Preparation is the key to every well-finished paint job. Slapping a new paint coat over damaged walls might hardly be worth the time, effort, and investment. Interior and exterior walls go through regular wear and tear over the years that need repairing before the paints. Wall flaws can resist proper paint adhesion, thereby decreasing the overall durability and appearance.
Time devoted to clearing dirty, damaged, and dinged walls can go a long way to give you the perfect-looking walls after a painting project. Otherwise, flaws and blemishes might reappear pretty quickly to show through your newly painted walls. At Surepaint, we value the importance of preparing damaged walls before applying paints and would be happy to guide you through. Here we will discuss a few tips to prepare your damaged walls appropriately before every paint job.
Dusting And Cleaning
Dirt on the walls can prevent paint from adhering properly. As such, you need to clean the walls before painting. Inexpensive cleaners mixed with warm water should do the job well. Use a large sponge to clean out sitting dust from the walls, beginning at the top. Squeeze out excess moisture from the sponge to avoid drips. Clean the walls, ceilings, and baseboards thoroughly and allow them to dry before the paints. You might be required to use a bleaching solution while cleaning any mildew-affected areas on the walls as well.
Highlight Flaws With Light
Surface flaws can be detected more efficiently in the afternoon light. An effective way to do this is by placing a light source near a wall and moving it across in a raking motion. Ensure to turn off any room lights and close all drapes beforehand. This makes detecting minor irregularities easier through casted shadows. Use tape to highlight such imperfections on the walls. Using a pencil or sharp tool to mark flaws can bleed through the paint.
Fix All Damages
Detecting flaws on your walls will not help until repaired. Popularly, painters prefer drywall spackle and joint compounds for such repairings. The toothpaste-like texture of spackle is preferred for smaller walls, and mud-like joint compounds go well with the larger surface repairing. The process involves mixing the suitable compounds, uniform application over the dents, and drying out. Repair any nail pops by covering screw heads with multiple coats of joint compound. Cut away any torn drywall paper, apply stain-blocking primer and top it up with a thin layer of joint compound as well.
Sanding
Leveling repaired surfaces before painting is vital. Sanding repaired walls can help with clearing any nubs that can affect paint finish. Fine grit sanding does well when it comes to pre-painting jobs. Uneven repairing spots with extra joint compound or spackle need sanding for uniformity. Sanding surfaces can also make them sufficiently rough for better paint adhesion. A fine 220 grit sanding should be appropriate for most wall surfaces, whereas older cabin walls might require an eight grit paper for similar results.
Taping And Masking
Even professionals might be reluctant to work without appropriate taping around painting targets. Masking valuable objects and floors within rooms help prevent paint debris from getting scattered all over. While painting walls, taping window trims and baseboards can be immensely helpful. Taping in itself can be extraneous but essential. Hard-to-reach areas while rolling or spraying need to be taped while applying paint. These can be your door and window trims, molding, and baseboards which need to be taken care of separately.
Prime All Repairings
The need to prime walls before painting can be a tricky question. However, it is relevant to the kind of surface you plan on painting. For new or repaired walls, appropriate priming is essential for paint adherence, finishing, and durability. But adding new layers of paint over existing water-based paint might do without priming work. Priming is also recommended for glazing over semi-gloss or oil-based, though. The purpose of applying primer is to prepare an even surface, disguising imperfections for new paint layers to lock onto. Primed surfaces can ensure a superior appearance for newly painted projects.
Preparing damaged walls before painting is a crucial step. New paint coats should be applied to clean and blemish-free walls. This might call for wallpaper removal or washing walls with appropriate cleaners as necessary. If you decide to prime the wall before painting, then make sure you prime the entire surface for consistency. You may also opt to sand minor imperfections instead for smoother paint coats if pre-existing damages are minimal. Applying new paint on the walls can be tempting enough to make you directly jump into it. But take the time for suitable prep work before proceeding to maximize results.
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