Address mortar cracks and other damage before painting a cinder block wall.
Painting cinder block walls requires preparation and special paint if you want the result to last. Common house paint works, but vinyl enamel paint, which is designed for swimming pools, produces a tougher, longer-lasting result. If the cinder block already is painted, remove as much paint as possible by pressure washing, then thoroughly clean the wall with trisodium phosphate, as recommended by Steve Thomas of "This Old House." Old paint can hinder new paint adhesion.
Instructions
1. Open each can of vinyl enamel paint. Pour the contents into a bucket or a plastic, sealable tub. Scrape the insides of the cans with a rubber spatula to remove as much paint as possible.
2. Attach a paint-mixing paddle to the chuck, or connector, on a power drill. Lower the paddle into the paint and switch the drill on to low power. Blend the paint with increasingly higher speeds until the color and texture of the paint is uniform.
3. Lower the power on the drill and raise the paddle out of the paint, keeping it inside the container. Spin off excess paint inside the container. Turn off the drill, disconnect the mixing paddle and set them aside.
4. Hang a paint screen inside the upper edge of the paint container from its hooks.
5. Cover the floor around the wall with a plastic or canvas drop cloth.
6. Dip an angled trim paintbrush into the paint. Paint a straight, clean, even band of paint around the edges of the wall.
7. Attach a thick-nap roller cover to a paint roller. Dip the roller into the paint. Roll it up and down over the mesh paint screen to remove the excess paint.
8. Roll an even coat of paint over the cinder blocks in an overlapping motion inside the trimmed area that you painted with the brush. Paint slowly to avoid paint specks and drips, and use enough paint to fill the imperfections and mortar joints of the cinder block wall.
9. Let the wall dry as long as the paint manufacturer recommends, then apply at least two more coats of paint.
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