Key FAQ Points:
- Proper adhesion is vital when painting brickwork, meaning that regular emulsion wall paint isn’t suitable.
- Acrylic latex paint and masonry paints are commonly recommended.
- Frenchic’s Chalk Wall Paint also adheres to indoor bricks.
- You should prepare your walls by cleaning, filling and checking the moisture content.
- Priming is a must because bricks are porous, which means they absorb moisture from paint.
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Exposed brickwork is a popular choice for interior spaces. If you want to create an even more unique look or blend in your indoor bricks, painting them is a great option. Below, we’ll discuss which paint is best.
Finding paint that adheres to brickwork
The most important factor when it comes to painting indoor bricks is that your paint will adhere to the surface. Using ordinary wall paint without a specialist primer can result in flaking and peeling over time, meaning you’re back at square one (or even worse).
Acrylic latex paint is the most commonly recommended option, along with masonry paints. However, Frenchic’s Chalk Wall Paint is a versatile option that’s perfectly suited to indoor bricks too. You’ll benefit from a choice of over 150 colours, which offers much more variety than a typical masonry paint range.
Preparing your walls
Whichever paint you choose, it’s important that your indoor brick walls are properly prepared for painting. You should clean your walls to remove dirt, mould and any old paint. Additionally, any cracks should be filled and smoothed down before painting.
It’s also worth checking that your indoor bricks are dry to avoid issues with adherence. Use a moisture meter to ensure the moisture content is 12% or less. This will avoid moisture being trapped when you paint your brickwork, which would eventually lead to lifting and flaking.
The importance of priming
Even with the right paint, it’s important to prime your indoor brickwork before your chosen colour goes on. This is because brickwork is a porous surface, so it can suck away moisture if you apply normal paint straight away. The result is a patchy, uneven finish.
We recommend 2-3 coats of Finishing Coat on interior brickwork. This will seal the surface, so it’s ready for your chosen paint to be applied. While Chalk Wall Paint is self-priming, bricks require special care because of their porous qualities.
Follow the right process and you get great results, just like this example of a fireplace surround by Claire Louise Poole.
