Painting the interior of your house is a sure-fire way to update the design and quickly turn it from boring to stylish. If you have already decided to paint your home with a fresh coat, you might have been wondering with several queries.

How to prep for interior painting?

Do I really need to wash walls before painting? Or

Can I just paint over old paint?

As a house owner, all your worries are justified because a paint’s longevity and flawless outcome depend quite a lot on proper preparation before the painting process. However, we have this guide for you to help you out in your interior painting journey.

Where should you start from?

The first step of painting preparation for your property in Sydney will be selecting the right house painter. Get a quote from multiple companies and, after comparing, choose the one that offers expert residential painting in Sydney. How will you identify that? Here it is-

  • Find out the years of experience and make sure the company has survived the industry for at least 20 to 30years
  • Make sure the painters are licensed and the company focuses on local guidelines and insurance policies
  • Check the proof of the previous result, and check the painting company’s portfolio on their website
  • Ensure clear and open communication regarding pricing, timeframe and your project requirements

So, you are thinking that once you select the right house painters, they will turn up with their kit, ready to start. That’s all, right?

Wrong.

There is plenty to do from your side.

How to prepare a room by yourself for interior painting?

Let’s look at the essential steps for interior paint preparation you can do by yourself to create a clean canvas for the interior paint job-

1. Get Rid of All the Removable Items

First, safeguard any fragile or breakable objects. Remove anything that could break from the areas that need painting. If your walls are still covered in mirrors, pictures, and other decorative elements, the painters won’t finish the job. This also applies to any free-standing decorative items or ornaments you may have around the space. Remove the curtains that hang over the windows and rugs, if you have any.

If possible, also move the small furniture items to a safe place away from the painting project. Take down your valuables and make sure they are stored safely, rather than fumbling around trying to finish the job after the painters arrive.

2. Cover the Immovable Elements

There are various things in a room that you can’t move to another place, like carpets, wall cabinets, and fixed or very heavy pieces of furniture. To save these from paint splatter and splash marks, you need to cover them properly. You can use a fabric tie to keep the carpet in place while you roll up your rugs and then cover it with a secured wrap.

Valuables can be protected while the painting crew works by covering them with plastic or a tarp. Cover fixed furniture pieces firmly with plastic covers, making sure to cover the corners. Accidents happen, but it is possible to prevent them if you carefully cover every element.

3. Clean the Full Area

It’s a great idea to thoroughly clean the room before applying fresh paint. The last thing you want is for your once-perfect new paint job to have dust and dirt from the room stir up and land on its surface before it has had a chance to dry.

You should thoroughly clean the space the day before the painting is scheduled to take place. Vacuum the floor, ceiling, and walls. Any furniture that will be staying in the space while painting should be vacuumed and polished. Try to keep people out of the room after you’ve cleaned it.

How should your house painters prepare a space for painting?

We have so far discussed your duties, but these are the things you must ensure your trusted painters in Sydney are ensuring before starting to apply interior paint-

a. Surface Cleaning

For a smooth and blank base, make sure your painters first clean the walls thoroughly. They must get rid of any stubborn marks with the help of soap. If your walls have a sign of mould or mildew, the painters will clean it with a solution used as a remover or ask you to hire a professional to find and fix any underlying condition.

b. Required Treatment

Different walls might have different conditions, so hire an expert who is an expert and has knowledge about all. For most of the repainting projects, scraping is the common method to get rid of old paint. Many painters might use chemical paint removers to speed up the task. Slightly flaky surfaces are also handled with a process called sanding.

c. Priming

Once the walls are free from any layer of dirt, marks and hidden issues, it’s time to make it a smooth base for the paint application. So, priming in this case is an important step of surface preparation. Make sure your house painters are using quality primer that can grip the paint well and give a flawless and long-lasting interior paint result.

Extra precautions for different kinds of walls

During interior painting, proper planning is the key, and for specific surfaces, the preparation may vary slightly-

  • Bare Wood

Wooden walls need some extra steps like filling the nail holes, joints and cracks with patching paste. Also, ensure the painters sand smooth and remove sanding dust before painting.

  • Glossy Surfaces

Shiny, glossy surfaces won’t hold paint, so you’ll need to sand them down to get rid of the gloss before painting. Painters can use sandpaper with fine grit, such as #180 or #220, or chemical deglosser to do the job.

  • New Plaster

Before preparing the surface, the plaster needs to be clean and fully cured. Request that your painters apply a solution of one pint of household vinegar to one gallon of water to textured, soft, porous, or powdery plaster.

Final Words

Painting the interiors is a critical task that requires a skilled hand with practical experience of handling all types of surfaces. While some might suggest doing it yourself, never take the risk if you don’t have hands-on experience, because one wrong move can result in a patchy finish.

So, if you want your interior painting to be smooth and want a hassle-free experience, call Priority One Coatings and find expert house painters in Sydney.