Why and How Professionals Prep Walls Before They Paint

By badbob@so-unique.net (badbob@so-unique.net)
•
30 Oct, 2017

10.30.2017

Why and How Professionals Prep Walls Before They Paint

You might believe that repainting your home yourself is the best way to get this job done for the lowest price. While you will save money by painting the rooms yourself, do you want the walls to look perfect? If so, hiring a professional painter is the better way to go, because professionals know the importance of proper wall prepping.

Why Painters Prep The Walls Before Painting

There are many reasons to prep the walls of a room before you paint, but the primary purpose is to make sure the walls look flawless when you complete the job. Walls in a home tend to get dinged, dented and blemished, and these types of imperfections cause walls to look old and ugly.

For example, your walls may have nail holes in them from pictures you hung on them. Your walls might have paint that is chipping off, or they might contain holes or deep scratches.

If you do not prepare the walls before you paint, you will probably see all these imperfections when the new paint dries, but you can avoid this through the proper prep work and repairs.

How Painters Prep The Walls

Prepping the walls before painting may involve one step or multiple steps, and this depends on the condition of your walls. Here are some common methods painters use as they prep walls for painting.

Scrape Flaked Paint or Debris Off the Walls

One of the first steps a painter takes when prepping walls involves looking for things that protrude from the walls, such as stuck-on glue, paint or other debris. If the painter finds these types of things, he or she will scrape them off so the wall is even.

If your walls have texture on them, the painters will scrape this off too. Removing texture is a messy and time-consuming process, but your walls might look a lot better if you remove it. If there is wallpaper present, the painter will remove it before painting. You cannot obtain good results if you paint over wallpaper.

Fill Nail Holes and Grooves

Next, the painter will fill in all the holes and grooves in the wall with drywall compound. Drywall compound dries after the painter applies it, and most painters will apply two or three layers for all holes. After the painter is done, your wall will look as if the hole never existed.

Sand the Walls

After removing imperfections and filling in holes, the painter will sand all the walls to help achieve an even, smooth look.

Clean the Walls

Depending on the condition of the walls, your painter might clean them after doing all of this. Cleaning the walls helps remove dust, debris and grease and helps the walls look better when painted.

Cover Stains

If your walls contain any major stains of any kind, the painter will apply a special type of primer to those areas. The purpose of stain-covering primer is to prevent stains from bleeding through the paint.

Tape the Trim and Remove Outlet Covers

Finally, the painters will apply painter's tape to all the trim in the room to protect it. They will also remove the outlet covers and set them aside to reuse them when they complete the entire project.

Prepping the walls often takes just as long as painting them, but it is a vital step in the process if you want your walls to look great.

Painting is a huge and messy project, and your finished walls will look so much better if you let a professional complete the job. Contact So Unique Painting & Decorating if you are ready to begin a painting project in any room in your home.

Why and How Professionals Prep Walls Before They Paint