A well-organised preparation of the surface for paint is the key to a successfully painted surface. When you have cracks and holes on the surface just keep in mind that paint shouldn’t be used as a means to fill these holes and cracks.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to prepare any surface in interior and exterior painting.

Step 1 in Preparation of Surface for Paint

Protect all the unpainted surface and furniture. These can be done by moving the furniture out of the room but in case you don’t have enough space you can move them in the middle of the room. Have them covered with a drop sheet.

Have extra drop sheets and have them laid down to protect your floor, preferably use an old bed sheet as the will absorbed and soak in paint. Use a quality masking tape to mask skirting boards, trims and electrical switches.

Step 2; Interior Preparation of Surface for Paint

In Interior surfaces preparation, dust will accumulate on the walls and this may be a problem when you want to paint. The surface can be washed with a detergent to remove the dirt. You can also use trisodium phosphate for grease on walls with a heavy presence of smoke.

The surface that has loose paint and rough ridges with broken paint can be removed by using a scrapper or spackle blade. Create a ‘V’ shape on the cracks to increase the area for patching materials to have proper adhesion.

Introduce sparkle to holes, cracks and heavy paint ridges, remember it’s advised to use two thin patches because they are better than one thick coat.

Sand the glossy surface to increase the adhesion of the subsequent coat.

Finally, surface preparation should be free of loose and cracked paint, oil, dirt, grease, and chemical residue. It should be clean before the application of the primer.

A primer has the following purposes in surface preparation.

• It seals the substrate
• It binds the finish coat to the surface being painted

Every surface has it’s own special primer.

Step 3; Exterior Preparation of Surface for Paint

Exterior surface preparation requires a thorough check-up of roof leakages, gutters and plumbing.

Check for moisture that might be getting into the substrate. The use of vents and dehumidifier is highly recommended, these will help in getting rid of moisture for a good quality paint job.

Wash the exterior surface to remove dirt, mildew and also excessive chalking. Chalking is a powder that forms on the surface of paint, these happen when the paint is destroyed by mildew or sunlight.

On stucco, loose paints should be fully scraped followed by the repair of cracks and holes.

There’s a lot of chemical reaction on newly painted stucco, therefore always ensure a good exterior primer should be given enough time to dry.

Conclusion

Good surface preparation is essential for a long-lasting paint. If any step is skipped during the preparation, even if you use the most expensive paint and the finest brush with top-quality painting techniques all that will not compensate for the skipped step. Always avoid improperly done procedures for a successful painting job.