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How to prepare your walls for painting!




As with most DIY projects, preparation is everything! When decorating your home, conducting great prep is the difference between a super smooth finish and a sloppy one. Start off by dusting the surface of your walls with a towel, brush or vacuum cleaner.


You will need :

- Brush or vacuum cleaner
- Sugar soap or homemade alternative of warm water and detergent
- Sponge
- Bleach
- Sandpaper
- High quality primer

 Next wash down your walls with warm water and a high quality detergent, use a weak solution consisting of 3 teaspoons of household detergent to one bucket of warm water. Alternatively, you can use sugar soap to remove any stubborn stains like grease, soot or smoke damage. 

Whether you are using sugar soap or a homemade cleaning mixture, use a damp sponge to apply the solution, which should be regularly rinsed. Don’t be afraid to cover old ground either, clean the wall area at least 2 to 3 times to remove excess dirt. You may encounter mould when preparing your walls for painting and it is important to remove this before applying a fresh coat of paint. These troublesome grey-green speckles could spread across the entire room if left untreated. Invest in a quality mould and mildew remover or create your own solution for a cost effective alternative that works just as well. Mix one part bleach with three parts ammonia-free detergent for a mould removing potion. 

Apply the solution to the problem area and leave for 10 minutes, then rinse away the solution. When cleaning your walls ensure that they are thoroughly dry before you move onto the next stage of preparation. Now it’s time to remove any imperfections on your walls such as chips, cracks and blisters. Use a scraper to remove any flaking paint, and smooth away any lumps and bumps with some high quality sandpaper. There are a number of abrasive papers you can utilise to get the smooth finish you are looking for. As well as wet and dry sanding papers, the latest product is Polycell Liquid Sander, the solution is painted or brushed onto the surface of your walls and left to dry to reveal a surface perfect for painting. Walls that have had gloss paint applied to them previously need some extra attention during preparation. Glossy surfaces don’t have the same adhesion when painting over them so the new coat will find it hard to stick. Use sandpaper to roughen the surface as well as remove any imperfections. Whether you are preparing a glossy or matte surface, fill any cracks and chips with filler then smooth with sandpaper for a ready to paint surface. The final stage of preparation is applying primer, also known as the professional painter’s ‘secret weapon’.

Using the preparation methods mentioned above, applying a high quality primer is the final stage of hiding away imperfections. Attention must be paid however to which primer is best for your wall. For water and smoke damaged walls use an oil-based primer, whilst new drywalls should be treated with a water-based alternative. Whether you’re freshening up a room or going for a complete design overhaul, preparation is an essential part of a long lasting and beautiful finish. Take a few hours out of your weekend to prepare like a pro.
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