Do you always have to paint more than one coat?

I recently moved into an apartment that had never been painted after the builders white wash or whatever they cover dry wall in.





I cleaned the walls, and then set about painting it with a matte yellow.





It rolled on fine and adhered seemingly without issue, but I note that it can be easily scuffed or scratched, often with a kind of grey mark - not unlike as if someone had drawn on the wall with a graphite pencil.





Is this because I did only one coat? where does the grey mark come from, considering it was white beneath the yellow?Do you always have to paint more than one coat?
Too little too late, you really should have primed the wall first with a good paint primer. Even though the wall was already white, it sounds like it was ';raw'; and the primer would have created a surface that the paint will adhere to better


...as for the scuff marks, it is most likely from the type of paint you used. You said it was ';matte,'; so I am guessing it was a flat paint. Flat paints are the WORST when it comes to keeping a wall clean. It shows EVERYTHING. If you choose the next sheen up, which is usually an ';eggshell'; finish, or maybe a satin finsh. Not shiny or glossy, but definately wipeable, and does not scuff like flat finish paint. Sorry, Hope it helped.Do you always have to paint more than one coat?
after the builders ';white washed'; the dry wall, it must've turned gray. and you should definitely put more than one coat of paint, b/c although it doesn't look transperant, you'll want to do a second coat sooner or layer. besides, doing a 2nd coat means less of a chance of it scraping off.


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it sounds like the paint is soaking into the plaster.


turning the outerphase grey.


my suggestion is thin the paint 50%


then 2nd coat with unthinned paint.


for all new paint jobs you should use an acryluic sealer or a pigmented sealer
Maybe the gray mark is topical and be cleaned with a magic eraser (Mr. Clean product)?





If primer was on the walls before you painted then I don't understand why it is coming off so easily.
You usually have to paint two coats to get rid of the shadows. It also depend on the type of paint you use, flat or semi gloss or egg shell.
It's best to use a primer then paint.
We built our current house 5 years ago and there was a new product on the market that was being used for texturing. The painter learned the stuff was delicate and would pull off the wall, making it difficult for him to paint. My husband moved into the house before I did (it was in a different state and he'd driven one of our cars out). He let me know that almost any place he brushed against the wall or hit it with his fingernails, the texture came off - easily! It was especially noticeable because our walls were painted a color too but we'd see white underneath. I don't know if this is anything like you're experiencing but it may be. You can try adding a second coat and it may solve your particular problem but it may not; you might be seeing the paper on the sheetrock after the yellow paint and texture is knocked off.