Preparing Surfaces Before Painting
Before you begin to paint, every surface requires some attention and preparation. It’s the difference between a great paint job and a sloppy one.
Removing Wallpaper
This process can get messy and will get a lot of water on the floor, so make sure you've securely taped off baseboards and covered the entire floor.
- Use a scoring tool to slice the wallpaper
• This will allow the wallpaper remover to penetrate the paper more effectively.
• For wallpaper that has been painted, slice and puncture as much paper as possible. - Remove wallpaper adhesive
• Wear rubber gloves when working with wallpaper adhesives.
• Follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.
• Use a scraper on residual adhesive. - Rinse the walls with hot water
Preparing Walls and Ceilings
How to mend cracks, holes and dents before painting!
- Wear safety glasses and a dust mask.
- Use a putty knife to remove any chips or flakes.
- Clean the crack or hole with a brush or vacuum.
- Rinse with hot water and let the area dry thoroughly.
- Using a putty knife, fill the cracks with a wall filler mixture, spreading the filler past the edges of the crack.
- Smooth the filler while it’s still wet.
- For large cracks in your walls, Build it has the appropriate products.
- Once the filler mixture is dry, sand it with a fine-grit sandpaper.
- Once the filler is smooth, again, clean the area with water.
- Rinse the area and let it dry before priming.
Preparing Moulded Areas
- Use fine-grit sandpaper or a sanding sponge to sand small gaps.
- Then remove hard-to-reach dust using a hand vacuum with a brush attachment.
- Use a putty knife and wood filler to rebuild chipped corners and fill in dents.
- Apply spackling paste on scratches and small cracks.
- Finish the repair the same way as repairing wall surfaces.
- When all the holes are patched, prime the repaired surfaces.
Priming
A coat of primer is recommended for almost all painting projects, whether it's new drywall, old wood, bare metal, previously painted brick, or any other surface.
- Applying primer is done pretty much the same way as paint.
- Don't wait too long after priming to apply the finishing coat of paint.
- Check the instructions on the primer can to determine how quickly you should start painting once the primer has completely dried.
- Now you're ready to apply your first coat of paint.