At Homm CPS, we’re often quizzed on the importance of the prep process when painting interior spaces. More specifically, our residential and commercial customers sometimes ask whether going nuts with preparation is really all that important.
Is preparation truly essential, or is it something you can skip over to focus more on the actual interior painting process?
The short answer…well, at the risk of jumping straight to the conclusion – the answer is yes! Throughout our entire time in business, we’ve stuck fast by the mantra that 90% (or thereabouts) of getting a paint job done properly lies in the prep.
You need to do the painting part right, of course, but fail to get the prep done properly beforehand and you’re wasting your time.
Whether sprucing up your interiors or giving your business a major visual overhaul, preparation is everything…period.
Why Is Prep Work So Important?
The importance of preparation lies in the fact that paint in general isn’t quite as capable of sticking to every imaginable surface as you might think. It’s a pretty impressive product that sticks to walls and ceilings and sets in place on its own, but is nonetheless 100% reliant on good surface conditions.
Realistically, it all depends on your expectations and requirements with regard to the quality of the finish. If you want an absolutely flawless finish as you’d get from a pro paint job, you need to ensure your walls are meticulously prepped and readied. If you’re really not bothered about unevenness, blemishes, cracks, flaking paint and so on, feel free to brush over (pun intended) preparation process.
Contrary to popular belief, it takes just one or two minor imperfections here and there to compromise the quality and even the adhesion of the paint job. Whether it’s grease, grime, cracks, holes, flaking or damaged paint, attempting to simply ‘paint over’ issues like these is a recipe for disaster.
By contrast, ensure the prep process is properly taken care of and you write yourself an insurance policy against potential problems like:
- Colors fading and deteriorating prematurely
- Blistering, bubbling and breaking paint
- Flaking, peeling, cracking and falling paint
- The development of mildew and mold
Whichever way you look at it, failing to prep appropriately simply to save time and/or money almost always turns out to be false economy. Not only will you come to regret your decision at a later stage, but there’s a good chance trying to speed things up will only slow you down.
It’s exponentially easier to prime and paint an appropriately prepared surface – something you’ll learn the hard way if you take shortcuts.
What Does Proper Surface Preparation Involve?
It depends entirely on the size, location, nature and condition of the surface in question. In some instances, walls and ceilings are in a pretty decent state of repair and don’t need a great deal of prep. In others, they’re in a seriously sorry state and need plenty of TLC.
In any case, proper surface preparation to ensure a flawless finish typically involves the following:
- Removal of existing coats of paint or wall coverings, if they are not in an adequate state to be painted over.
- Sanding the walls or ceilings to create a slightly rough surface for the primer and paint to adhere to.
- Giving the entire surface a good clean and ensuring all traces of dust and debris are removed before painting.
- Patching holes and filling cracks with appropriate filler, before being allowed to dry and sanding to a smooth finish.
- Priming the surface with the highest quality primer, in order to create the ideal surface for the paint to adhere to.
Contrary to popular belief, skipping over any one of these steps is enough to compromise the finish of the entire job. Which is a shame, given how in all instances they’re not exactly difficult to perform.
Certainly not as difficult as starting again from scratch, which is a very real prospect if you rush or skip the prep process entirely.
Cost-Effective Commercial Painting…
Of course, the quickest and easiest way to complete the preparation process (and the rest of the job) is to have the pros handle things on your behalf. At Homm CPS, we’re committed to providing cost-effective interior painting services of the highest-quality, backed with an extensive warranty for total peace of mind.
Before getting started on a DIY painting project, contact the team at Homm CPS to find out what we can offer you.