# Walls are "Patchy" when viewed at an Angle



## earthad1

Help, I cannot figure out what's up with the walls in this room and its driving me nuts and getting $$$

When I look at my newly painted wall, the wall looks fine. However, if I stick my cheek against and wall and look down (like looking down a hallway) it's all patchy... like its not blending well.

I applied 2 coats of primer/sealer to it, then 2 coats of Beauty Tone velvet paint... Its a light grey color.

I don't know what's up with the walls in this room. They just don't want to blend properly.

I'm thinking of just starting over, stripping all the paint down, sanding the wall so it is nice and dull and trying again, unless someone can please explain why it is doing this...

Please help...


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## sirwired

How long has it been since you painted? While paint dries in four hours or so, it can take a couple of days for roller marks or lap marks to go away.

You may also want to try paint-store paint, instead of that BigBoxCo house brand. (Their website makes it seem like it is only sold by the Canadian equiv. of HD.)

Certainly there is no need to strip the paint, no matter what you end up doing.

SirWired


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## sprayer48

to earthad1.

sounds like a flashing problem.
Sherwin williams does make a product to seal and block patches from egg shell and semi gloss etc...

not sure if you did this or not but take a 3/4 nap roller. prime the spot with the 3/4 in roller. wait to dry in between coats and then apply the finish paint with a 3/4 in roller. Usually what happens is that when patching is done, a lot of people apply sealer. thats good. but the do so with a paint brush or small nap roller such as a 3/8. ( they should outlaw 3/8 naps)
when it dries you see the stipple of all around the wall with the long roller but the patched site doesn't have that much stippling to it. So there is a spot there. Also a good blocker needs to be used. 
good luck
sprayer48


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## earthad1

Thanks for all the advice. I will give it a shot...

Yea, Home Hardware is basically a Canadian Home Depot.

I painted on the weekend... The flashing spots are still there, but not very apparent now, but the fact that I know they are there is driving me nuts. LOL...

So you're saying I should just repaint the entire wall? Is this primer OK to do the job?

Sold at Kent building supplies under the name "Prime Time"

Super latex undercoater 100% acrylic Paint - stain blocking primer

-Undercoater before applying the topcoat
-Prepares and seals the surface
-Super Adherent
-Non-Splattering, easy application
-Minimal Odour
-Prevents wood Tannin stains.

Materials:
Painted or new wood, bare steel, siding, masonry, concrete, wall board, plaster ect...

Surfaces:
Shingle roofing, walls, doors, windows and previosly painted surfaces, ceilings, woodwork, ect...

It says to only apply one coat, does it matter?

It is not the same primer that was originally used...Also, my wife tells me she was concerned when the just the primer was applied and the patching was already present without a top coat even being applied


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## earthad1

sprayer48 said:


> to earthad1.
> 
> sounds like a flashing problem.
> Sherwin williams does make a product to seal and block patches from egg shell and semi gloss etc...
> 
> not sure if you did this or not but take a 3/4 nap roller. prime the spot with the 3/4 in roller. wait to dry in between coats and then apply the finish paint with a 3/4 in roller. Usually what happens is that when patching is done, a lot of people apply sealer. thats good. but the do so with a paint brush or small nap roller such as a 3/8. ( they should outlaw 3/8 naps)
> when it dries you see the stipple of all around the wall with the long roller but the patched site doesn't have that much stippling to it. So there is a spot there. Also a good blocker needs to be used.
> good luck
> sprayer48


 
Yea, thats what I thought was going on too... so, after seeing all the patchy spots not going away, I purposely ran the roller the complete lenght of the wall, taking extra care to paint from wet to dry, and to evenly spread out the paint as to ensure there were not roll lines... Once it dries, the flashing re-appeared, but this time much longer, confirming its not specific areas which are causing the flashing to occur, but the entire wall...


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## rbh123456789

earthad1 said:


> Yea, thats what I thought was going on too... so, after seeing all the patchy spots not going away, I purposely ran the roller the complete lenght of the wall, taking extra care to paint from wet to dry, and to evenly spread out the paint as to ensure there were not roll lines... Once it dries, the flashing re-appeared, but this time much longer, confirming its not specific areas which are causing the flashing to occur, but the entire wall...


I have the EXACT same issue. did anyone ever find a resolution???


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## Medryn

Earthad, you need to state specifically your step by step so we know exactly what your doing, i.e.
1. Apply X Primer to wall, one coat, with X type roller/brush.
2. Let primer dry.
3. Apply X Primer or X Paint (include type, flat, eggshell, semigloss, etc), with x type roller/brush.

Etc, you get the idea.

Almost always your problem is due to a layering mistake using the wrong combination of paint types at the wrong steps/times. Also, if it is an interior wall and is clean and has had primer at least once (as yours sounds like), then stop using primer, your best bet would be to obtain a FLAT version of your paint/color, coat once with the flat, let dry (3 days if using a roller) and then put on a coat of same color/paint in semigloss, that should take care of it.


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## Gymschu

Sometimes it can be as simple as NOT putting enough paint on your roller. Load that bad boy up. Paint should be saturated into the roller and dripping wet when you lift it out of the paint tray. Lay it on but don't push down. If you push to squeeze out every last drop before reloading you are NOT using enough paint.


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## chrisn

Quit putting you're face against the wall and looking, problem solved.:whistling2:


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## jsheridan

Earthad hasn't been around these parts since March. It would have been nice to know how he solved the issue of the ages. The problem he was having is known as texture flash, and it's a problem of physics, not workmanship. Surfaces, especially those with a sheen, reflect light. The texture of that surface determines how the reflection appears. When you apply spackle to a wall you alter the basic texture of that particluar spot, and it now varies from the surrounding surfaces. The same occurs when you patch wood surfaces. This variance now will reflect light differently than its surround, giving you the noticeable differences. I may be wrong, but I believe that density plays a role as well, which could explain why the same paint has slightly different hues when applied to the trim and wall simultaneously, wood versus sheetrock/plaster. It's baffled and bothered the poop out of me for years. I've read a lot of home remedies, some more were offered here, none of them seem to work. Unless you can reproduce the *exact* texture on the irregular shaped/sized patches, and not get any of the reproduced texture on the surrounding areas, because now you have altered that texture (with the new over the old), you will never combat the ability of light to detect the finest/slightest of differences. It's a waste of time. Certain walls/lighting situations will expose you all the time, high walls, long walls (where you *don't have* to put your cheek up against it), and sidelight are killers. Knowledgable painters will anticipate this and steer away from certain paints that will exaggerate this effect. You can't get rid of it, so just adjust.
PS I realize this is a three year old thread


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