Prepping Your Wall

• Turn the electricity off to outlets or fixtures on surfaces that you will paint on. Remove all light fixtures, switch and outlet plates, heat registers, towel rods, drapes and drapery hardware. After you have safely wrapped all disconnected light fixture wires, you can turn the electricity back on. 

• Protect the floor from drip by covering with drop cloth and place any objects you are not removing from the room in the center and cover them with a drop cloth. 

• Remove all trim pieces using a pry bar and wooden shims so as not to damage the trim or the wall. 

• Once the surfaces to be covered are repaired, the walls and room must be thoroughly cleaned, with tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) and a large sponge. Remember to use rubber gloves when working with TSP. Rinse the walls with plain water before painting. Remove all dust and debris by vacuuming and/or mopping the floors and all ledges.

• Apply a coat of primer prior to the color coat. 

• Mask off the woodwork trim, and windows with masking tape. Leave a hairline gap between glass and window frame so that you can paint a seal between the two areas. Dry paint can be removed from the glass pane with a razor. 

• Gather all your tools and equipments, ladders, buckets, materials, and so forth in the room before beginning. 

• Make sure that you repair any problems on your walls/ceilings/trims like moisture, peeling, flaking etc., before you begin your paint work. 

Repair any small holes, cracks, and other minor surface blemishes. Fill in nail holes or very small cracks with joint compound using your finger or a putty knife. Use a wood filler if you’re patching wood. Allow the patch to dry, then smooth and spot-prime it.

For a small hole larger than a nail hole, cut two lengths of a self-adhesive mesh joint tape that is wider than the hole. Center one piece over the hole and press it into the wall. Center the other piece over the hole to form an X with the first piece and press it in place. Then, using a putty knife, cover the mesh with one or more layers of joint compound. When the material is dry, sand and spot-prime the surface area.

Sanding

If you have made repairs to the surface of your walls, you will need to sand it to have a smooth surface to paint on. Sand newly patched areas, bare wood, and areas that have been scraped before beginning to paint with fine-grade sandpaper.

Sanding also helps with roughing up glossy surfaces so paint will adhere better. Use fine-grade sandpaper or, for alkyd paints, liquid deglosser. Trisodium phosphate (TSP) or a phosphate-free substitute works as a light-duty deglosser. Always wear rubber gloves when using liquid deglosser or TSP. Rinse the wall thoroughly afterward, and allow it to dry for 24 hours.

 

Repairing Your Wall For Paint

For a small 1 inch damage :

Get some fibreglass mesh tape (self-adhesive type) and tape it over the damaged area (make sure it covers a little over 2-3 inch longer than the damaged area). Spread joint compound evenly over the taped area with spatula/putty knife. Spread it evenly and remove any bubbles. Let the compound dry, and then sand it. After it has been allowed to thoroughly dry, skim another layer over it (with wider radius, feathering out the edges which will hide the small bump made from the first layer). Let the second coat dry then sand and prime it. 

To make a repair to a small drywall hole without a kit, follow these directions:

What You’ll Need

• Clean tin can lid

• Tape measure

• Keyhole saw

• Awl

• Thin wire or string

• Scissors or wire cutters

• Scrap wood

• Putty knife

• Drywall patching compound

• Sandpaper

• Primer and paint

• Paintbrushes 

Step 1: Use a keyhole saw and cut out a narrow horizontal slit in the wall on each side of the damaged area. Punch two holes in the center of the tin can lid and thread 12 inch piece of wire or string through the holes. Insert the lid through the narrow horizontal slit. 

Step 2: Pull lid towards you until it’s flat against inside of wall. Set a stick through the string/wire and twist it until the tin lid is firmly secured flat against the back of the wall board. 

Step 3: Apply premixed drywall patching compound over the patch (Don’t use spackling compound because it shrinks as it dries), or mix plaster of paris with water to make thick paste. Pack compound or plaster into hole against backing and behind stick. Keep compound inside hole, cover backing, and fill slits, but don’t spread it on wall surface. Leave patch slightly low, and don’t try to level it. Let patch dry for at least 24 hours. When dry, cut string or wire and remove stick.

Step 4: Fill it completely with more plaster of paris or drywall patching compound to make patch level with wall surface. Let dry, lightly sand area, prime, and paint.

Repairing Drywall with kits

What you’ll need :

• Keyhole saw/utility knife

• Metal mounting clips

• Needlenose pliers

• Self-adhesive fiberglass mesh tape

• Joint compound

• Spatula

• Orbital sander/sandpaper

 

Step 1: Cut out the damaged portion with a utility knife/keyhole saw and even out broken pieces around the cutout area. 

Step 2: Install four metal mounting clips onto the edge of the cutout, making sure the two spring tabs on each clip face out. 

Step 3: Cut a new drywall patch to fit the cutout and secure it with two screws driven into each of the metal clips. 

Step 4: Grab onto the metal spring tab with needlenose pliers and snap them off below the drywall surface. 

Step 5: Cover the seams around the drywall patch with strips of self-adhesive, fiberglass-mesh tape.

Step 6: Spread a coat of joint compound over the whole patch, not just the taped seams. When it’s dry, sand it smooth and repeat 2 times. Prime then paint.

Repairing Cracks

1. The first thing to do is to widen small cracks in plaster to give a key for the filler. Use the corner of a scraper or filling knife to remove any loose plaster and to open up and deepen the crack. Try to undercut the crack to provide a key for the filler. 
2. Use a dry paint brush to clean the crack of loose dust and dirt. 
3. When the filler has been mixed and ready to use, dampen (but don’t soak) the plaster in the crack by using a moistened brush. 
4. Use a filling knife to press the filler into the crack along its length so that the filler is proud of the surrounding plaster.
5. Use a wet filling knife along the line of the cracks to level off the filler. 
6. The filler used in larger cracks may shrink as it hardens, and the surface may need to be built up using repeat coatings of filler. Between each coat, lightly sand the surrounding surface and moisten the previous filler before applying the next coat of filler.