Preparing walls for painting is one of the most important steps of a painting project to ensure the best possible finish.  

How To Prepare Walls For Painting

Knowing how to prepare walls for painting will help to prevent things like blistering, cracking and peeling. The right paint prep will help you to achieve a professional-looking paint job. The first part of preparing a room for painting, especially when preparing old walls for painting is to clean all the surfaces and remove any mildew. How to clean walls before painting and remove mildew:

• Mix detergent with warm water and apply the mixture with a sponge to the clean surface, followed by a thorough rinsing to get rid of detergent residue. The paint will naturally cling better to a cleaner surface
• To get rid of mildew, mix 3 parts water to one part bleach and apply to the affected area. Leave the mixture on the surface for 20 minutes and reapply as it dries, then rinse thoroughly with water. Follow up with a mild detergent and water rinse. 

Some of the other aspects of how to prep a room for painting include: 

• Preparing a glossy surface by dulling the painted area 
• Preparing old walls for painting such as wooden walls by getting rid of any imperfections like cracks, holes and rough surfaces 
• Wall preparation before painting also includes preparing unpainted surfaces by sanding down surfaces, ensuring they are thoroughly dry (if there is new plaster) and using a primer when necessary
• Paint prep also includes preparing previously painted surfaces with techniques like scraping, bristle brushing, filling, sanding and using chemical paint removers
• Preparing wallpapered areas by removing wallpaper if possible or re-glue any loose wallpaper and follow the steps on our painting tips & techniques page 

Once you’ve chosen the perfect paint colour it’s time to prepare the walls. These steps are the easiest way to learn how to prep for painting. Before you start, you’ll need:

• A clean bucket,
• Haymes Unikleen
• A sponge and disposable gloves,
• A hand sander and scrapers
• Roll of painters masking tape
• Haymes Uni-Fill
• Haymes Gap Filler  
• Haymes Ultra Premium Prepcoat Ultracover®

Preparing Interior Walls For Painting

For information on preparing interior walls for painting, our YouTube channel has some useful tips on common problems that may help you with wall preparation before painting. 

How To Prepare Interior Walls For Painting

Step 1: Using your scraper, scrape away any loose or flaky paint

Step 2: Dispense Haymes Unikleen in the bucket and using a clean sponge, wipe down the walls before wiping off with fresh, clean water.

Step 3: Once the wall is dry, check for any surface imperfections. With a flexible filling blade, fill and patch these with Haymes Uni-Fill.

Step 4: After this has dried, sand the wall back to a smooth surface.

Step 5: Check the cornices and skirting boards for cracks. If required, fill with Haymes Gap Filler

Step 6: Apply painter’s masking tape around areas you don’t wish to paint, including power points, skirting boards and doorframes.

Step 7: Next apply Haymes Ultra Premium Prepcoat Ultracover® to any patches you’ve sealed and sanded.

How To Prepare Exterior Walls For Painting

Our YouTube channel will also give you some useful information on how to prepare exterior walls for painting. 

Talk To The Experts About How To Prepare Walls For Painting

Head to your local Haymes Paint store to speak with the team about paint prep and the best ways to prepare interior walls for painting and how to prepare exterior walls for painting.