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Saturday, October 18, 2014

Proper Prep Prior to Repainting Walls

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By Jim Hingst

Properly prepping a wall before repainting prevents problems in the future. Here's how to do the job correctly:


 In some cases, your customer will need to repaint walls before wrapping them with vinyl graphics.  Prior to the actual painting, the walls must be properly prepped. This is usually the most time-consuming  and tedious part of the job.  It is also a very important and frequently neglected part of doing the job correctly.  In prepping the walls, here are the steps that you will need to follow:

1.  You will make your job much easier if you clear out the area that you are painting. That’s sometimes easier said than done in a commercial environment.  At the very least, as best as you can, move any obstructions away from the work area and cover them up with plastic sheeting.  Then, remove any electrical outlet and switch covers.

2.  Thoroughly clean the room, wiping down any wood work with a clean damp rag. Then cover the floors with plastic sheeting securing it to the baseboards with 3M blue painter’s tape. On tile, wood or laminate floors  or you can protect these surfaces with an application tape,

3. All walls need to be washed prior to priming and painting. Using a mixture of warm water and a little Joy dishwashing liquid, wash the walls with a sponge.  Next wipe the walls down with clean water to rinse off any soapy residue. Allow the walls to dry for at least a day before patching, priming and painting.

If the walls are greasy, you will need to wash them down with Trisodium Phosphate or TSP. (TSP is a very caustic cleaner. Before using carefully read the directions and the safety precautions and wear safety glasses and rubber gloves.)

Typically, about ¼ cup of TSP is mixed into a gallon of very warm water. Using a sponge, apply the cleaner to the wall surface. Drench a sponge in clean water, wringing it out until it is just damp. Wipe the dirt and grime from the wall. Finish the job, rinsing with a wet sponge.

4. Prior to painting patch any holes or cracks. After the drywall mud  is thoroughly dry, sand the patched areas and   wipe those areas with a lint-free rag, dampened with 50% Isopropyl Alcohol and 50% water.

5. In most cases, you will not need to prime walls painted with latex paint. Here are a few exceptions:

  • Walls painted with a glossy paint,
  • Walls painted with an oil based paint.

You will also need to paint any areas that have been patched with primer paint.


6. Tape any windows,  woodwork and ceilings using 3M blue painter’s tape. Prior to starting the painting, check to see that the paint is secure to prevent  the bleeding of paint on any areas that should not have any paint on it. In taping off large items, I use RTape premium grade high tack application tape. It does a great job of protecting the masked areas and removes cleanly. 

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About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 325 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.

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