Glenda Feeken - Come Live and Play on the Kenai

Tools:

• Putty knife
• Ladder
• Screwdriver
• Sponges
• Claw hammer
• Nail set

Supplies:

• Sandpaper (#220 grit)
• Painters Tape
• Disposable painting tarps
• Spackle (if needed for filling holes)
• Bleach or mildew remover (for removing mildew if present)
• Trisodium Phospate (for heavily soiled walls)
• Disposable Gloves
• Household cleaner
• Paint

Step 1: MOVE IT!

The first step is to move all of the furniture away from the walls and protect the floor. This will not only protect your furniture, but make it a lot easier to get at the walls and corners without having to crawl over your love seat. With heavy pieces of furniture, consider just moving them to the middle of the room and covering them with a drop cloth. In any case, it'll go a lot easier if you enlist some neighborly help. You'll save time and wear and tear on your back!

Once the furniture's out of the way, be sure to lay a drop cloth down on your floor and tape it to the edge of the wall to prevent any shifting while you work. We recommend that you use blue painter's tape so that it will come up easy and is less likely to leave a residue behind.

Tip:Disposable plastic dropcloths are cheaper than cloth, but they're also less durable and can definitely be slippery to walk on. You might consider taping plastic dropcloths to the floor and then using a cloth drop cloth on top for extra protection and safety.

Step 2: CLEAN IT!

Take a close look at every surface you'll be painting. Paint simply can't stick to dirty surfaces, so you'll need to spot clean at the very least. Remove finger marks, stains, rub marks - anything that could show through. Common household cleaner will remove most stains; be sure to rinse thoroughly by repeatedly wiping with a clean sponge.

If your room is really dirty (say a kitchen with a greasy film built up on the walls, or one that hasn't been painted in many years) or you're painting over a high gloss existing paint, you'll need to do a thorough cleaning from top to bottom. To do this the way pros do, use a product called Trisodium Phosphate or, more commonly, TSP. It's a heavy duty degreaser/cleaner and de-glosser whose biggest function is to help your paint to adhere better. You just need to make a batch of warm water and TSP (check the box for the ratio of TSP to water) and wipe down your walls with a sponge. Two things that are important to remember when working with TSP is to wear gloves, and be sure to thoroughly wash it off with another clean, damp sponge. If you don't, TSP could actually prevent the paint from bonding, so be thorough! As you wipe down the walls, be careful not to let water drip onto your flooring or carpet.

Tip:Remember, if you are painting over semi-gloss or high gloss paint, this is a very important step. It not only allows the next coat of paint to adhere better to the previous one, it also helps to prevent the new coat from peeling.

Step 3: FILL IT!

Fill in those cracks and holes! This is the fun part, because it's also the easiest. Get some light weight spackle and a putty knife and just like you're putting a smear of cream cheese on your bagel, fill the hole with the spackle and scrape away any excess. Spackle can be used on most small holes and cracks. If you have any nails sticking out of the wall, you can either pull them out with the claw (back end) of a hammer, or countersink (meaning hammer it in with a tool called a nail set) them below the wall's surface leaving behind a small hole that you simple spackle and you're good to go!

Tip:If you need to purchase spackle for this project, keep your eyes open for DryDex spackling made by DAP. It makes knowing when it's dry easy because it changes from light pink to white so you'll know when it's ready to be sanded.

Step 4: SAND IT!

Let the spackle dry and then go over it with either 220-grit (fancy way of saying fine) sandpaper or the scrubbing part of a dry dish sponge to smooth out any imperfections. But be careful of any scrub sponges with dark color - if there is any dampness, the color can rub off on your walls! Once you've sanded it, simply wipe down the area with a damp sponge and you're done.

Step 5: REMOVE IT!

This is the perfect time to deal with any mildew spots. Now if there's a word to characterize mildew (other than gross) it's stubborn. Yes it's tough to remove, but beware that if you have mildew and you skip this step, it will show through the next coat of paint. It might not be immediate, but just your luck, you'll notice it right before your next big dinner party. So, wipe down any mildew area liberally with a 3-to-1 solution of warm water to bleach. Now, as we all know, bleach and skin don't mix very well, so make sure you have on a pair of gloves during this part and protective eyewear if possible. You can also use a commercial mildew remover, like X14. Again, just be sure to rinse thoroughly.

Step 6: RINSE IT!

Once you've TSP'd, spackled, sanded and removed any mildew stains, be sure to do one last wipe down of the entire wall with warm water to guarantee you don't trap any dust, dirt or cobwebs that will incorporate themselves into the paint. After all, these are the kind of wall decor touches you just don't need. Once you've finished, make sure to let the wall dry for at least eight hours if you can.

Step 7: PRIME IT!

Now you're ready to apply a primer. A primer acts as both a coverall' and as a way to insure that your paint job will last for years to come. Primers help to cover problem areas such as mildew stains, spackle repair and the like and they help your paint adhere to the wall surface. To begin, any areas that needed to be spackled or repaired in some manner can be spot primed with a stain-blocking latex primer. Though whatever primer you decide to use, be sure to use it on the entire wall to insure proper consistency.

Once your primer is dry, you're ready to go. The hard part now is deciding on your paint color!

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(By Be Jane)