Strip them Bare

The first step before you start painting is to clean up the walls. Dust them with a dry mop. You can wash the bathroom walls and leave them to dry.

Don't forget to remove all door handles and knobs. You don't want them to get stained or splattered with paint. Remove all wall-mounted furniture. There is no way you can paint around it.

You need to get all your furniture packed up. If you are painting only one or two rooms, then move the furniture into one of the other rooms. Else, keep everything in the centre of the room, away from the walls.

Cover tables and chairs with newspaper. Wrap them well, especially around the legs. Don't leave any part exposed. Next, use old bed sheets to cover all of the furniture, just in case the newspaper gives way.

Wet Walls Won't Last

Check your walls for dampness due to a leakage in a drainpipe or a crack in the wall. Paint does not waterproof your walls. So get a civil contractor to repair any damages first.

In case of re-plastering, wait a couple of weeks for the walls to dry completely.

Treat fungus affected walls with a solution of bleach powder in water. Apply it on with either a sponge or a brush and leave it for half a day, before washing it off. It might be a lot of labour but it is worth the effort. You can avoid patchy and peeling plaster and the paint job will last much longer.

Prepare the Walls

After making sure that there are no damages, you can get ready to paint. Use plaster of Paris to fill in all the cracks and dents. Then scrape the walls with sandpaper to get rid of all the dust and grease. This ensures that the walls are dry and smooth.

If the earlier coat of emulsion paint is in good condition, then don't scrape it off completely. Just get rid of the lustre on it.

Now that the walls are ready, bring out the brushes and those tins of paint and get to work!

(With inputs from Asian Paints)