So there's this stuff called Vermiculite which looks kinda like gravel stuck to the ceiling and its commonly found in old units because it hides uneven ceilings and apparently reduces noise. Unfortunately it is a total BASTARD to paint. It's especially difficult if you get bad advice. The first paint shop I went to, after a long discussion they sold me four litres of acrylic under coat and a short nap roller. This was supposed to cover all 50m2 of ceiling and ended up covering about four. In the end, it would have been smarter to put in a false ceiling, which was my original plan but I got talked out of it as over-capitalizing... Something like $600 later I have finally done my final ceiling under coat in oil paint which, it turns out is the only thing that really seals vermiculite. For future reference - if you ever consider buying something and someone mentions Vermiculite- Run RUN as fast as you can in the opposite direction.
.......Don't even get me started on the asbestos scare...after I had already swept the ceiling in preparation for painting - getting covered in loose vermiculite in the process- I read online that this stuff sometimes contains asbestos. Fortunately a test at the ACT health labs came back negative but FYI - neither a standard building inspection report nor the local government certificate nor my conveyancing solicitor had even mentioned this as a possible risk so Buyers Beware!!!!!
In case you've googled Vermiculite and stumbled upon this page- in the end what worked best for me was Bunnings Tradecote Interior/Exterior Oil paint - in the Tradex range.
Two coats of the oil under coat then one coat of pink to white ceiling paint. this ends up being the cheapest and least painful way of painting Vermiculite. dont even bother with fancy expensive acrylic water based all in one primers - they are a bitch to roll onto the rough surface - you will use a TON of paint and need to do three or four coats.
Make sure you have the longest nap roller as well - I think mine in the end was about 3oml....
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