How to prepare your room for painting

Follow these simple steps for pre-paint preparation to make sure your decorating project runs smoothly and gives you excellent results.

Preparing your room

Precious items
Remove photos, paintings and any wall hangings, wrap them up and pop them in a safe place.
Flooring
Cover the floor in non-slip plastic, try to smooth out any creases and secure it with sticky tape to avoid paint drips or scratches damaging your floor.

Top tip:

If you’ve got skirting, a great way to keep plastic floor-covering tidy is by gently tucking it under the skirting using a wall scraper.

Furniture
Move large pieces of furniture to the center of your space and cover in plastic. This will make it easier to access the walls when painting. Try to remove small items of furniture from the room entirely to give you as much space to move as possible.
Fixtures
Tape around door handles, light switches and window and doorframes to prevent getting paint in places you don’t want it be!

Preparing the walls

Wiping the walls ahead of painting

5. Walls that are fit for purpose
Ensure high moisture areas like bathrooms, kitchens and wet rooms are fully sealed and waterproof before you start to decorate.

6. Mold-free
Remove any visible mold with mold spray and sponge. If the mold is damp and seems like it has occurred recently, resolve the problem before making any decorating plans to
avoid new mold appearing on your freshly painted walls.

7. Previous coats and layers
If your walls have a sheen finish and you are applying matt emulsion, they will need a light sand before any paint goes on. If your walls have wallpaper on them, depending on the condition of the paper, you can either remove it or paint over it.

8. First clean
After removing any old paint or wallpaper from the walls, wash the surfaces to be painted with dishwashing liquid diluted in warm water and wait for the walls to dry.

9. Repair

Tools needed to repair a wall before painting

What you’ll need:

Paint:

Primer

Essentials:

Brush
Filler
Flat wall scrapers
Mixing board
Roller
Paint tray
Sand paper
Sponge
Triangular shave hook
Hawk and trowel

Make sure you’re happy with the surface of the wall before you apply any paint. It should be smooth with no bumps, dips, rough patches or air holes in the plaster. If there are any minor holes and cracks, fill with filler and sand to ensure a perfectly smooth surface.

10. Final clean

Remove any remaining dust, dirt or cobwebs using a broom or dry cloth and then wipe them down with a damp mop or cloth.

Top tip:

If you’re preparing a kitchen wall for painting and come across any greasy stains, use wall cleaner to remove them.

11. Prime

Give your walls a coat or two of primer to make sure your topcoats go on properly and look their best.

Now that you’ve done all the preparation, you’re well on your way to beautiful walls. Time for a splash of color!

Not sure which shade is right for you? It’s easy to find your favorites with the free Visualizer app