the painted surface

Prep Work Overview

Patch

Now that the room is cleared and recalling the visual inspection made in the planning step, areas needing to be repaired will be obvious. There might be gaps between pieces of molding and walls, holes left from nails and hangers or maybe cracks in the walls. Now is the time to ask how to patch a hole?

• For the walls, use Spackle or drywall mud and a flexible putty knife to fill the holes and dents.
• Small gaps in corners and between moldings can be filled with latex caulk.
• Caulk only primed or painted surfaces. If the surface is bare wood or wallboard, prime first, allow to dry, then caulk.
• Large cracks in walls need to be taped and mudded using drywall repair materials.
• Holes and gouges in woodwork trim can be patched with wood filler or exterior grade Spackle. These materials are more durable than wall Spackle.
• Allow all patching to dry thoroughly. If possible, wait overnight before sanding and priming.
• See "How to Patch a Hole" or "How to Patch a Crack" for more information.

TIP !!! Holes left after removing nails or screws can have a rough edge that does not sand smooth. Before patching them, press the rounded handle end of the putty knife onto the wall with enough pressure to indent the hole slightly, making a dimple to skim over with Spackle.

Prime

Repainting usually requires spot priming or the sealing of a few areas. Primers provide the proper undercoat for the finish coats.

• Before priming, sand the patches and rough surfaces with 80- to 200-grit sandpaper, using the finer sandpaper for the woodwork. Be sure to wear a dust mask and eye protection.
• Sand glossy surfaces to provide better adhesion for the new paint.
• When the sanding is complete, vacuum the woodwork trim, tops of doors and baseboards and all places where the dust might have settled.
• Primers can have colorant added to tint them like the finish paint color.
• Patched areas on walls can be primed using drywall primer.
• Patched areas on woodwork and stains on walls should be primed with a sealing primer. A shellac-alcohol based primer is an excellent undercoat for glossy trim paints and also to prevent stains from bleeding through the new coat of paint.
• Allow the primers to dry and the room is now ready to paint!

TIP !!! Dust from sanding can easily travel throughout the house. To contain the dust to the work area do the following: 1.Temporarily turn off the central air system. 2.Close doors or hang plastic sheeting to enclose the room. 3.Exhaust the dust from the room using a window fan.

Yes, the preparation is a lot of work, but certainly worth the effort. A quality paint applied over a poor surface gives disappointing results. Beauty, satisfaction and long-lasting durability are just a few of the rewards for the time spent in planning and preparing.

These steps should make painting a simpler task. More details about specific painting subjects are covered in the additional articles. In those will be found details, tips and techniques gathered from over 20 years of painting experience. Here is a list of links to the articles: