Painting is one of the most cost-effective ways to refresh your home. Whether you’re repainting a room or giving the outside of your house a new look, painting can have a transformative effect on any space. But before you dive into that bucket of paint, there are some steps you should take to ensure that your project goes smoothly and looks great when it’s finished. Let’s take a look at how to properly prepare your home for a fresh coat of paint.
Gather Your Supplies
Before starting any painting project, make sure you have gathered all of the supplies you need. This includes not only the paint itself, but also brushes or rollers, painter’s tape, primer, and drop cloths/plastic sheeting. For exterior projects, you may also need ladders and scaffolding if the area being painted is too high off the ground to reach safely with an extension pole on a roller. Gather everything beforehand so that you don’t find yourself in the middle of the job needing something that wasn’t on your shopping list!
Prepping The Space
Once all of your supplies are ready to go, prepping the space for painting is essential for achieving great results. This includes cleaning surfaces with soap and water and using sandpaper or steel wool to remove any flaking paint from walls or trim if needed. If you plan on repainting cabinets, it may be beneficial to use a degreaser first if there is an accumulation of grease from cooking in the kitchen area. In addition to cleaning surfaces, patching holes and cracks with spackle will help create a smoother surface for painting over once dry.
Applying Primer
If this isn’t your first time painting over previously-painted areas (freshening up existing colors), then applying primer is always recommended before adding color coats. Primer helps create an even base layer on top of which color coats can be applied smoothly without streaks showing through later on down the road as they sometimes can when skipping this step. Primer also helps seal porous surfaces like wood so that they do not absorb too much paint later on during application—an often overlooked step!
Painting your home doesn’t have to be an intimidating process; by following these few steps beforehand— gathering supplies and prepping surfaces—you can set yourself up for success in achieving beautiful results with a minimal headache when it comes time to actually put a brush or roller to the wall! Remember: only use products that are formulated specifically for interior/exterior applications if applicable; many household cleaners won’t do as good of a job at cleaning walls as products made specifically for this purpose! If you are still feeling intimidated or are on a time limit, then it’s highly recommended to contact local painters like Associated Paint, Inc. to help and offer more hands. With these tips in mind and some extra elbow grease along the way, we wish you luck in creating beautiful spaces within your home through painting!