living room paint colours uk
when it comes to painting, we all want tojump in and just start rolling that beautiful new color on the wall. but spending a fewextra minutes on prep work will give you much better results and help you avoid problemsalong the way. start by clearing the room, or moving furnitureto the center and covering with plastic. for the floor, use canvas drop cloths since plasticcan get slippery. shut off the circuit breakers to the roomyou're painting. then remove cover plates from switches and outlets, and protect withtape. if you're painting the ceiling, pop off the blades of your ceiling fan, slidethe cover plate down, and wrap with plastic. doorknobs can be wrapped with a plastic bag.
once you've got the place covered you canstart making repairs. strip old wallpaper with a paper remover and removal tools. forflaking paint, use a putty knife to scrape it off. no need for elbow grease, just removethe loose stuff. now if you're like the rest of us, you probablyhave a few dings in your walls. but no worries, they're an easy fix. first clean the holewith a brush, then apply some spackle—or wood filler for trimwork. let it dry, sandsmooth, and prime. a patch kit works great for large holes. tofix serious damage, watch our how to repair drywall video. a clean wall is essential for a quality paintjob. vacuum dust and do a quick wipe down
with a damp rag. if your walls have oil orother residue on them, wash with trisodium phosphate—tsp for short—for a more thoroughcleaning. then rinse with water and let dry. the next step is priming. priming is neededwhen painting over bare drywall, stained or repaired areas, high-gloss finishes, and drasticcolor changes. there are many paint-and-primer-in-one products available that can save time on thisstep. one more thing. some surfaces, like trimwork,might've been painted with oil-based paint, which can't be painted over with latex. here'show to check. wet a cotton swab with alcohol and rub the surface. if the paint comes off,it's latex. if not, it's oil. in that case, lightly sand the surface and cover with abonding primer.
and that's a wrap on the prep. want more great ideas and how-to's? just clickto subscribe. next up, it's time to paint.