Painting your walls require a little bit of preparation. But wall preparation before a painting project should not be as complicated and overwhelming as some people think.
Here is a step-by-step wall prepping guide you might find useful.
Get Rid of All Adhesives
First and foremost, you need to remove any object or decorations (mirrors, stickers, etc.) you have on your walls.
After that, make sure that there are no adhesive residues left. Failure to do this would result in unsightly bumps on your walls after the new paint or coat is applied. A mixture of soap and water and some scrubbing usually works great in removing these adhesives. You may also need to use a dull putty knife for those stubborn, hard to remove adhesives.
Secure outlets and switches
Protecting outlets and switch covers is one of the most critical parts of wall prepping but is often forgotten.
You can do this by simply covering it with painter’s tape. This way, the paint will only land on the tape instead of the outlets and switch covers, and they will look the same as before, free of paint splatters.
Fix dents or holes on your walls
This is rather a simple step in most cases but is also very important. First, you need to make sure that all loose ends of any wallpaper tear left on the wall are cut off. Next, sand off any rough edges and then apply a plaster layer and smooth out the dents, tears, or holes.
Protect the trims
Regardless if you are planning on repainting the trims after your walls, you still need to protect it to avoid any paint splatter. Just like outlets and switch covers, you can use painter’s tape to cover it.
Remember to also apply tape on the edges where your ceiling and walls meet. If your painter’s tape is trapping bubbles, smooth it out using a putty knife. It makes an excellent tool for smoothing out those annoying bubbles.
Try out the colours
Doing this important step is an excellent way to avoid disappointment upon realizing that you don’t like the colour of your walls after the painting project is completed.
Paint a board with the colour you are testing out. Place it at different spots of the room so you can assess the paint in different lighting. Avoid painting a particular part of your wall for testing if you don’t want to see an uneven coating because you have decided on changing the colours later.
Wipe the dirt and dust away
While sanding smooths out surfaces and helps even out walls, it actually collects dust, grime, and dirt. So, it is crucial to have your wall cleaned out before painting it. You can use a broom or vacuum to dust off the walls. Then use a sponge and water to wipe that stubborn dirt.
Prime your walls
The last but not the least step is priming the walls. Primer works the same as paint but is applied before the actual paint. It helps the paint adhere to the wall effectively and prevents the old paint from seeping through the new paint.
Apply an even layer of primer to cover all corners of the wall. It is also important to note that the amount of primer to apply depends on the primer itself and the previous paint colour.
Now that you are done with prepping your walls, it should be much easier to start your painting project.
However, if you’re not confident enough to do a DIY painting, feel free to contact Wallace Contracts Ltd to hire professional painters to do it for you.
