How to Prepare Interior Walls to Paint

Painting a room can be intimidating if you have never done it before, but it can also be a lot of fun if you know how to prepare first. There are some basic things to do before you start painting that will make the job faster, better looking and worth all the effort.

Things You'll Need

• Safety glasses
• Wall paper remover
• Drywall paste to cover nail holes
• Blue painter's tape
• Fine grain sand paper
• Plastic draping, old sheets or newspaper
• Paint rollers
• Sponges or a sprayer
• Small to medium size brush for corners
• Paint tray

Instructions

1. Remove wallpaper or boarders and pull any nails or screws out of the wall. If there are nail holes in the wall, use a putty tool or butter knife to apply a small amount of drywall paste over the holes, making sure to fill them in and then smooth out any excess paste. Let the paste dry.

2. Place strips of the blue painter's tape along the top edge of the baseboards all around the room to keep from getting paint on them. Also cover the edge around the main door to the room, then place strips on the ceiling along the edges where the ceiling meets each wall, along the edges of the windows and along the edges of closet doors. Either remove the light switch and electrical outlet covers or cover them up with tape.

3. Drape the plastic, old sheets or newspapers and cover the entire floor, any furniture in the room and the window if you like.

4. Check the paste used to fill any holes. If it's dry, use the fine grain sandpaper to lightly sand those spots smooth, and then go around the room looking for any drywall bumps or paint drips and sand those smooth. It is a good idea to wear safety goggles while sanding.

5. Decide if you want a two-tone look. This can be accomplished by using the same color and painting one coat on the whole wall and then a second coat only on the bottom half of the wall, or by painting two walls with one coat and the other walls with two coats. If you are using two colors, put blue painter's tape to cut the wall in half and ensure a crisp even line is created. You can also use the painter's tape along the corners of the wall if you want each wall a different color; this keeps the colors from blending and creates a line between them.

6. Plan enough time to paint a room. This is determined by the size of the room and what method or style of painting you are doing. For example, spraying requires longer preparation time but the application is much quicker--you can paint a room in minutes. Two-toning a wall requires waiting for the first coat to dry before applying the second coat. Once the large areas of the walls are painted you will need time for the detail work around the edges. After you have painted a room and it fully dries you can remove the tape and coverings and replace the light covers. Plan on complete preparation taking about 1 hour and painting taking 2 to 3 hours.

Tips & Warnings

• If you use a wallpaper border, always paint first and then apply the border after it's completely dry.

• Use a smaller brush to do the details around the doors, in corners and around socket or light covers.

• If you plan on painting the baseboards, it is best to remove them before painting. Take a flathead screwdriver or a wood chisel and place it between the wall and the top of the board, and gently pry the nails holding the board out of the wall. Pry along the entire board and it should pop off. Remove the nails before painting and you can use the same nails or buy base board nails at a hardware store.

• If you use a sprayer, you will have to cover the ceiling, windows and closet doors with newspaper to keep the overspray off these areas.

• Wear safety goggles at all times.

• Paint fumes can be hazardous, so use a ceiling fan or floor fan to circulate air in the room while painting.

• After the room is complete, it is good to open the window and air it out.