First prep, then paint

Want to quickly give a room a make-over? Beware! Don’t skimp on the prepping and you will finish with a flawless job. Before preparing a room for painting, protect the furniture and floor against splattering paint or accidents. Even better, remove furniture from the room altogether.

Remember to wear safety goggles and older clothes as this is a dirty job. Dust and clean the walls. For most surfaces, use a towel or a vacuum cleaner. When painting a bathroom or yucky kitchen, first wash the walls with a solution of about three teaspoons of Dulux Sugar Soap. Scrape any cracked or flaking paint with a paint scraper and smooth over imperfections on the wall with sandpaper. Use Dulux Multipurpose Crackfiller for small cracks, then sand down with sandpaper. All this prepwork is important before painting so that the paint adheres properly and evenly, plus your paint job will last longer. You might think your wall is clean, but even if it looks spotless it probably still has dust, dirt and mould that will prevent your paint from adhering properly. Clean the wall thoroughly by using a damp cloth and don’t rush into painting, as the wall must be dry for the paint to stick well.

If you fail to prime your surface before painting it, the paint will look uneven in shade. Sealing and priming your surface will help the paint absorb more evenly across the entire wall. The better the preparation, the better the durability. Damp walls, dirt, cracked surfaces and more can shorten the life of even the highest-quality paint job. Take the time to prep to make sure that your paint lasts longer.

Before starting on the actual paint job, gather these materials: primer, sandpaper, rollers, paintbrushes (one for latex paint and one for oil-based paint), paint tray, gloves, drop sheets and an extension pole for the roller. A highquality primer will help to hide any small imperfections on the walls. Use a good water-based primer on new drywall. For older walls with heavy stains from water or smoke damage, or if the wall has panelling, choose an oil-based primer.

Before painting, protect wall sconces and wall trim with masking tape. Start in the corners of the wall and up near the ceiling, “cutting in” the paint with an angle brush. With a small brush, apply the paint around trim and in the corners of walls where your larger brush can’t reach.

A great tip is to do a “W” pattern to paint walls. Start in the corner of a wall and roll on a huge “W”, then fill it in without lifting the roller. Repeat until the section is finished. This helps hide seams and any places where the roller has been lifted and put back on the wall again.

Choosing your paint colours can be tricky. The best way to choose a colour is to try it out first. You can never make a good decision by looking at the colour samples in the shop. Take them home and tape them to the wall to see if you like the way they look with various interior lighting. The samples don’t always reveal the actual paint colour when it dries. You can test a few colours of paint on a spare piece of wood and place it against the wall.

With patience and prepping, you can take delight in a job well done.

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