Some images, by Peter Robinson, from yesterday's Day 2:
After that, there were a few paint drips and little accidents, plus many star-like dusty fragments of broken yellow sponge. Last night I vowed to revisit this morning, with the dark grey paint to hand to fix things. I'm so pleased I did. I managed to overpaint the drips perfectly, and the yellow bits were extensive. I could have done with a wide soft brush to clean them all, but had to wipe everything by hand.
I fixed up lots of smaller bits, tiny areas where the grey was untidy, then stepped back to check it all. There were many areas of the wall which had larger-scale problems, including mould growths, dirt and mud, missing paint or bare areas. I couldn't correct everything by any means, but I could use new paint rolled and blended with the old to give the whole surface a cleaner and more uniform finish.
All of this took another two hours, but made all the difference to the final presentation. Here are a couple of finished shots:
All in all, it's taken 4.75 days, since 31st August, excluding the three council meetings (half-a-day each), plus 6.5 days for the rejected first design. Some of the planning from that first design would have been useful for the second. Costs included the unused high-working platform I bought for the first design, but almost everything else was needed, so very little was wasted. I estimate I spent £300 to £400; that platform, the insurance, and the paint being the biggest costs. I'll calculate this soon. I didn't need the quantity of paint by any measure, I must have used only 15% of it, but I bought the smallest amounts I could, and the quality of the paint (Wethertex AP77 Flexible Smooth Masonry Paint) was excellent.
My mum was a huge and vital help on the first day. It was kind of Peter Robinson, a star press photographer by every measure, to come on the first two days to document them, and nice of David Lidster to come too, in case I needed help on the first day. It was nice just to have someone there rather than working alone. The council were as frustratingly slow as any bureaucracy, but that can't be helped. I'd have still have loved to paint the first design, but yes, perhaps that was beyond the remit of this small and cheap job. My first thoughts are always big, dramatic, spectacular.
It is done. Onwards.
