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Project Difficulty:
Moderate
Estimated
Project Time: Depends on what needs to be done
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| Tools and Materials: |
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Drop cloths and newspapers
Screwdriver
Masking tape
Safety goggles
Work gloves
Rubber gloves
Bucket, soap, water, sponge
Bleach and ammonia-free detergent, as needed
Flashlight
Paint scrapers
Utility knife
Joint compound
Taping knives
Palm sander or sanding block
120-grit sandpaper
Paintbrushes
Solvent/spot remover, as needed
Primer, as needed
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Heat gun, as needed
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Painting would be much easier if you could find a contractor to do the prep work, and you handled the painting yourself. Yet you probably wouldn't save much money, even if you could find someone willing to do it. Preparation--the tedious and time-consuming scraping, patching, and sanding--is the worst part of the job, but the most important for a good-looking and long-lasting finish. Poor surface preparation is the number-one cause of paint failures.
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1.
Preparing Walls
Follow these steps to prepare the wall surface for painting.
1) Take time to dust and vacuum all surfaces first. Then wash the walls with soap and water, especially in kitchens and bathrooms. If there are little gray-green dots of mold, add up to a quart of bleach to 3 quarts of an ammonia-free detergent solution. Protect nearby floors with newspapers and drop cloths. Allow the bleach solution to remain on the wall for 15 minutes, and then rinse thoroughly.
2) Paint won't hide imperfections--in fact, it accentuates them, making any previously unnoticed bumps or dents stand out. To avoid surprises, shine a bright light at a low angle across the surface to spot problem areas before you begin to paint.
Scrape any cracked or flaking areas with a paint scraper until you reach paint that is solidly fixed on the wall. (Fig. 1)
Where the paper surface of drywall is torn, trim the tear free with a utility knife, and apply joint compound over the damage. (Fig. 2)
Use a wide blade to fill large bare patches with joint compound. Apply several thin coats instead of one thick layer. (Fig. 3)
Use a power palm sander or a sanding block to smooth the patches. Oversanding can scuff the drywall surface. (Fig. 4)
3) Remove surface stains as best you can with a detergent/water solution or an appropriate solvent/spot remover.
To prevent remaining discoloration from bleeding through, seal the area with a stain-killing primer, such as pigmented white shellac, which has tremendous hiding power and also makes a good primer on metal (Fig. 5). These sealers dry fast and won't slow you down. Similarly, coat knots in paneling or trim so that resins won't bleed through.
4) Prime all repaired areas, following the paint manufacturer's recommendations for priming. Some surfaces, such as unpainted wood, require primer with certain paints but not others. Failure to use a primer will reduce paint adhesion and lead to flaking and peeling paint.
Previously painted walls and ceilings generally do not require a primer unless you plan a radical color change (such as white over red) or you have stains to cover. But if you've patched with joint compound, the unpainted compound will absorb paint differently than surrounding painted areas, leaving a blotchy finish.
Although you can usually apply two topcoats, it's better to use a less-expensive primer, perhaps tinted to a similar color as the topcoat, covered by one topcoat. (Fig. 6)
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2.
Preparing Trim
To help new paint adhere to old trim, lightly sand glossy surfaces. Also sand away small imperfections, feathering to areas of sound paint so that you don't leave ridges.
If need be, take old trim down to raw wood by stripping, sanding, or heating and scraping. If paint was applied before the late 1970s, test for lead before removing the finish.
To heat and scrape off paint on trim, proceed as follows:
1) Use a heat gun to gradually soften layers of paint. Work on one small area at a time, and keep the gun nozzle moving. (Fig. 7)
2) Use a stiff scraper to remove layers of paint heated by the gun. Use a razor-edge scraper to clear grooves in molding. (Fig. 8)
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