Prepping A Room In Your House For Its New Paint Job

One of the most popular do it yourself projects that homeowners eagerly fling themselves into is the painting of the interior walls of a particular room. It is relatively easy, protected from the elements and if the layout and painting surface is pretty straight forward, you'll rarely require the help of a painting contractor. All you really need are some drop cloths, masking tape, paint, brushes and rollers.

Well, there are some other things as well, and the job requires more than just slathering on paint from the get go. The interior surfaces must be prepped appropriately before you begin painting, to ensure that the paint will be even and adhere to the surfaces of the room.

Wash All Of The Surfaces To Be Painted

The first step to painting the inside room of a house is to properly and thoroughly clean the walls and surfaces that you intend to paint. Use a solution of soap and water, or a mild detergent, and scrub down the surfaces by hand thoroughly. Be careful not to get any of the surrounding surfaces or electrical outlets wet in the process.

Once every surface is clean, you will need to sand down all surfaces completely, and remove any old paint or wallpaper that is still stuck to the walls. Use a moderate sand paper grit, and a rotary hand sander if available. If not, use a hand sanding block. Work from one end of the room to the other, and ensure that all of the surfaces that will be painted are completely smooth and free of dirt, debris and free floating particles. Also, if there are any holes from nails or other things, you will have to Spackle them in and sand them down as well.

Masking Off Trim, Windows, Doors And Molding

Next, using masking tape and butcher paper, mask off any of the areas that you do not wish to be painted. This includes all trim, window sills and moldings, door frames, doors, electrical outlets and base boards in the room.

Applying Primer Coat

When everything is masked off, you are ready to apply the primer coat to the walls. This primer coat should be very close in tint and color to the paint that you plan to use, but it should not be the paint itself. You can also use a neutral colors as well, such as white and off white shades.

Sanding Down Primer Coat

Once the primer coat is applied, you will have to sand it down and ensure that it is smooth and free of loose particles. This is usually much quicker than the initial sanding process.

Applying Base Coats

After you have sanded down the primer, apply as many base coats as you need to achieve the rich, lustrous paint scheme you desire. Usually two coats will suffice, but you may want to apply a third depending upon the situation.

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