How to paint walls yourself: what you need to know

It does not matter whether you are painting the exterior of your home or interior walls, preparation work is an essential part of painting. If you neglect it or do not do it properly, there can occur cracking or peeling. For some of you, it may look like an easy step that can be skipped, but I would not recommend you to do this. The final result depends on the quality of the prep work. With Jim Powell from devices4home.com, I am going to describe the essence of prep works and teach you how to clean walls before painting. Be ready to learn how to clean, sand and otherwise prepare the walls for painting!

How to clean walls before painting

•   Get rid of big thinks like cobwebs and dust bunnies, especially in the upper corners of the room. You can use your vacuum cleaner for this purpose. Clean all the dust as well, as it help the painter’s tape stick better. A good idea is remove furniture or move into the center of the room at this stage of prep works. 
•   Sanding. Check your wall for the imperfections and sand them.  Usually, a typical room needs only quick sanding and that is it.
•   Deep cleaning. Now it is time to clean thoroughly some dirty areas. For example, pay special attention to the grease and residue in the kitchen and bathroom, they definitely need deep cleaning with liquid cleaners. Remember that you have to wait at least 1 day between deep cleaning and painting. If you are in hurry, use a fan.
•   Loose paint. Take a putty knife and scrape all the areas of paint that are either cracking or scaling. 
•   Repair damages. Finally, look for serious damages like holes, dents, cracks and fill them with spackle.
•   Go on to painting.

It seems to me that I have mentioned all the steps necessary to prepare walls for painting. At first sight, there is nothing difficult about prep works, but many people neglect them.

After completing the preparatory stage, you can start painting the walls.

How to paint walls yourself

I consider painting to be a primitive DIY project, but still some preparation is necessary. On the other hand, if you are not careful enough, painting a wall will turn into a nightmare. In case you are dreaming of fantastic and great-looking walls, follow our tips and learn how to paint a wall yourself.

1. Prepare walls and materials. The first thing you need to do is to paper your floor and move the furniture items into the center of your room. Put a tarp and place your painting items including brushes, buckets and trays there. Then, take painter’s tape and stick it to the edges. If you are painting for the first time, it will really help you. Mix both your primer and paint using a special mixing stick. Check your wall for all the imperfections and deal with them. Apply a compound and then smooth the surface using the sandpaper.
2. Go on to priming the wall. Get your paint tray and fill it with primer. Put your paintbrush into the primer and begin painting. Line only the outer edges, paint by small areas and do not hurry up! Use a stepladder, if you cannot get to the top of the wall. Paint the whole wall with primer using a roller. Finally, let the primer dry for a day!
3. Painting itself. Pour the paint into the paint tray. The procedure is the same: first, you should paint the edges with a brush, and then, go on to painting of the wall with a roller. Now it is time for drying. Usually, it takes 1-2 days. In case your room is not ventilated enough, you need to put a fan or open a window, if the weather is fine.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? If you are creative, then you will receive a great pleasure from the process. I do enjoy this chore, which makes me feel like a painter. Moreover, I like to look at bright, renewed and refreshed room.