Painting Paradise
Prepping to Paint
Interior Colors - Which are right for you?
Prepping to Paint
Before you start to paint the walls of your home, they must be ready to accept the paint. You want the paint job to be perfect and you probably don’t want to harm your floors, furniture or accessories. So, let’s get ready!
The first step is to remove everything that you can from the room. What cannot be moved should be placed in the center of the room and covered with a canvas or plastic drop cloth.
Turn off the power before removing light fixtures, switches and switch plates. Light fixtures that cannot be brought down should be covered with plastic. Take down curtains and curtain rods as well. This is the perfect time to get your curtains and draperies cleaned.
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 garbage can lined with a plastic bag to throw trash in as it gathers. A dirty work area can slow you down and is dangerous. Use canvas to cover the floor to prevent damage from splatters and spills. Pull out nails and picture hooks and fill holes with joint compound. Use masking or painter's tape to cover areas that you do not want painted, like door hardware and window and ceiling trim that aren’t removable.
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. New drywall rooms need to be primed before painting.
Yes, you have to wash down your old walls. As much of a hassle as it seems to be, particles of dirt, grease and grime have to be removed from the wall before you start painting. If you don’t wash down these walls, the paint’s finish will be affected.