Gloss or Emulsion first?

[TheOldFellow]

Typical interior wall. The top plaster bit is going to be emulsion
painted, the wood skirting is going to get gloss.

Which is the right order for the top coats?

I have always done the gloss first, then the emulsion - on the grounds
that I could wipe the wet emulsion off the gloss easier. But SWMBO
says that she saw a TV program which said the best way was to do the
emulsion, making a good lap over the skirting, then mask and do the
gloss - it gets you a crisper line.

I can see both sides of this, but which is the 'right way'?

R.

[A.Lee]

TheOldFellow <theold...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Typical interior wall. The top plaster bit is going to be emulsion
> painted, the wood skirting is going to get gloss.
>
> Which is the right order for the top coats?

Undercoat on any area to be glossed, then emulsion, then gloss.
Probably the quickest way, as, in theory, all coats will be dry by the
time you get to do the next coat.

> I can see both sides of this, but which is the 'right way'?

Many people have different ideas as to which is the best way to do it.
Alan.

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[The Medway Handyman]

I've always glossed first for the same reason as yours. If you lap over the
skirting won't the thicker layer of gloss over the emulsion lap show up?

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Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

[Steven Campbell]

"TheOldFellow" <theold...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:20080315190...@gmail.com...

The "experts" say you should work from the top down so emulsion first.
Getting emulsion on the skirting is no big deal as you should be rubbing any
woodwork down before glossing so any emulsion would rub off no problem.

Steven.

[Dave Liquorice]

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:06:33 +0000, TheOldFellow wrote:

> I have always done the gloss first, then the emulsion - on the grounds
> that I could wipe the wet emulsion off the gloss easier.

Agreed, getting that inevitable spot of gloss of the emulsion will be
rather harder than a damp cloth emulsion on gloss.

> But SWMBO says that she saw a TV program which said the best way was to
> do the emulsion, making a good lap over the skirting, then mask and do
> the gloss - it gets you a crisper line.

What are you going to mask with? What risk is there of the mask lifting
the fresh emulsion?

--
Cheers
Dave.

[sm_jamieson]

On 15 Mar, 21:52, "The Medway Handyman"

Yep, gloss first. Emulsion lapped over gloss just wipes off, but not
so the other way around !
Simon.

[Broadback]

I undercoat, emulsion then gloss. If you go over onto the emulsion
slightly with the gloss it does not really show. On the other hand using
a roller to emulsion will often speckle the gloss which you won't see in
time to wipe if off. As regards masking the emulsion prior to glossing,
I only tried that once, removing the masking tape also removed some of
the emulsion, so I had to touch up!

[Dave Liquorice]

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:07:56 +0000, Broadback wrote:

> If you go over onto the emulsion slightly with the gloss it does not
> really show.

Slows you down having to get those neat edges though, gloss first just
slap it on...

> On the other hand using a roller to emulsion will often speckle the
> gloss which you won't see in time to wipe if off.

A damp cloth with a hint of detergent in the water will bring off roller
spray spots the next day. In some ways waiting for the spray to have dried
a bit is better than trying to remove them when still wet as they don't
smudge but remain discrete bits of paint.

> As regards masking the emulsion prior to glossing, I only tried that
> once, removing the masking tape also removed some of the emulsion, so I
> had to touch up!

Thought it would, emulsion doesn't bomd particulary strongly to the
substrate at the best of times even after drying for a long period.

--
Cheers
Dave.