if we need to strip off the developer stock standard paint before you put on good paint? As the developer might be using some cikai quality paint? Or should be OK one?

Hi bro. No, thinner is meant for oil based paints. Water based paints u can just actually dip in a container of water. But remember to wash them. Since you only paint on sundays better just wash them. How long more before it is completed? If stilllong you can just dip in clear water. Just use plain water. Dont need with soap. haha..

Haha, yeah, did that last time, ended up touching back some paints which peeled off. Better get the painters tape. Its designed specifically for this reason. And why our local contractors (especially old skool ones) dont change their ways. Its easy if its your own house, we normally paint our client's house so we have deadlines bro. hahaa.. Cant afford going round the house cutting door frames with blades. lolol.

i use acrylic hobby paints and i always thin them using hobby paint thinners, because it's very difficult to thin them using water and with water the paint takes longer time to dry. the effect using paint thinner is better and more even.

those thinner in hardware shop may be too strong and will damage the paint, but some hardware shop like Ace sells thinner for thinning paint, comes in metal containers. you can tell the hardware shop thinner is too strong when you open up the cap.

Hi, do you mean continuous dipping them in clean water. Ok if i use the damp rollers and brush with paint later? I have to go outstation this week so had to skip painting this week. I need at least another 2 weekend to finish. I ve wash the tools and hang there to dry. Now already hardened.

Since its a new place, wondering if we need to strip off the developer stock standard paint before you put on good paint? As the developer might be using some cikai quality paint? Or should be OK one?

Haha. You mean by the smell? hahah!
Yeah, just leave it in the pail of water hahaha. If its a week better u wash them thoroughly. Are you sure they are water based and not oil based? Are you painting your wall or what..? lol

2 contractors come gave quotation for paint job. I say will apply 1 primer n then 2 coats for indoor walls. But the other says 1 primer and 1 coat is enuf. Which is better 1 or 2 coats ?

Haha. You mean by the smell? hahah!
Yeah, just leave it in the pail of water hahaha. If its a week better u wash them thoroughly. Are you sure they are water based and not oil based? Are you painting your wall or what..? lol

Yup, very sure they're water based paint. Thanks for the tips. I will wash them and the night before use, soften them with some water, so they will be a bit damp.

Depends on your intended usage. 

To dispose the property, or for rental, 1/1 enough if the existing old base paint is alright.

For sanded wall (down to bare skimcoat) or long term own stay, 1/2 will give the colour more 'pop' or for white, visually more even. Primer (sealer) just to seal the pores so that the wall doesn't suck in all the paint.

to repaint over relatively new painted walls, do we need to sand the paint until skim (a.k.a remove existing paint)? can we clean the wall with warm watered cloth let it dry then paint on on paint without primer?

also if there's defect in the old paint (bubble/chip/crack), how to deal with them before applying new paint?

Since your existing paint is new, presume it is still sticking well and not coming off the instant the roller goes on it, should be safe to paint over just like that. For spot removal just use a scraper to scrape off the offending area and a little of the surroundings. You can try to smoothen the edges with sandpaper if desired.