How to Prep a Room for Painting

Decorating your home yourself can be a fun, creative way to save money and still get great results - if you know what you’re doing. If you’ve never painted a room before, you might not be aware that proper preparation can make all the difference. Don’t worry, though - keep reading to learn exactly what you need to do to prepare for your next paint job.

First off, you’ll need to prepare the space you’re going to be working in. Here’s what that entails.

Remove all ornaments and furniture from the room

Clearing the room of anything you don’t want to get paint on is the first step in any painting project, but it can be easy to overlook things. Check and double check your room to make sure you haven’t left anything behind. As well as protecting your things from stray splashes of paint, this also means you’ve got fewer trip hazards to worry about as you work. 

Top tip! Always get someone to help you when lifting heavy furniture to avoid injury. And if it’s too heavy to move, don’t worry.

Cover floor and remaining furniture

Anything you can’t get out of the room will need to be covered with painting cloths to keep it protected. Large items like sofas that can be moved but can’t easily be taken from the room should be moved into the centre so they’re away from the walls - this will make it easier for you to paint behind where they would usually be.

When laying your cloths, don’t be afraid to use more than you think is necessary. It’s better to be safe than sorry - and paint can be hard to remove from where it’s not wanted.

Clean the walls

If your walls don’t need any special preparation, you can go right ahead and start cleaning them. Use a mix of trisodium phosphate and water to remove any dark marks, stains, mould or mildew from the walls. Try not to get your walls too wet - use a damp sponge for the best results. Left to remain, these marks could show through new paint jobs and prevent you from getting an even finish.

Top tip! If you haven’t done so already, you can now loosen any sockets or light switches so they aren’t tight to the wall. When you paint, you’ll want to go behind these instead of around them to get a professional look.

If your walls were painted before now, you likely won’t need to do any special preparations - just clean them and start painting once the walls are dry. However, if your walls were wallpapered, you’ll need to get that off before you start painting. 

Remove wallpaper

Removing wallpaper can be time consuming, especially if you’ve got a large room to strip. Use a wallpaper steamer to speed up the process. Not all wallpaper paste is made the same - some may come off easily and other types might need a bit more elbow grease. Make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to strip your wallpaper, as you don’t want any scraps left behind.

Sand walls down

Once all your wallpaper has been removed, you’ll likely need to sand down your walls with a drywall sander. This is because wallpaper paste that’s gone hard can make raised areas - and you might have created divots in the removal process. Before you can start painting, you need a flat, smooth surface. 

Replaster if needed

If this sounds daunting, don’t worry. You don’t have to replaster the whole wall - just fill in any dents or scratches so your surface is even. You may need to sand over the replastered areas once they’re dry. 

If you’ve plastered your walls yourself, or if you’re painting onto walls that have been plastered by a professional, there are certain things you need to do to ensure the best finish for your paint job.

Leave the plaster to dry

It’s important to let your walls dry completely before you start to paint, otherwise you won’t get a professional finish. Lots of things can affect how quickly plaster dries, such as the weather and how thick the plaster is. However, a general guideline is that you should leave your plaster for around four weeks to be sure it’s completely dry.

Top tip! Once your walls are dry, use painter’s tape to cover the edges of any skirting boards, picture or dado rails, and window or door frames. This will help to prevent any paint going where it shouldn’t. 

Mix your mist coat paint

Once your plaster is dry, you can begin the painting process. First, you’ll need to prime the walls - because painting onto plaster that’s completely dry isn’t ideal either! Uneven brush strokes can affect the overall look of your paint job, so it’s best to mix up a mist coat to use as a primer. 

Fortunately, mist coat paint is easy to make yourself. Just mix three parts emulsion to one part water and you’re good to go. Alternatively, you could buy a premixed primer.

Apply your mist coat paint

Use a paint sprayer to apply your mist coat as evenly as you can to the walls. This will soak into the plaster and help your top coat to stick when you apply it. Because it’s mixed with water, mist coat paint is runnier than normal paint, so have a roller on hand to paint out any drips before they dry. 

Apply a top coat

Once your mist coat has dried, you can finally start the main event - painting your top coat. Whether it’s a trendy neutral or a vibrant splash of colour, you can rest assured that you’ve done all the prep work necessary to get a great finish.