The Insider’s Guide to Painting Bricks Indoors
Brick interiors can be polarising – some people love them, while others hate them. If you’re stuck living with a tired, dated and unappealing brick interior wall or fireplace, don’t be so quick to demolish it – painting bricks is a great way to not only freshen them up, but to also find love for it once you’re done. Here's an insider's guide to painting bricks indoors from our team of professional local painters in Brisbane.
Painting Bricks Indoor Guide: Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Prepping indoor brickwork for painting
To start with, the bricks will need a very thorough scrub with soapy water and a wire brush to remove any built-up dirt, dust and efflorescence (that’s the white deposits that can build up on brickwork over time). Otherwise, the paint won’t bind to the bricks.
This is also the time to check for any cracks and damage that might need fixing before you paint over them. Once cleaned, let the bricks dry out completely, and then you’re ready to prime.
2. Priming the brickwork
When painting bricks, at least one coat of primer is an absolute must, unless you want a flaky mess that you’ll need to scrape off and start over with. The type of primer you choose is important, to help the paint you apply next adhere to it – make sure you use a brick or masonry specific primer which is thinner than standard primer and designed to penetrate into porous brickwork with nooks and crannies.
The brush you use is also important, as the surface you’re coating is much different to drywall. A good quality, synthetic bristle brush is recommended, unless you’re planning to use a roller suited for textured surfaces (note: a brush will get into those nooks and crannies a lot easier, but you can choose to use both as needed).
Whether you choose a water or oil-based primer will depend on whether you’re going to use a water or oil-based paint over top of it, so choose your primer and paint at the same time.
3. Time to paint
Once the primer coat is dry, you’re ready to paint. The process is much the same as priming, except you need to consider the location of the brickwork – if you’re painting a fireplace, you will need to source a heat-proof paint. Again, you need to use masonry specific paint, regardless of the location of the brick surface, for it to give you a long lasting, durable finish.
Stand back, and admire your painted brickwork
That’s the entire process, start to end. Painting bricks, as we’ve mentioned, is a great way to give new life to your tired brickwork interior, while saving significant demolition and renovation costs.
A popular choice is to paint your brickwork white, which can give you a fabulously modern, on-trend textured finish that really makes it the hero of the room. There are also different painting methods for brickwork, including bagging and rendering, but we strongly suggest consulting a professional if that’s the type of finish you want to achieve.
Why painting bricks is a great idea
Painted brickwork can give a room an instant textured look and aesthetic that’s modern and attractive, while saving you a lot of money on demolition and reworking the space. It will instantly make your room brighter and less dingy and dull.
Painting bricks needs a different type of paint than those you’d use for painting interior walls, but the overall process is similar – prep, prime, and paint.
Get in touch with Professional Painters in Brisbane and Gold Coast
Painting bricks is a DIY renovator task that you can certainly do yourself if you’re that way inclined, but if you aren’t, then Kraudelt Painting is here to help. We offer a range of painting services and use the best techniques for brickwork, including specialised bagging and painting for brick homes. Kraudelt Painting been servicing the Brisbane and Gold Coast area for many years. We have a proven track record and a commitment to customer service. We promise you’ll love the quality of our finishes and the service we provide, or it’s fixed for free.
If you’ve got indoor brickwork that you want revitalised by reliable, experienced and knowledgeable painting professionals, give us a call today for expert advice and service. You’ll love the quality of our finishes, or we’ll fix it for free.
