Preparing walls for painting

Mark M

Mark M

Mark M

Soldato
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Newcastle upon Tyne
Can anyone recommend how to best prep a wall for painting? The walls are reasonable but there is the odd scrape or small gash where we have removed the wallpaper. Can these just be sanded down a bit so the paint will cover it.

There are also a couple of rooms where there has been shelves and they've used a ridiculous amount of plugs used which will need sorting too.

Thanks for any help.
 
Pull the plugs out with pliers then fill the hole with fine fill, sand it back so its smooth then paint away. easy..
 
Thanks, what is the best type of fine filler to get? And would you recommend priming before painting?
 
Sand walls first then a coat of any white paint this will show up anything that needs filling as there will be more than you think then fill with easy fill sand when dry then 2 coats of the finish paint
 
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Mark M said:
Thanks, what is the best type of fine filler to get? And would you recommend priming before painting?
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I really like polyfil 'one fill'
(http://www.wickes.co.uk/Polycell-Polyfilla-One-Fill-Lightweight-Filler-4L/p/228111) it's a bargain at wickes for a 4 litre tub.

it's very easy to use and brings a new meaning to 'easy sanding' you can be a bit rough with the application if you have to and just sand it down. I prefer to get it as neat and close to finished as possible to minimize sanding, but you can get away with leaving it quite rough.

For the money, these knives are great; there's two flexible filling knives and 2 stiff scrapers. the filler knives have a slight bow/cup which is very desirable (and kind of rare) they don't rust either. use the scraper as a hawk to store your filler and the filler knife to fill ;)

maccapacca said:
Red devil foam filler.


I can't express how awesome this stuff is.
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I'd imagine this would be similar, and I think it's about the same price for the same amount from jonstones (I really with they had prices on the shelves there!)


you need to be a bit careful with the foam fillers when they're dry though; they tend to rely on the paint that you will be putting on to soak into them and harden them properly; I took a gouge out of mine with a hoover quite easily.


as for sealing you can just brush over the patches you have filled with slightly thinned emulsion,


My walls were similar; I had to do extensive filling with ronseal 'deep fill' filler and finishing it all off with polyfill 'one fill' there' was loads of baked on wallpaper, and some loose stuff which just left behind all of the glue. most of it came off with DIF wallpaper stripper but it still left a slight impression on the walls. to make sureI had taken care of everything I sealed all of my filler and the rest of the walls with 'zinsser GARDZ' which I really liked, and it was quite cheap; it just gave me a bit more confidence that everything would be stuck, and not come through the paint.

don't forget to wipe down any left over dust from walls with a moist sponge or similar (not soaking!)


After all the prep the walls will be all different colours, it might be a waste of time if you're painting it a set colour but for the sake of it I gave all of my walls a couple coats of jonstones covaplus brilliant white; great emulsion and good value.
 
That Pollyfilla stuff is really good, i bought a 10kg tub of wickes own stuff this week and found it to be very good also and a tenner less
 
Thanks for the advice so far. What rollers and brushes should I be looking at?

Also, what grade and type of sandpaper should I use to give the walls a sand down but also the imperfections before filling?
 
Mark M said:
Thanks for the advice so far. What rollers and brushes should I be looking at?

Also, what grade and type of sandpaper should I use to give the walls a sand down but also the imperfections before filling?
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I've been using the fat hog medium pile rollers from Jonstones, and I think they're okay but haven't really used anything else to compare it to (except hamilton) they're about £2.20 each (if they're more just ask for them to be reduced as they were on offer elsewhere etc) I tend to clean mine using after use using a roller scraper to get rid of the bulk, and then rinsing / scraping afterwards; I can get 3 or 4 sessions or more out of a sleeve where I'd usually just be throwing them away after use.

I'd really advise to get a decent cage and a decent pole too. too many people try and use rollers by hand and you just can't control it like you can when it's on a pole. A pole isn't just for painting ceilings or hard to reach places - use it wherever and whenever you can! there's some great technique videos on youtube too.

as it happens I got a fat hog 'US style' roller cage, and a fat hog pole too. the cage is decent but I had to add some rivets to the pole eventually as the head was starting to work loose - in hindsight I should have got a purdy pole instead maybe?


brushes are up for debate; some people prefer to use cheaper ones almost as semi disposable brushes. I have a few of those but I also have 4 purdy brushes which are really nice [really expensive] and I go out of my way to clean them and look after them. Theyr'e so expensive that you have to look after them! If you invest in very good brushes then also invest in a brush comb to aid cleaning them :)

I tend to mostly use a 2.5" brush for cutting in and most other tasks - don't be fooled by thinking small brushes are best for cutting in!

jonstones / fat hog have brought out their own range of purdy clones recently - I don't know what they're like though but look and feel nice when I had a look last time I was in jonstones.


As for sanding - it just depends really. I think these are quite good value:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/flexovit-sanding-sponges-medium-coarse-pack-of-6/70902
http://www.screwfix.com/p/flexovit-sanding-sponges-fine-medium-pack-of-6/69248

I prefer to use that type as they're comfortable and not that destructive. they're always a bit harsh when brand new though but once they're a little bit worn in they work nicely.


sorry if I've got over the top here by the way - depends on how many other rooms you are doing after this one - personally I've invested in a lot of gear as I've got loads to do; I hadn't really considered how many rooms you are doing.
 
Polycell finishing skim is very good - especially on plasterboard that previously was directly woodchipped :O if you sand it back a lot use a mask as it can be dusty.

180 grade paper is what i use for sanding with a cork sanding block, gives a nice finish and is fast at sanding.

Build up holes in layers too
 
By the way, if they've been papered I'd be tempted to give them a wash down with some sugar soap first.
 
Thanks for the replies. I was definitely planning on sugar soaping the walls as there is quite a bit of residue left over.

I've been been reading a lot of people recommend Johnstones paints, are these significantly better than Dulux? B&Q has an offer on this weekend and the 5L tins are only £18.

Also, I have some fresh plaster to paint over and I believe I need a most coat this first. What percentage does it need to be watered down to?
 
as above, once you've sorted the small bumps I would give the walls a light sand which will only take about 30 minutes. After that give them a wash down.

Doing the above means that you won't get that horrible bumpy finish when you paint.

Re. paint. Quality paint covers better meaning you ultimately use less.
 
Thebug said:
Sand walls first then a coat of any white paint this will show up anything that needs filling as there will be more than you think then fill with easy fill sand when dry then 2 coats of the finish paint
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+1

oh and don't buy primer just get regular cheapest own brand emulsion and water it down slightly ...
 
Dis86 said:
By the way, if they've been papered I'd be tempted to give them a wash down with some sugar soap first.
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This, ensure there is no paste left i have a wall with paint peeling that i'm guessing the previous owners didn't remove all the paste!
 
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