How to prepare walls for painting: step by step instructions, alignment features and recommendations

Very often decorative walls are decorated with water-based paint or oil paint, as well as enamels of various kinds. Before using these agents, the concrete or plastered surface should be prepared in the most careful way. After all, any small irregularities (bumps, holes) on the painted walls will be very strong.

The preparation of the surface for staining is usually carried out in several stages. First you have to remove the old cover. After this, the walls will need to be plastered or plastered. And at the final stage, a thorough cleaning of the premises is mandatory.

How to prepare the walls for painting: the first stage

Before proceeding with the finishing work, it is advisable to de-energize the electrical network in the house. If the wall surface has a lot of defects and it is supposed to be leveled, the sockets and switches should be dismantled altogether. Of course, you will also need to remove from the premises and all hanging decorative elements: panels, pictures, photos, etc. Also you will have to remove shelves and hangers, pull out dowels and nails.

How to remove wallpaper from walls

Of course, before you begin to finish the surface, you need to remove the old coating from it. First, let's see how to prepare the walls for painting after the wallpaper. The latter are usually removed using two spatulas - large and small. It is very important to choose tools with the sharpest edges. If necessary, the spatulas can be sharpened by means of emery. Also, to remove old wallpaper, you will need to prepare warm water in the basin, a roller with needles and a soft rag.

To soak up the wallpaper you need to gradually, moving from one place to another and periodically checking how well the bands have lagged behind. Starting to tear off material from the walls with a spatula is best from the seam. Dry the dried wallpaper again. In order for water to penetrate better into the adhesive, it is desirable to preliminarily pass the strips with a needle roller.

How to remove old paint

So, with how to remove old wallpaper from the surface, we sorted it out. Next, let's find out how to prepare the walls for painting correctly, if they were previously covered with enamel. Of course, this type of decoration is removed from the surface much more difficult than the wallpaper. However, it is necessary to do this. Remove from the walls of enamel or oil paint can be using different tools and tools.

The easiest way is to try to remove the old layer with a solvent. This product is suitable for removing all types of paints. In addition to the solvent itself, in this case you will also need a wide brush. Beginning to remove the enamel is best from the top of the walls. Rub the solvent into the paint in several passes. Once the enamel is softened, you should take a scraper and just clean it. The residues are usually removed using a stiff brush.

Also, an ax and warm water are often used to remove the old paint. In this case, a notch is made on the wall beforehand. The more often they are, the better. Then the surface is watered abundantly with water. After 4-5 minutes after that the plaster will get wet, and the enamel can be quite easily shaken with the same ax.

How to properly prepare the walls for painting in the event that they are uneven

Once the old decorative coating is removed, you can proceed to the next stage of surface treatment. It is in the careful alignment of the walls. This procedure can be performed in several ways:

• Plastering;

• Puttying;

• By installing sheets of GCR.

Wall plastering

The application of a cement or asbestos mortar to the surface is an excellent answer to the question of how to prepare walls for painting if they are very uneven. Corrective work is carried out in this way mainly when the old plaster layer is very poorly held on concrete (or its thickness is negligible). The work in this case is performed in this way:

• From the walls, the old plaster layer is carefully cleaned.

• On the concrete, a layer of "Concrete contact" primer is applied.

• Beacons are installed on the wall.

• Between the lighthouses stretched paint net.

• The wall is wetted with water.

• By means of the rule, a plaster layer is applied.

So, the surface is leveled with a cement or alabaster solution. Next, let's see how to prepare the plastered walls for painting. To later they looked neat, they need to be plastered. Use this is only a high-quality fine-grained agent. Very good for this purpose are suitable, for example, the compositions of the popular brand "Knauf".

Wall plastering

Plastering is an excellent answer to the question of how to prepare the walls for painting in a new building (where the concrete surface is not finished with a mortar at all). Also this method is well suited for premises in very old houses. However, in the apartments of high-rise buildings, built 15-20 years ago, the plaster layer often keeps on the walls quite tightly. In this case, of course, it should not be brought down. It's enough just to level the surface, removing all the mounds. Next, the wall needs to be passed through nazhdachkoy. Puttying of such surfaces as well as finished with new plaster is done using two spatulas as follows:

• The putty mixed according to the instructions is picked up by a narrow spatula and applied to a wide spatula;

• The composition is evenly distributed over the wall (a layer of no more than 2 mm).

When treating with putty, the wall should be periodically sanded with sandpaper No. 60-80. It is not necessary to exert considerable effort in this. Otherwise, the putty layer can be simply cleaned.

Alignment of walls with gypsum plasterboard

The use of GCR sheets is also an excellent answer to the question of how to prepare walls for painting. This method is quite expensive, but with the help of such material the surface can be made perfectly even. Most often, plasterboard for wall cladding is used in wooden houses. Sometimes this material is used for leveling concrete surfaces with a large number of defects.

GKL sheets are usually mounted on a metal profile. The latter is fastened to the wall with a step of 60 cm. The sheets of gypsum cardboard are fixed on the profile using self-tapping screws (with a gap of 25 cm). Install GCR should be staggered with a shift of about 50 cm. The joints between the sheets need to be glued with a band-serpyanka.

Often, the owners of country houses and apartments are interested in how to prepare walls from gypsum board for painting. As well as plastered, before applying a decorative layer such a surface must be plastered. It is not recommended to skip this step. When applied directly to gypsum, the paint can absorb or change color. In addition, ugly spots will necessarily appear on it. And the seams between the sheets will be clearly visible.

Priming of the surface

Once plastered, the walls should be pinched once more with fine sandpaper. Then you can proceed to priming the surface. It is best to use an acrylic product for this purpose. The walls are treated with such a primer in two layers. In this case, a roller is used as a tool. The second layer is applied to the first one after it has completely dried.

The final stage

After the walls have been carefully leveled, plastered and primed, the room must be cleaned. Dust in the rooms should not be in any case. Otherwise, it will necessarily begin to settle on the surface during its drying. And this will lead to the fact that the painted walls will look sloppy.

Features of the work in the bathroom

Above, we discussed methods of leveling a concrete or plastered surface in ordinary dry rooms: a living room, a bedroom, a study, etc. The answer to the question of how to prepare the walls in the bathroom for painting will be slightly different. The surface in this case can also be leveled with plaster or plasterboard. However, the materials should be used exclusively moisture resistant. Plaster is best to take a cement (prepared in the proportion of 1x3) or alabaster, but designed specifically for finishing walls in the bathrooms. Gypsum plasterboards for the plating of such rooms are also used special - green, moisture resistant.

Thus, we have found out how to prepare the walls for painting with water-based paint (oil or enamel). If their surface is flat enough, this procedure will not take too long. To eliminate the same significant defects, of course, you will need forces and means. But in any case, the training should be as thorough as possible. Only in this way can you ensure that the room eventually looks neat and beautiful.