How to Do Painting Walls The Right Way

Paint will not cover a multitude of mistakes. It will cover the wall, the door, or the trim, but that's about it. It will change the color of the bumps, nicks, dents and cracks that are part of the wall, door, or trim, but it won't make the blemishes go away. That's your job. Prep work, or, to put it more simply, wall repair is the key to painting success, Plan on spending at least as much repairing as you do painting.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Start by washing the wall. Wipe it down with trisodium phosphate (TSP) or one of its phosphate-free wall cleaning substitutes. Then rinse the wall with a sponge and clean water until the water runs clear. Once the wall is dry, look for and repair each and every imperfection you find. Get suggestions from the staff in the paint department on the best products to use for your wall's problems.

2. Caulk small cracks, caulk transitions from wall to molding, and run caulk down the corner of the room. Smooth it out with a wet finger so you have a nice transition from one surface to the next.

3. Surfacing compound. This compound is designed for repairing walls. Joint compound isn't. Patch with surfacing compound. If you have holes, gouges, or wide cracks, patch with lightweight surfacing paste, which has more body and will fill and stay put easily.

4. Glazier' s compound. Glazier' s compound is the putty that holds windows in place. It's designed to stick in place and dry quickly so you can paint it, and it's perfect for filling nail holes.

5. Buy the best pain you can get along with the best brushes and rollers. Cheap paint turns powdery after a couple of years. Cheap brushes and rollers leave fuzz and bristles on the wall.

6. Once your' re ready to paint, protect any surface in the room you don't want stray paint on - especially floors, trims and woodwork.

7. Prime surfaces before you paint. On the molecular level, at least, primer is really sticky. It sticks to whatever is on the walls, as well as to whatever paint you're putting up. If the walls are stained, apply a primer sealer to keep the stain from bleeding through.

8. Sand between coats. This doesn't take long -just wipe the wall down with a piece of 120-grit paper, and then brush off the dust with your hand or an old paintbrush. If you sand, the finished wall will feel like velvet. Don't sand, and the finished wall will feel like sand.

9. Test decorative techniques on a sheet of primed and base-coasted drywall or poster board and practice until you achieve the look you want.

10. Paint during the day in strong light. Bare patches drips, spatters, trapped brush fibers, and insects are easy to avoid when you can see what you're doing.

[autumn1234567]

on 4/9/2009 I'm hoping your great tips will help me finally paint my walls right!