Interior Painting Remodels and Redos

This week we completed the interior  painting of an 80 year-old home.  The home had previously been a rental.   The interior had not been painted for at least 15 years.   The walls were lath and plaster, not wall board.    This is how we proceeded to repaint the interior. 

• The bathroom walls were papered.   The wallpaper was removed with a wallpaper remover solution mixed in hot water.  Be sure to check with your quality paint store about the best wall paper remover.  Read the instructions carefully   The solution was applied with a spray bottle and left for several hours.   As we removed the wall paper, portions of the plaster crumbled.

• We repaired the plaster with three skim coats of quick dry mud. We allowed each coat to dry.  Between every coat we lightly sanded the walls.   A primer- sealer was applied.
•  The kitchen ceiling was treated with a stain killer because of the smoke and grease.    The ceilings were sprayed and rolled.  
• All interior walls, wood work and doors were prepared by lightly sanding.   This  sanding takes of any dirt or grease.   Any necessary repairs(holes or dings) were repaired and primed.
• Two  finish-coats of paint were applied to walls and doors. The walls were sprayed and rolled. This project was a three-tone paint job.
• Kitchen cabinets were painted wood.  The fronts were sanded smooth and painted.   The knobs and handles were replaced with new hardware .  

The vinyl and carpet were replaced so we were able to spray and roll the interior walls.    If the flooring had not been replaced the painting would have been hand rolled. 

Seely Painting, Inc. 

Interior Painting--Spraying & Back Rolling

We have been working with another painter on a professional building.  Yesterday we did the touch ups on his work.   Sadly, the touch up spots flashed; i.e., the areas we touched up went shiny and flat.  The other painter did not back roll the painting surface after he sprayed the paint on the surface.   We will have to repaint the walls where we touched up.  

Here is  professional painting secret to use when painting a new surface.

Priming

• Back roll a new drywall surface.  This means that after you spray the drywall surface with primer that you hand roll the surface with a roller.   Doing this assures  the primer will saturate the drywall surface. 
• Sprayed primer will only coat the surface. It won't saturate the drywall surface.

• If doing the painting yourself, spray the primer on a small section, then back roll it with the roller.   This does take more time, but the end results are worth the effort.

Finish Coat 

•  Follow the same procedure with the finish coat.  
• Spray a section then back roll with a hand roller.   Doing this will make sure the paint saturates the surface and doesn't just sit on the surface.
• The process will go more quickly of there are two individual doing the painting.  One individual sprays the paint, while the second individual comes behind and rolls the paint.   

Spraying the paint on extra heavy does not do the same thing.   In fact, spraying surface extra heavy will cause runs and extra work. Extra time will be spent going back to catch or repaint where the runs occurred.
Take a little extra time to spray and back roll so your efforts look professional. 


Touch Up Paint

• Keep the extra paint in a tightly sealed can and clearly labeled. 

When there are nicks or damages to your painting surface, you can touch them up with a brush or roller.  The touch ups won't show.    You might be interested in a  home where the primer and finished coats were sprayed and back rolled by hand.  

Seely Painting, Inc. 

Adequate Ventilation When Painting

This is a followup on some cautions for painting a basement.   

• Make sure you have adequate ventilation when using a sealing varnish or lacquer for wood trim, handrails, etc.   Make sure you open doors and windows if possible,  use fans to keep the air circulating.   
• Wear a mask or respirator  
• If you feel woozy, light headed, or sick,   get outside where you can get fresh air. 

Breathing the fumes is very dangerous.   They can cause permanent health damages.   

• Adequate ventilation is necessary when using any type of painting material.

Latex and acrylic based paints have very little odor.   Make sure that you always have ventilation when you paint a basements or enclosed areas.

Seely Painting, Inc.