Most paint failures are prep failures. Our jobs include surface prep: patching, sanding, caulking and priming. Here is what that means and when each step is needed.
Do I need to prime before painting?
You need primer on bare surfaces, on repairs, over stains and when the old finish is glossy or oil-based. You do not always need it over sound, clean, flat paint in a similar color.
Do I need primer if the old paint is in good shape, and can you paint over old paint?
You can paint straight over old paint that is clean, dull and firmly stuck. Wash it, sand lightly and apply two coats. Primer is added where the old paint is glossy, where there are patches and where the color change is strong.
Do I need to sand the walls before painting?
A light sand is part of normal prep. It knocks down dust nibs, roller lint and ridges from old coats, and gives the new paint a key. Glossy trim needs a more thorough sand. In homes built before 1978 we treat sanding as a possible lead job. See the lead page.
Do painters fix nail holes, cracks and dents first?
Yes. Filling nail holes, small dents and hairline cracks is standard prep and should be in the price. Larger repairs, such as holes, failed tape joints and loose plaster, are drywall or plaster work and are priced as a separate line.
Old plaster in Brooklyn cracks at the same places again and again: above doors, along ceilings and where a wall meets the party wall. We tape or reinforce cracks that have opened more than once.
How do I paint over a water stain so it does not bleed through?
Seal the water stain with a stain-blocking primer before the finish coats. Normal wall paint will not hold it back. The brown ring comes through again within days.
Fix the leak first. In apartments the source is often the bathroom above or a radiator valve. In top-floor rooms it is the roof or a parapet.
Can you paint over smoke stains or pet smells?
Yes, with the right primer. Smoke and nicotine are washed off as far as possible and then sealed with a stain and odor blocking primer. Pet smells in walls are sealed the same way. If the smell is in the floor, paint on the walls will not cure it.
There is mold on the bathroom ceiling. Can it just be painted over?
No. Mold painted over grows back through the new paint. Small patches of surface mildew are cleaned, left to dry, primed with a stain-blocking primer and painted with a bathroom paint. Then the room needs better ventilation, or it returns.
Many older Brooklyn bathrooms have only a small window and no fan. For a large area or mold inside the wall, call a remediation company. HomeGuide lists a small remediation job at $500 to $1,500.
Paint is peeling to bare wood on my old house. What prep does it need?
Paint peeling to bare wood needs the loose paint taken off, the edges sanded smooth, the bare wood primed and open joints caulked before any finish coat. Grey, weathered wood is sanded back to bright wood first, because primer does not grip dead fibers.
On a house built before 1978, assume the old layers contain lead. The work must follow lead-safe rules, and dry scraping and dry sanding of lead paint are not allowed under New York City rules.
Why is my paint peeling?
When paint is peeling, the cause is almost always moisture or poor adhesion. Water gets behind the film from a leak, from damp masonry or from steam. Or the new paint was put over dust, gloss, grease or chalk and never bonded.
Why is paint bubbling or peeling in my kitchen or bathroom?
Paint bubbles and blisters in kitchens and bathrooms because steam gets behind it. It also happens when latex paint was put over old oil-based paint without primer. Many prewar apartments have oil enamel on bathroom walls and trim under the newer coats.
How do I know if old paint is oil or latex, and can latex go over oil?
Rub a hidden spot with a rag and denatured alcohol. Latex softens and comes off on the rag. Oil-based paint does not. Latex can go over oil only after the surface is sanded dull and coated with a bonding primer. Skip that and the new paint peels off in sheets.
Do bare drywall patches need primer?
Yes. Every drywall patch needs primer before paint. Joint compound soaks up paint more than the wall around it, so an unprimed patch shows as a dull spot. This is called flashing.
Want this done for you? Call or text (917) 746-3274 for a free estimate.