What to Do Before You Paint

May 16, 2010, By Greg Hoard 0 comments

Greg Hoard

Nothing sharpens up a room in the house like a fresh coat of paint. But, before grabbing rollers and brushes, it’s important to do the proper prep-work, and while it may take longer than actually painting the room, it’s well worthwhile.

Here are a few simple steps to follow that – in the end – will make the new paint job look like the work of a professional.

• Remove all the furniture you can. If something is too large or cumbersome, move it to the center of the room and cover it with a drop cloth. Use other drop cloths to cover the hardwood flooring.
• Use removable masking tape around the molding, windows and doors to prevent unwanted streaks and spills. Take some pains in applying the tape, placing it as smoothly as possible into the joints.
• Turn off the electricity in the room and remove the switch plates and electrical fixtures. If you are dealing with something like a ceiling light or ceiling fan, loosen the base of the fixture and cover the rest of the appliance with plastic or old towels.
• Remove heating and air conditioning vent covers.
• Place small bits of masking tape over switch handles and outlets.
• Now you can go to work on the surfaces. Sand or scrape away all the loose or flaky areas with sandpaper or paint scrapers. Take it all the way down to the base if you need too. If you are going to use an electrical sander, be very careful. You can cut gouges into wood before you know it.
• Use a putty knife and spackling compound to fill nail or screw holes. On minor cracks, use caulk. If you have a serious crack in your drywall or plaster, you’ll need to take more serious measures.
• Make sure to give the spackling compound plenty of time to set up and dry, following product directions.
• If there are nicks or gouges in the woodwork, you can repair those with epoxy fillers.
• Once the caulk and spackling compound have dried, it’s time to sand. (You might want to turn off the heat and air-conditioning when tackling this job. You will be surprised how much dust and debris is kicked up by sanding the repaired areas.)
• Continue sanding until the areas that have been fixed are as smooth as the rest of the surface.
• When that’s all done, use warm water and soap to remove any grease or dirt from the walls. A product like Dawn® works very well.
• After you have washed everything down, use clean water to rinse the walls and then let them get good and dry.
• Dust and vacuum the room and you are ready to start painting.

Greg Hoard is the senior writer and former editor of Cincinnati Profile magazine. He is a featured contributor to ManoftheHouse.com.

The above story refers to products made by Procter & Gamble Company, the parent company of Procter & Gamble Productions, which owns ManoftheHouse.com. The creator of this content received either direct or indirect remuneration from Procter & Gamble Productions.