How to Prepare to Paint a Room

Hi, I'm Mike Craft. You know Thomas Edison once said that, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Well, I like to say that painting is 99% preparation. Prepping your walls is the single most important step before painting. Follow these tips from Lowe's to ensure that your painting efforts are beautiful and long-lasting. These walls need a new look, but before we start painting we have to prep our room. And, to help us with that, is our professional painter Maureen Davis. Maureen: Hi Mike. Mike: Hi Maureen. What supplies do we need to get started? Maureen: To protect surfaces you need plastic and canvas drop cloths. Newspapers, painters tape, plastic bags, and a screwdriver for removing electrical plates. Mike: Lowe's has all the materials you'll need for your project. Now remember, when doing any home improvement project, always follow the manufacturer's directions. And if you're not sure about working with any these products, contact a professional painter. Alright Maureen, why don't you lead us through the steps? Maureen: Well our first step is to protect the surfaces that you won't want painted starting with your furniture. Now most of the furniture can be moved out of the room like we've done here. Your heavy furniture can be moved to the center of the room and you can cover it and any counter tops in the room with plastic. Don't use plastic to cover the floor because it can be very slippery and dangerous. Use your canvas drop cloths instead. Now, to protect your wood work or your edges, you want to apply painters tape. A painter's tape is usually blue or brown rather than a typical cream color. Now a word of caution on painters tape, if you leave it on too long it can damage the surface underneath. Now sometimes paint will creep underneath that tape but those spots can be easily touched up later. Use painter's tape and newspapers to help protect your baseboards from splatter. For door knobs or drawer handles, use a plastic bag with painter's tape. It's easy to remove all your electrical plates, your switch plates, and your cablejack plates. Then, cover the outlets with tape. When you're doing a painting project, always properly ventilate the room. Throw open a window and even use a fan to help circulate fresh air into your room. The next step is to remove any wallpaper. The supplies for removing wallpaper are: a scoring tool, a new spray bottle, chemical wallpaper remover, a steamer, a 5-in-1 tool, and heavy duty garbage bags. Now the cleaning supplies you need is: try sodium phosphate or TSP, sponges, buckets, and water. And don't forget the goggles and rubber gloves. Now, this process is messy and you will definitely get water on your floor. So, make sure that you have securely taped off all your baseboards and your floor is entirely covered. Using a scoring tool slice the wallpaper. This will allow the wallpaper remover to penetrate the paper more effectively. For wallpaper that's been painted over, slice and puncture as much of that paper as possible. Now there are two basic removal methods. The first method is to fill a spray bottle with chemical wallpaper remover. Following the manufacturer's instructions for mixing, do not use an old garden spray bottle because it could contain chemical residue. So spray the wall and then wait the recommended amount of time that the manufacturer says before you begin scraping of the paper with your putty knife. The second removal method is to use a steamer. Now follow the instructions carefully. The steamers generate hot water so rubber gloves and goggles are necessary. Working a small area at a time hold the steamer against the paper. Once you've softened the paper, you can remove it with a putty knife. Try not to gouge the wall, but if you do, you can repair the wall with joint compound later and we'll show you how. Another important note: Do not get wallpaper scraps on the floor or carpet. They stick to everything! So put the scraps directly into heavy duty garbage bags. The papers is off, but there still might be some adhesive on the walls and you need to remove that too. So fill a bucket with water and some trisodium phosphate or TSP, following the manufacturer's instructions. Apply the mixture to the wall. TSP will remove the glue but always wear rubber gloves when you're working with TSP. If there is any residual adhesive, use a scraper to remove the glue. You can also use TSP on painted kitchen walls and ceilings to help remove grease buildup. Then rinse the walls with hot water and let them dry thoroughly. Mike: And this is just plain freshwater? Maureen: Just plain hot water. Next repair any cracks or holes in the walls or ceilings. To patch holes, you may need safety glasses and a dust mask, your 5-in-1 tool or a putty knife, joint compound or spackling, fine grit sandpaper, a brush or vacuum with a brush attachment, buckets, and hot water. Wear safety glasses and the dust mask. Use a putty knife to remove any chips or flakes. Clean the crack with the brush or vacuum. Wash the surface with TSP. Rinse with hot water. Let the area dry thoroughly. Using a putty knife fill the crack with a lightweight joint compound. Spreading the filler past the edges of the the crack. Now, some jobs may need more than one application of filler. Once the compound is dry, sand it with fine grit sandpaper. Use drywall repair techniques for larger holes. Again, clean the patch with TSP and water. Rinse the area and let it dry before priming. Once the walls are repaired turn your attention to the molding. To prep molding the materials you may need are: Sandpaper or a sanding sponge, a vacuum with a brush attachment, wood filler, and your cleaning supplies. Now this involves more detailed work. Use fine grit sandpaper or a sanding sponge to sand small crevices. Then remove hard to reach dust with a vacuum. Using a putty knife fill in dents and rebuild chipped corners with wood filler. Use spackle on scratches or small cracks. Finish the repair the same way as repairing wall surfaces. Now that we've repair the holes, it time to prime. The priming supplies usually include primer, (and that includes latex, new construction, or special adhesion primers), paint brushes, roller frame, and roller covers, roller pans with liners, and an extension pole for ceilings, a fan for circulation, rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs, and again safety glasses, and a painter's hat. You'll apply primer the same way you apply paint. Mike: And if you want some tips on painting techniques, watch Basic Latex Painting Techniques at Lowes.com/videos. We show you how to properly cover any surface. Maureen: Now generally when priming, you're going to start with the woodwork. Use a paint brush the prime small areas, and for bare woodwork, Use latex primer designed for stain blocking and filling surfaces. On previously painted woodwork, spot prime any newly repaired areas. Mike: Alright, now what about painting walls and ceilings? Maureen: Now if you're working with new construction, you should always use Gypsum Board Primer. For clean previously painted walls, that have a flat surface sheen, you can apply paint without any primer. However if it's latex going over oil-based paint, you'll need to prime with this special adhesion primer. Mike: Now how can you tell if your walls are painted with oil or latex? Maureen: Well to test for oil-based paint, you'll wet a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol and rub it against your wall. If the paint comes off, it's latex based paint. And there are special steps to take when prepping glossy surfaces. Oftentimes trim is painted with a gloss finish, so begin by sanding the surface with fine grit sandpaper to knock the gloss off. Scuffing helps paint adhere to the surface. Make sure the services dust-free with a vacuum or brush. Then wash the surface with TSP and water. The final step is to apply primer designed specifically for glossy surfaces. Now we're ready for our first coat of paint. Mike: Great. Thanks Maureen. And if you want to learn how to apply that first coat of paint or how to choose paint colors, watch the other painting videos at Lowes.com/videos.