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Does Paint Make the Drywall?

1/17/2017

24 Comments

 
Picture
Contributed by Perry White, CSI, CCPR
​When you think about painting drywall in commercial structures, everyone is a critic when it comes to how it looks.  Anyone can see surface imperfections and usually people come back on the paint job and say what is wrong with it.  In many cases that thought is incorrect!

Today’s drywall is usually recycled or imported and though there is nothing wrong with it, a 4’ by 8’ sheet can have different levels of porosity across the board.  Drywall viewed under a microscope is very rough and imperfect. When installed, taped and mudded, you have different levels of porosity on those areas.  If the installer hits the face paper when sanding the tape joints, little paper hairs will stick up and that is also visible to the eye.

What people are seeing is an optical illusion caused by light coming across the board which makes the final paint job look shaded or lacking in paint and sheen level.  Since most commercial drywall is smooth without any texture, surface imperfections are highlighted.  Porous drywall can suck the sheen out of the paint job and leave holidays, “flashing” or flat areas when a sheen like eggshell, satin or semi-gloss are used and will highlight these areas even more.

There seems to be a trend today for architects and specifiers to only specify a Level Four (4) finish leaving the final product to the paint contractor to make acceptable.  A Level Five (5) finish includes a skim coat of drywall mud or texture.  This is difficult to achieve since the paint contractor has to accept the drywall as is and the paint film is usually no more than 3 mils (0.003 inch) DFT (dry film thickness).  For comparison, the human skin is only 7 mils DFT.  Any rework to the drywall will also show where those patched areas are, especially if the patchwork was not primed prior to applying the final coat(s) of paint. 

The key to creating a homogeneous looking surface is multi-faceted.  Many primers used by drywall or painting contractors are low-cost, calcium carbonate or clay based primers with little or no acrylic resin to seal up the different levels of porosity in the face paper and tape joints.  This is a critical component to creating a finished system due to the lack of a sealed substrate.  These low-cost primers make the surface look prepared, but they remain porous.  There are better, resin-rich primer/sealers that all paint manufacturers sell, but many contractors don’t want to pay the higher price.
​If the first coat of paint has a sheen, it will disappear into the primer where there are higher levels of porosity.  Those areas will look flatter and can be viewed at a low angle to the wall.  That first coat in reality becomes the sealer.  It now takes two coats of finish paint to get to that 3 mils DFT to achieve the sheen level necessary to touch up the wall if damage is done by other trades.  The Painting and Decorating Contractors Association has standards to describe what a finished wall should look like.

The second key to getting the finished paint system to look acceptable is to back roll each coat of paint immediately as it is sprayed.  This method is preferred and achieves three key things.  First, it evens out the spray pattern across the board as it is not always done correctly to overlap each pass by 50% with your spray gun.  Most spray tips wear out inside of 100 gallons so that the spray pattern is reduced from a cat’s eye pattern to one that looks like a water hose.  Back rolling will even out a poor spray job to ensure that the paint is consistent across the whole wall.

Back rolling also forces the paint into the substrate to maximize the paint or primers ability to seal up the surface, making it easier to achieve the desired final paint millage. Back rolling will leave a slight stippled pattern on the smooth surface that will help hide any other surface imperfections.  This will allow for the painted finish to be touched up easily with a roller with that same knap.  Many painting contractors don’t back roll, but this leaves the finished surface hard to touch up since just spraying leaves a smooth profile and any applicator applying paint will show up either as brush marks or the stipple from a roller.  It costs more to have that second person back rolling behind the person spraying, but the final result will eliminate most punch list issues due to poor sheen evenness or rework.

The open bid process could be improved to require that back rolling be part of the specification, but application methods are usually left to the contractor and are not part of the specification.  If painting contractors understood that the finished product will stand up to more abuse during the final construction process and reduce touch up issues during punch out, maybe more would apply the paint this way.  It certainly leaves the owner and their maintenance team with a more manageable substrate to work with and with the ability to touch up the surface in the future.
​
The Paint Quality Institute (www.paintquality.com) has a problem solving section that speaks to these issues on substrate porosity, surface imperfections, application and touch-up.  Temperature variations of even 5°F can change how the paint film cures, creating issues when the paint was originally applied that can affect how the touch up looks. 

​Many people want to blame the paint or applicator for the finished product, but we can see that the answer has many moving parts.
24 Comments
Torin Mowbray
1/17/2017 09:05:40 pm

Thank you for the detailed information. This helps put the good word out into market place. Specs will adopt successful methods. Good work.

