Painting Bricks the Right Way: All You Need to Know

If you have an exposed brick wall in your kitchen or your living room, then you need to get the same rectified at the earliest. An exposed brick wall can mar the rest of your décor which is why you need to either get them repainted or plastered over. While an exposed brick wall can provide a touch of originality for an authentic, antique ‘look', it can be jarring when the rest of the décor happens to be modern. You need your walls to blend in with the rest of your décor so you may want to get your bricks redone at the earliest. Here's how you should go about it, Assess It: You need to assess your bricks and consider repainting them, only if they are in good condition. The bricks must be in good condition and you need to prep them, that is, clean then. You mustn't use any acidic cleaners to clean the brick wall as it can affect the paint. Clean It: The first thing that you need to do before you paint over the exposed brick wall is to clean it. For example, if the exposed brick wall happens to be right behind the kitchen stove or the oven, then chances are that it is covered with soot and grease. So, you need to clean it up with warm soapy water and a couple of good scrubbers, including a wiry brush. And if the bricks are hard to clean, you can also use a mixture of trisodium phosphate (TSP), along with water. This should help clean the brick effectively but remember to wear safety goggles when using the TSP solution. You can also opt to call in the professionals and get them to handle the work – just search online for painters in Auckland and you should be able to locate professional painters located in your area. Repair the damaged bricks: If some of the bricks have small cracks in them, you can use caulk and repair them, before painting over the lot. And if the bricks are too damaged, then you need to call in a professional to handle the repairs. And you can get them to handle the painting as well. Just Google search for painters in Auckland, and you should be able to get them to fix your wall before painting over the bricks. Primer: When it comes to painting over the bricks, you would first need to apply a primer. It is a good idea to use a latex primer, as this will help the underlying brick from soaking in the paint. It can also help the paint from flaking off – so use the primer, and for those areas with discoloured bricks or ones affected by mildew, apply a thicker coat. The primer must be in a neutral shade, preferably white as this will help provide you with a palette to work on. You must wait for the primer to dry before you apply in the paint. Paint: Make sure that you select a paint that goes with the décor of the room and one that matches the other walls as well. You can use a latex-based paint but if the exposed bricks are located in the kitchen, then it would be advisable to opt for a heat resistant paint. You can use brushes and rollers for painting the brick walk and incidentally you can even use paint sprayers as that should help you to speed up the task at hand. These are some of the essential tips and suggestions that you may want to consider when it comes to painting your bricks. Remember that it is not a good idea to paint over wet bricks or damaged ones. By painting over wet and damaged bricks, you may end up damaging them more. You must wait for the bricks to dry up and in case of too much external damage; you can always call in the professionals and get them fixed first.