Preparing Your Interior Walls For Painting

You’ve hired a painting contractor to repaint the walls in your Dayton home, and you want to prepare the space for the painters. What should you do? Although your painter will take steps to protect your belongings during the interior painting process, there are some actions you can take to ensure that the new paint stays on the walls, not on your furniture, woodwork, and flooring.

Test Your Color

Before you even hire your painter, you should probably test your paint color on a hidden section of the wall. Examine the color in both natural and artificial light to make sure that you are completely satisfied with it. If the color isn’t quite right, you can select a different color before interior painting begins.

Gather Your Materials

You’ll require many tools and materials to prepare your home for painting. Items to consider include canvas drop cloths, cleaning cloths, detergent, plastic sheets, paint scrapers, sandpaper, painter’s tape, and putty knives.

Clean the Walls

Walls must be cleaned prior to painting so that the paint can adhere properly. A damp cloth and liquid soap is appropriate for removing residue. Rinse the walls, and allow them to dry completely. If you notice any mold growth, apply an anti-mold solution to eliminate it. Roller covers should also be cleaned because the loose fibers can get embedded in the paint.

Remove Flaking Paint and Damaged Plaster

Examine the condition of the paint and plaster on your walls before repainting. Scrape away flaking or cracked paint with a paint scraper, and smooth bumps with sandpaper. An electric sander can be used to smooth large areas of your walls. You may want to replace damaged plaster before repainting as well.

Protect Your Furniture

If you can remove furniture in rooms that will be repainted, you should. If the removal of furniture isn’t possible, move all of it to the center of the room, wrap it in plastic sheets, and tape the plastic sheets at the bottom.

Tape Woodwork and Windowsills

To avoid having to scrape paint off of your woodwork and windowsills, line the edges with blue painter’s tape, and run a putty knife along the tape to create a seal so that the paint doesn’t bleed underneath the tape.

Remove Switch Plates and Outlet Covers

Take off switch plates and outlet covers so that they don’t get smudged with paint, and make sure children are prohibited from rooms with uncovered wall sockets. If you’re going to paint the ceiling as well, remove light fixtures and ceiling medallions if you can.

Put Down Canvas Drop Cloths

Thin bed sheets can’t stop paint spills from seeping through to the flooring quickly. Plastic sheets can contain spills, but the paint remains wet for a while. Therefore, canvas drop cloths are the best floor covering option.

You’re not really expected to do anything beyond the basic preparation of your home when you hire a painting contractor, but the better prepared you are, the better the finished product will look. If you’re ready to repaint the walls in your Dayton home, contact trusted professionals at Mastercraft Painting & Decorating, Inc..

Please call us at 775-329-3445, or fill out our online request form to schedule your appointment for a free consultation with one of our Dayton painting experts.