Brush up your prep skills

From the Resene decorating blog

Preparation. It’s the key word that crops up when you ask any Resene expert on how to get the best possible result from your decorating and renovating projects, inside or out.

Preparing walls and surfaces

How you prepare walls or other surfaces for repairing will depend on the condition of the existing paint and the wall itself.

In this entryway the main wall and the floor are painted in Resene White Linen. Wall section in Resene Oilskin, bench seat in Resene Tide, basket planter in Resene Thorndon Cream and hooks in Resene Tide and Resene Americano. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Melanie Jenkins.

That is particularly true when it comes to working with older surfaces in need of restoration, repair or replacement.

Resene Paint Expert Jay Sharples has some useful tips and tricks for managing or removing older surfaces, as well as removing messy spills.

Paint

If you’re working with painted surfaces in older houses from pre-1970 or have reason to believe lead paint may have been used in your home, make sure you test your paint for lead before you start painting. You can also buy lead testing kits from Resene ColorShops.

If lead is present you need to take extra precautions when removing the old paint, including containing and disposing of all the removed paint debris. It may require handling by a professional. Contact your local council before you start for advice on how to get rid of the waste safely and in accordance with local requirements.

Keep children and pets away from the work area and if you’re removing the paint from inside the house, remove any curtains, furniture from the room and carefully cover carpets. Always wear a mask and after sanding, wet wipe surfaces to remove any dust then use a commercial vacuum cleaner fitted with a suitable dust filter.

If you are removing the lead paint from an outside area, make sure all doors and windows are tightly closed and collect all the paint debris in a large groundsheet. If you’re working at height, tie the groundsheet underneath your scaffold to catch the debris. Clean the area around the groundsheet with a vacuum cleaner to collect any other paint debris and wet wipe surfaces after sanding.

Remember to also wash yourself and your clothes thoroughly after handling lead-based paint.

If your lead-based painted surface is stable you can paint over it, but all coatings have a finite life so at some stage the lead paint will need to be removed. Generally, you find out you have lead based coatings as the current system is failing and needs removing. Taking a gamble and trying to ‘spot prime’ and repaint will likely backfire.

A calming green dining area

When repainting walls in good condition, only a minimal amount of cleaning and preparation is required before topcoating. These walls are painted in Resene Rivergum, with skirting stained in Resene Colorwood Charred Black and floor in Resene Colorwood Shade. Table in Resene Tuscany, chairs and coral in Resene Alpaca, sideboard in Resene Pandemonium, table vase in Resene Cest La Vie and bowl in Resene Pearl Bush. Sideboard vases in Resene Eighth Black White and Resene Soiree and planter in Resene Pipi. Art stylist’s own. Project by Annick Larkin, image by Bryce Carleton.

If the areas of paint are bubbling, flaking, or peeling and you find out you have lead coatings, it’s generally best to get a professional to strip the whole area and start with a new paint system, rather than painting over the existing coating.

If you are painting over paint that you are confident is not lead-based and is in good condition, clean it first before you paint. Outside use Resene Paint Prep and Housewash and Resene Moss & Mould Killer. Inside, use a clean cloth and wipe the wall down using Resene Interior Paintwork Cleaner.

Fill any gaps with PAL Zero Gaps, and any holes or voids with Resene EzyFill Quick or Resene EzyFill G.P, then lightly sand and wipe down. Also check the walls for any signs of mould or mildew and if they’re present treat the surface with Resene Moss and Mould Killer and allow 48 hours before removing mould and painting.

Stain

When it comes to working with previously stained timber, it’s important to know that some products aren’t compatible with other products. Mineral oil stains, for example, can only be overcoated with another mineral oil.

A neutral outdoor area

Take note of what products you use when working with wood stains so you know what will be compatible if you want to re-stain them later. This deck is stained with Resene Woodsman Tiri. Weatherboards in Resene Spanish White, side tabletop in Resene Nullarbor, small plant pots in Resene Quarter Spanish White, light in Resene Villa White and palm planter in Resene FX Faux Rust Effect. Chair and large planter from Danske Møbler, cream cushions from H&M, rust cushion from Baya. Project by Melle Van Sambeek, image by Bryce Carleton.

