Producing quality ground coats

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PowerPoint
presentationProducing quality ground coats
Unit 120: Producing specialist decorative finishes

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Producing quality ground coats
Why is it important to have a quality ground coat when producing
specialist decorative finishes?

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Producing quality ground coats
Preparation processes
Surfaces used for specialist decorative effects need to be flat with no
holes or dents. If not, the scumble will collect in the defects and spoil
the overall effect.
You must make good the surface by:
• Wet or dry abrading the surface
• Filling any holes, dents or cracks
• Rubbing down and removing all traces of dust

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Producing quality ground coats
Appropriate coatings to use as ground coats
Surface coatings that are used as ground coats can be either
waterbourne or solventbourne depending on which system you are
using for your decorative effect.
Vinyl silk emulsion and eggshell finishes are the most appropriate.
The ground coat is usually a tone lighter than the lightest part of the
overall finish, so neutral colours would be the ideal choice for a
ground coat.
What surface coating finish would be the least appropriate?

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Producing quality ground coats
Defects in ground coats
If the surface has not been prepared properly before applying ground
coats, you are likely to get a range of defects in your decorative effect.
• Bittiness
• Uneven colour
• Ropiness
• Sinking
• Brush marks

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Producing quality ground coats
Applying ground coats
Make sure you apply the ground coat correctly to avoid any defects,
such as brush marks, misses, runs, flashing and wet edges.
It is important that brush marks are not visible in your specialist finish
so the effect looks as natural as possible.
Using a stipple brush or roller to apply
the ground coat will help to achieve an
even coating with no brush marks.

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Any questions?