Wall painting isn’t as easy as taking a brush and splattering paint all over. You need to ensure that you take all preparations before beginning the painting journey. Painting is the best way to make your room stand out with accents of your choice. Right from classic polka dot patterns, to chevron, paisley or geometric motifs, paints bring any environment alive. Of course, the colors you choose are equally important, with each symbolizing or infusing meaning to your space.
While painting itself is an enjoyable and creative process, you must take precautions and preparations before you undertake this colorful journey. Preparing your wall properly is absolutely crucial to get the results you want. Without this, your paint could be splotchy, cracked, or shaded unevenly. While it might be exciting to try this yourself, it’s always prudent to hire a professional to do this for you. They will have all the necessary tools to use and will do a more thorough wall painting job than an untrained individual.
Here are the steps you can follow to prepare your home for a wall painting.
Wall cleaning
Before embarking on the job or getting your walls painted, it’s important to clean your walls for prep. To do this, you can use a towel, vacuum or anything else that will make your walls as clean as possible. In case you’re planning to repaint your kitchen, bathroom or other walls, then you could use cleaning agents such as laundry detergent, vinegar and baking soda, and more, so that the hard stains, such as tough cooking residue and drip marks can be removed.
Once you’re done washing or vacuuming the walls, rinse if necessary and then let them dry overnight. In case there are wallpapers on your walls, it’s important to completely remove them and then proceed with the standard cleaning process. Your wall should be absent of any form of dust, debris, and bacteria-producing mold. In case the mold is too tough to remove, use an anti-mold solution in the targeted area. Sometimes, a unique sealer can help take care of and cover an area of excessive mold growth.
Ensure that there is no prior paint residue
Removing old paint or wallpaper residue is an important part of the cleaning process. Painting over these will lead to a bumpier surface, and a look that isn’t aesthetically pleasing. The best way to remove this paint is by using sandpaper or a paint scraper. Evening out the surface ensures that the whole job is well done.
The first step would be to attach a sandpaper piece to a sanding block and make circular motions around your wall until you feel that the surface is completely even. Alternatively, you can also use an electric sander which does a better job in bigger areas. If you aren’t comfortable doing this yourself, and you have the budget, then do get your professional to do it for you.
Ensure that any damaged areas are repaired
Paint that looks good on your walls isn’t a magical process. It’s much more than picking an appropriate color. For getting the exact results you need, it’s important to make a note of all the flaws in your walls, prime it, and then paint over it. This way, the paint will stay for the long-term. Damages visible to the eye include cracks and patches of old plaster and unstable walls next to windows, door frames, and more.
So, how should you tackle this? One way is by making new plaster by yourself and placing them over the cracked areas. First remove the other cracked residue completely, and then put on the new plaster. Also, to ensure that your walls and windows are protected, try using a flexible sealant for the gaps next to them and keep your walls protected from the elements as well.
Some forms of damage are very obvious to the human eye. On the other hand, a lot of flaws aren’t and you need a little help to point these out. Using a torch, scan your wall thoroughly and use a pencil to mark them. Once everything is marked, make sure you come back to repair them.
Check for flaws that aren’t easily available
You can do this process on your own or once again, take the help of a professional. An expert’s eye can help you catch flaws that you wouldn’t have seen yourself. Make sure, however, that before the painting starts, all these minor flaws are taken care of. Cleaning and repairs should ideally be one after another.
Try to make use of lining paper
While lining paper isn’t the best tool out there and would require extra effort, in some cases where there are many fine cracks or if the repair area is much larger and you don’t have too many resources, lining paper might prove to be a good choice. Not only do you create a smooth base for painting, but you also ensure that the wall surface is clean.
You can get lining paper at any hardware store, but make sure to check that the quality is good and that it can hold paint well. If needed, get your professional to assess the lining paper and then ask them to place it on your walls.
Priming
For a few prior paint jobs, you don’t need to apply primer and can directly paint over the old coat. For example, water-based paints don’t need the extra layer of primer before painting a fresh coat. However, for oil-based colors or semi-gloss and gloss, it’s vital to use a primer.
This not only helps with a smoother paint application, but also helps the paints last for a longer-term. There are many types of primers, so choose the ones most suited to your walls. If you’re hiring a professional, they will place the primer for you.
Other handy tips
Apart from the tips mentioned above, you can make use of a few more handy hacks to prepare your walls for painting. If you can’t find the specific materials listed, then any self-adhesive material for patching will suffice for larger holes and cracks. In case you don’t have enough primer for the whole wall surface, it’s enough to simply prime the spackled areas to achieve a completely matt finish.
Sometimes, the paint roller or brush job could be shoddy, and in such situations you need to protect the borders, walls, and doors with tape. You don’t want paint going onto these objects as it will be incredibly hard to remove later.
Prepare for wall painting and reap the benefits
We hope that this guide has been useful in helping prepare you for wall painting. Of course, sometimes it isn’t possible to do all the preparation by yourself, especially if it’s a larger area, and you might need expert help. Don’t hesitate to reach out to an expert such as Octopus, who will help you prepare your wall and help with repainting as well. Experts also bring the right tools and equipment to the job, and will get it done much faster.
Call us on 800 3993 for more information and our representative will be happy to get in touch with you.