This makes it important to keep a record of the products you use in your DIY and renovation products.

There are also still a few film forming stains on the market, when these breakdown and require maintenance, they are similar to a paint and require a bit more preparation.

Penetrating stains, like Resene Woodsman, just require the surface to be cleaned, you can then re-stain once dry. If you’re not sure the type of stain you have on your timber/cedar, try a Resene Woodsman testpot in an inconspicuous area. Leave it for 48 hours and see if it penetrates and dries, if it remains tacky or sits on the surface then there will very likely be an incompatible product previously used.

Paint on concrete

Typically repainting a sound paint system that has been applied over a cementitious surface is straightforward, because the substrate is inert and doesn’t usually cause any stress on the paint. There are generally only three areas that need addressing before repainting.

A blue laundry room

Did you know a dustpan can be the best tool to help you clean up paint spills on hard surfaces?

The walls are painted in Resene Iron with floor stained in Resene Bleached Riverstone and painted in Resene Quarter New Denim Blue. Cupboards, shelves and hooks in Resene Rhino, cabinet top in Resene Grey Chateau, laundry hamper and watering can in Resene Casper and plant pot and small baskets in Resene Quarter New Denim Blue. Laundry supplies, baskets and towels from Father Rabbit.

The first is to kill and moss and mould with Resene Moss & Mould Killer, clean with Resene Paint Prep and Housewash which is much more effective at removing surface chalking than water blasting, and fill any cracks or holds with Resene Brushable Crack Filler.

If you are looking at repainting a concrete floor, check with your local Resene ColorShop as the paint system will depend where it is in your project and whether it will have foot or vehicle traffic.

Removing wallpaper

To strip wallpaper, soak, soak and soak again. Scoring the paper will help. You can also use wallpaper strippers and steamers. If the wallpaper has been painted over it becomes very hard to remove and will likely only come off in small pieces. Generally the harder the wallpaper is to remove, the more prep will be required to get the wall smooth enough to paint.

Resene has sealers such as Resene Broadwall Prep & Seal to help establish a uniform surface for painting over previously wallpapered surfaces.

Removing hessian walls

Removal of hessian from walls, usually in older homes, will depend on how it was applied. If stapled, it should be relatively straightforward but if it has been glued on, it will be more challenging especially if the strongest glues and pastes have been used.

Start at a seam or join in the hessian and soak with warm soapy water and wallpaper stripper, then peel away. Once the hessian is removed, you’ll need to judge the condition of the wall and decide the best cause of action. A high-build wallboard sealer such as Resene Broadwall Prep & Seal may be appropriate to smooth the wall, or in the worst cases, you may need to re-line the walls with new plasterboard.

Spill clean up

If you’ve had a paint spill while you’re working, here are Jay’s tips for effective clean-up:

“If the paint is wet, scoop up as much as possible; a dustpan works well on hard surfaces and a spoon works really well on carpet. You want to remove as much wet product as possible. You can then use newspaper or old cloths to soak up and clean the remnants. A damp cloth works well for smaller areas.

“Once paint has dried, it can become tricky to remove. Outside, you could first try water blasting. If that doesn’t work you can try applying methylated spirits.

“If the paint is water-based, the meths will help soften the coating which would allow it to be scraped or cleaned off. If the meths doesn’t work, you could try turps as this will soften solventborne paints. Failing this, the next step would be to use a paint stripper.”

If stain is spilt on to an area it is important to clean up quickly, keep a damp cloth with you while applying the product and if you get some somewhere you shouldn’t, wipe it up immediately. Resene Woodsman stains are designed to penetrate into the timber. So, when applying, make sure any areas you don’t want stained, get covered. Take extra care around porous surfaces.

top tip Decant paint and stain into small containers or traits when painting, so if you have a spill, it’s only of a smaller amount, and not the whole paint can! Between 750 ml and one litre in an average size paint roller tray is a good amount.

Colours mentioned in this blog...