Reply
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Shelly
2/27/2017 11:44:36 am

In today's market of lump sum pricing to get work, assuming that any painter or GC is going to include additional, more cost intensive, processes in their scope for the open bid process is not realistic or conducive to their obtaining the work being bid. In order to make this bid process a real "apples to apples" comparative, the need for the higher quality sealer and the back-rolling application process needs to be written in the specification developed by the architect so that each GC is held to pricing that application.

Reply
Local Drywall Contractor Naperville link
1/30/2019 09:53:40 pm

For this very reason I usually go with the higher end paints because, just like anything else in life, you get what you pay for. If you go with a higher end paint, you're going to get a better finish. Hands down.

Reply
Boston sheetrock repair link
9/3/2019 09:19:41 am

You get what you put into it. If you want your drywall to look classy, get classy paint. Cheaper usually doesn't last as long and is often visibly cheaper too.

Reply
Best Access Doors link
1/17/2020 09:36:49 am

After you're done hanging drywall, and all the seams are taped and finished, you need two coats of paint to give the wall its final appearance.I like the helpful info you supply for your articles. Thanks for sharing a smart thought.


Reply
Boulder Drywall link
1/17/2020 03:41:42 pm

Love the fact that you pointed out how multi-faceted this process and decision is. It's not JUST the paint, or the primer, or the finish, or the drywall, but rather the combination of all these things that makes or breaks your project. Great resource, thanks for sharing!

Reply
Barry E. Holland link
2/15/2020 02:33:18 am

Really it is a great article and more helpful to get the best assistance for drywall repair. I am very glad to go through this kind of helpful blog. Thanks for sharing a nice blog.

Reply
Foundation Repair San Antonio link
4/26/2020 05:57:46 pm

Nice Article. Thank you for sharing

Reply
Lancaster Drywall Contractors link
6/18/2020 09:51:46 am

Great article. Thank you for sharing this. It's very insightful to our small business. If you're ever in PA, check out our <a href="https://www.lancasterdrywallcontractors.com“> Drywall Installation Company </a>

Reply
drywall installation philadelphia pa link
6/24/2020 11:32:26 am

Very informative. Good info on dry film thickness.

Reply
Sydney Painters link
4/7/2021 06:01:13 am

Agree! After you are done hanging your drywall, you need to make sure that you mud and primer it before applying any coat of paint. After all of those steps have been complete, you can begin the process of painting your drywall.

Reply
Lincoln Handyman link
5/16/2021 01:12:34 am

If you fail to prime your drywall before painting it, you will risk the paint peeling in humid or even worse conditions. This is why it’s so important to prime your drywall before applying any paint coating.

Reply
Theon Bass link
6/1/2021 07:53:00 am

I never realized there were so many different types of drywall..thanks for the education. I’ll take this into consideration and research a bit more.

Reply
Drywall Contractors link
8/6/2021 02:51:32 pm

Very interesting article here, tons of great info, thank you!

Reply
Drywall Repair Bend Oregon link
9/8/2021 10:41:00 pm

Hello, can I have you suggestion, or recommendations, I am planning to repaint my dry wall, what is the best paint should I use?

Reply
Jennifer Baldwin link
3/9/2022 04:13:48 pm

Any rework to the drywall will also show where those patched areas are, especially if the patchwork was not primed prior to applying the final coat, I’m so thankful for your helpful post!

Reply
Mia Evans link
2/28/2023 03:48:03 am

I find it interesting when you said that drywall these days would usually be made from recycled or imported materials. I wonder if drywall repair is possible because of the materials they are made from. And it would be great if it can be fixed, because it would mean that the resources will not be used up in the coming years as well as protecting the environment from further waste as well.

Reply
Victoria Addington link
4/24/2023 02:13:42 am

It helped when you mentioned that drywall can be recycled or imported. My friend wants drywall installation in their house. I should advise him to hire an expert in drywall installation to ensure quality work.

Reply
Millie Hue link
12/15/2023 07:32:39 pm

I like that you talked about how drywall will be recycled or imported these days with different porosity levels and may be 4' to 8' in size. I have to know what drywall in Utah County, Utah would be the perfect choice when getting my house renovated. Personally, I want the best quality option so that my investment will last for a long time after this huge project next year.

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mold busters link
9/4/2024 08:01:45 am

Perfect for damp areas. I used it in my laundry room, and the mold is completely gone.

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yemeh7 link
10/2/2024 03:16:25 am

Thank you so much

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