More and more people decide on painting walls rather than using good old wallpapers. So, no wonder many of them are looking for a comprehensible guide on preparing walls for painting after wallpaper removal. The process requires some time and effort, as you have to deal not only with wallpapers but also with adhesive. Besides, there may appear deformations caused by inaccurate work with a putty knife. Before applying paint to such pitted walls, you need to make them perfectly smooth. Learn how to do it below.
Scrape Off Old Wallpapers
Add 5 oz. of wallpaper stripper to 1 gal. of water. Mix it well. Fill a pump sprayer with the mixture and spray the wall. Now take a wide scraper knife and remove the wallpaper leftovers.
Clean the Wall
Rinse the sprayer and fill it with clean water. Spray the walls one more time, and then wipe the surface with a wet sponge to ensure no residue is left. Leave the walls for several days until they are completely dry.
Sand and Seal
Use a sanding block with sandpaper attached to sand the walls. Then cover them with oil-based paint to prevent the appearance of grease sports, stains, etc. Wait several days for the walls to dry. If there are any loose bits of paint, you need to sand them off. Apply the layer of oil-based paint to these spots.
Make a Smooth Surface
If there are some tiny holes on the surface, fill them with a joint compound. Apply it with a putty knife and use a regular knife to remove the extras. In case the wall contains lots of holes, it makes sense to skim coat it.
Spread joint compound evenly across the surface and roll it with a roller. Get rid of the excess with the blade of a squeegee. Reap this step for all walls. Let the compound dry and apply additional layers if needed. Once the walls are absolutely dry, you can proceed with painting.
