By Carl Friedman
Have you ever painted a room in your house and wondered why it doesn't look as good as it does when a professional does the job? There is one major reason for this and it may surprise you when I tell you what it is.
Most people think it is because they can't put the paint on well or because they can't paint (cut) a straight line. Those are factors. But even if you are able to do those things well (and as a painter I have seen many people do a fine job of getting paint on the wall) it still doesn't look as good as it should.
The main reason a professional job looks better (or I should say,"should look better") is because of wall prep.
Wall prep (preparation) makes the job. Sometimes it's simple and easy and other times not. It all depends on the condition of the walls.
Can you as a homeowner do good wall prep? Absolutely, and I'm going to tell you how.
- Remove all nails, hooks, etc., from the walls to be painted.
- Take a sanding block and using a 60-80 grit sandpaper lightly sand the walls.
- Next, go over each wall and look for protrusions such as old drywall compound that was applied improperly in the first place. Look for what are called 'nail pops'. These are nails in the drywall that have pushed up. Set these with a hammer so that you are left with a depression that mirrors the surface of the hammer.
- Take a flood light and place it on the floor next to the wall and shine it along the wall towards the ceiling. This will cast shadows from any imperfections on the wall. If protrusions pound them in as detailed in the previous step. If depressions mark each one with a small piece of tape. (Do not use a marker or pen or pencil as these may show through the finish paint.)
- After you have done this to all the walls you then fill in the depressions (which you have marked with tape so you can find them all again) with dry wall compound or ready mixed spackling products which you can get at your local paint or hardware store.
- After these dry lightly sand them and apply a finish coat of spackle.
- Again, once dry, lightly sand with 120-200 grit sandpaper.
- Prime each of the repairs. It is best to use a primer paint for this. If you do not prime each repair the surface of the repair will absorb paint differently than the previously painted wall and cause them to show up after you paint the wall.
If you follow these simple tips you will be amazed at how much better your paint job looks. This is also why a professional painter gets paid as much as he does to paint your room. Anybody can paint. Not anybody can paint well. Hope this helps. Happy Painting
