Before you begin to
paint your house, you have to prepare the room and the
surface of the walls for painting. There has to be
wall preparation before painting, the surface has to
be ready to accept the paint. Not only would you like
the job to be perfect, but you would like the things
in the room to remain undamaged as well. Given below
are a few tips on preparation for painting your house,
both for the surface to be painted and for the other
things in the room.
The first thing you should do is clear the
room. Remove everything that you can from the room. What
cannot be moved should be placed in the center and cover it
with a canvas or plastic drop cloth.
Turn of the power, before removing light
fixtures, switches and switch plates, towel rods etc. Light
fixtures that cannot be brought down should be covered with
plastic. Bring down curtains and curtain rods as well. You can
get your curtains cleaned as well.
Bring down ceiling fans as well. Remove trim
pieces of ceiling fixtures as well. Remove switch plates and
other outlet plates and cover the outlets themselves with
masking tape.
Place a large enough trashcan lined with a
plastic bag to throw debris as they gather. A dirty work area
is not only unsafe but can slow you down.
Use canvas to cover the floor to prevent
damage from paint splatters and spills.
Remove door hardware.
Pull out nails and picture hooks and fill
holes with joint compound.
Use masking tape or painter's tape to cover
areas that you do not want painted. Door hardware and window
and ceiling trim that you cannot remove.
Drywalls have marks of nail heads and peeling
joints tape. These should be repaired before you paint the
wall. For holes made by nails fill with plaster like mixture
called joint compound and sand before painting. Cut off
peeling tape and remove old adhesive with knife. Cover open
joint with fiberglass mesh tape to fit the joint exactly.
Cover with a layer of joint compound sand and prime before
painting. New drywall rooms need to be primed before painting.
For plaster walls nail holes can be filled
with surfacing compound. For larger holes, clean with
screwdriver, remove all loose plaster. Nail in some hardware
screen to the lath to grasp the plaster. Use patching plaster
to patch the hole. Prepare the plaster according to
manufacturer's instructions. Apply three thin layers of
plaster. Use drywall compound as the last layer and smooth.
Use sand paper to sand and smooth and apply primer before
painting.
Before painting woodwork, the layers of old
paint will have to be stripped. You can use a chemical
stripper or a heat gun to remove the old layers of paint. Use
an old paintbrush to apply the stripper. As bubbles form with
the help of a scraper and steel wool to remove the soft paint.
If you use a heat gun use from a distance of one foot and
remove the paint as it flakes up. The heat gun should be held
in such a way that the paint is removed and the woodwork is
left undamaged. Use protective gear like leather gloves while
scraping.
For new woodwork all you need to do is to
dull the surface using a deglosser or lightly sanding the wood
prepares the surface for new paint. Wear protective gear at
all times, use a respirator and wear leather gloves. Work in a
well-ventilated room. Wash you hands with soap before you eat,
drink or smoke, after you have worked with the chemicals.
Particles of dirt, grease and grime have to
be removed from the wall before you start painting. If these
are left as they are on the wall, it will affect the paint's
finish. Walls that are ordinarily soiled walls you can use a
solution of washing soda to clean the wall and make it coarse
to easily accept paint. Dip a sponge in the solution and work
on the ceiling first and then on the walls from bottom to top.
Turn of the power before you begin cleaning the walls.