The Importance of Prep Work in Painting Projects
Why Every Painter Should Know How to Properly Prepare a Surface for Painting
If you’ve ever seen a house or room painted by a true specialist, then you know how big difference there is between professional painting and an amateur work. You may wonder what the secret is. Well, it’s a combination of a number of factors such as skills, knowledge, experience, and devotion to provide quality and reliable services. But one of the most important factors is prep work. In most cases, the success of the project depends on how good the surfaces are prepared.
Prep work is the process in which a painter
prepares a surface for painting. This process involves a lot of steps and requires great attention to details. Making a mistake now may compromise the quality of the entire paint job. Additionally, prep work is a very labor intensive process. Due to this particular reason, many homeowners and even novice painters fail to do the job right. Here are some steps you need to follow when preparing a surface for painting.
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Clearing. First, you need to remove all elements that are attached to the surface and don’t require painting. For instance, if you’re planning to paint a room, then you need to remove all furniture, lighting fixtures, switches and outlets from the wall. The things that you can’t remove should be covered with painter
‘s tape.
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Dusting. Dust settles on pretty much everything, including walls and ceilings. In order to prepare these surfaces for painting, you first need to remove all dust, dirt, and debris. For cleaning exterior surfaces, you can use a power washer. Interior walls, on the other hand, require a more gentle approach. Use a mixture of warm water and dish soap to wipe down your walls and ceiling.
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Repairing. Once you’ve cleaned your surfaces, it’s time to repair any damage they may have. Keep in mind that paint does not cover major surface problems such as dents, cracks, holes, or fissures.