Preparing Walls for Painting: The Right Way

Before you appoint a painter to get your home painted, you need to make sure that the old paint on the walls is removed in a right manner so that it gives the right foundation for the new coat of paint. Many people tend to ignore some basic rules for scraping the old paint and they fail to get the finish from the new coat. Before you list out some basic Painters requirement, you have to ensure that you are following all the right ways to prepare the wall for the painting.

Before the painting process, start by cleaning the walls that you plan to get painted. If you are painting from scratch, then you don’t have to do much of cleaning and you can paint directly after applying the primer. If the walls are new, make sure that you are sprinkling some amount of water a day before and let it dry completely. If you want to give it a smooth finish, then you can apply a smooth coat that prepares a base for the paint. Ensure that you have all the equipments and right shade of paint before you start the painting process. Here are the steps you should follow.

Scraping

Before you start to paint, scrape the walls to get rid of the old coat of paint. If the paint is too old, then you don’t have to do much of the scraping as the coat of the paint tends to get loose over the period of time. But if the coat is not that old, then you have to scrape it in right manner. Start with a high grade of sandpaper and get rid of the upper surface of the coat. When the coat will be scraped, you will see the primer underneath and then you can start to scrape it using a brush.

Smoothening The Finish

After you scrape the old coat of paint, the surface of the wall will be quite rough. To ensure that you have a smooth finish, start by scraping the wall with zero grade sandpaper that irons out all the blemishes on the surface of the wall. After scraping the surface, apply a coat of wall putty that will eventually make the surface very smooth and will be a right base for the new coat of paint. Let the putty dry overnight.

Applying The Right Coat

After preparing the wall with all the scraping, start painting the wall with the right equipments. You can finish the last coat using the help of a roller that will give it a much smoother finish. Start with the upper sides of the walls, and then gradually paint the lower area. If you have planned to paint the ceiling, and then make sure you are covering the floor and the handles of all the doors and the windows to avoid the marks of paints on them. It is always recommended that you use the latex paints, as they last really long and give you a much better finish.