What You Need to Know to Paint Over That Bright Pink Wall

A bright pink wall is one of those jobs that looks like it'll take one coat and ends up taking 4, and the reason is that the pink isn't really bleeding through your new paint at all. A pale topcoat just doesn't have enough hiding power on its own to bury a colour that strong, so the way to do it in fewer coats is to get something underneath that does the covering for you.

Why one coat won't cover it

When you ask a soft white or a light grey to sit over hot pink you'll see the pink glowing through the first coat and usually the second as well. That's a coverage problem rather than a stain problem, which matters because it changes what you put on first.

Clean it before anything else

Wash the wall down with sugar soap and let it dry properly, because paint won't grip fingerprints and cooking grease any better than it grips a glossy surface. If the old pink has a bit of sheen to it, give it a light scuff with fine sandpaper so the next coat has something to key into, then wipe the dust off.

Use a prepcoat tinted towards your new colour

This is the step that saves you the extra coats. A prepcoat like Haymes Ultracover goes on first, and because we tint to order in the shop it can be tinted towards the colour you're finishing in, so it does most of the covering before your topcoat even goes on. There's more on what a prepcoat does in Haymes Ultracover, what a prepcoat does and when to use it.

Then plan on 2 topcoats

Even over a good prepcoat I'd plan on 2 topcoats, because the second one is what evens out the sheen and covers the thin patches you only notice once the light hits the wall at an angle. Load the roller properly and keep a wet edge as you work across the wall. Let the first coat dry for the full time on the tin before you go back over it.

If you're going dark instead

Going from pink to a deep colour like navy or charcoal is actually the easier job, because a dark topcoat has far more hiding power, though I'd still put a prepcoat on first so you're not relying on the topcoat to do everything.

Try the colour before you commit

Paint a sample onto a primed patch and look at it in the morning and again late in the afternoon, because a colour that looks soft under the shop lights can look completely different on a wall that gets the western sun.

Shop related products

• Unifiber 230mm Roller Kit, 11mm nap. A frame and cover for a standard interior wall.
• Phoenix 230mm Plastic Paint Tray. It takes the 230mm roller cover.
• Paint Brush Utility 100mm Synthetic. For cutting in along the ceiling and the skirting.
• Uni-Pro Canvas Drop Cloth 1.5m x 3.6m. Canvas stays put on the floor, which plastic doesn't.

Did you know we also keep Haymes Prepcoat Ultracover and Taubmans sample pots in the shop. Paint is classed as dangerous goods and can't be posted, so it isn't something you can order online. Give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf.

We mix and tint paint to order in the shop from the Haymes and Taubmans range we stock, and there's more about how that works on the paint mixing page. The rollers and brushes that are online sit in paint and accessories.

Read next

• How to apply gap filler around skirting and door frames
• How to deep clean without damaging your surfaces
• Essential tools every first time homeowner needs

I still roll the second coat on hoping it'll be the last one, and with a prepcoat underneath it usually is.

Candeece

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