Breeze blocks have a very rough surface which means they chew up roller sleeves very quickly and you’ll need a good supply of them on hand if this is the method you choose. Thankfully there’s an easier way to paint breeze blocks and I’ve outlined my process here.
The easiest way to paint breeze blocks (and only way in my opinion) is by first using a spray gun and then power rolling. If you hired a professional to paint breeze blocks they’d use something like a GXFF electric airless sprayer with a 5 19 tip. This is sufficient for the average breeze block painting DIY job (thinking garage walls mainly) but if you were painting breeze blocks in a commercial setting, you’d need something with a bigger tip. A bigger tip/hose can handle more paint and is more suited to tackling bigger areas.
We’re going to assume you are painting garage walls or something very similar. Breeze blocks will need two or three coats depending on the level of finish you want to achieve. We normally assess the finish after the second coat to see if we think a third coat of paint is necessary.
- Protect electrical boxes (sockets and switches) by spending 20 minutes taping them up. Don’t rush this and make sure no paint will get through.
- Protect the ceiling and floor from paint if you need to.
- Spray your first coat evenly across all of the walls you’re covering. Take your time and don’t worry about drips.
- Flood the wall in with a power roller. It doesn’t need to be a sheepskin roller for this job, a simple long pile roller will be more than sufficient and save you some £.
- One you’ve flooded in with the rollers and you’re happy with the coverage, give the walls another pass with the sprayer and again, follow up with the roller. This will give you a much better, even finish. Repeat as many times as you think you need to.
- Leave the paint to dry before removing the covering.
Tips
When spraying, keep the sprayer about a foot away from the wall to keep it even.
Spray one vertical section and then overlap by 50% when spraying the next section. Repeat this all of the way round.
The first coat is really just getting it on the wall and getting some coverage. Don’t worry too much about technique and getting it perfect here.
We use Sandtex Smooth masonary paint from B&Q.
If you haven’t got a sprayer, just get one. It’ll make your life a lot easier and the finish will be far superior.
Get the rollers well loaded up. Don’t be scared of filling the rollers up. Don’t worry if it runs and don’t worry if your putting more on than you need.
I like to finish with a spray but judge it yourself on how it’s going.
You can PVA the walls beforehand to help control the suction but we never have and we’ve never had any issues.
Don’t over spend on rollers because they’ll likely get damaged. But don’t get anything too cheap either. You want a mid range roller. Cheap rollers will start shedding pile all over the wall which is hugely frustrating.
We don’t use a mist coat but you can if you want. Like PVA, mist coats help control the suction of the wall but with breeze blocks, you really want to be flooding the blocks with paint.
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