My neighbor said painting a room is just about the color, but I think the prep work matters more

I was at the hardware store yesterday and overheard a guy telling his friend, 'Just pick a color you like and roll it on, it's that simple.' That got me thinking about my own project last year. I repainted my living room in my 1920s house, and I spent three full days just scraping old paint, patching cracks, and sanding everything smooth. The actual painting took one afternoon. So now I'm wondering, is the real skill in the prep, or is the final color choice what really makes the project? What's your take on where the effort should go?

4 comments

4 Comments

jordan90327d ago

My buddy skipped the prep on his kitchen and now the paint is peeling off in sheets. Good prep is everything.

the_elliot19d ago

Scraping off peeling paint is just the start. You gotta wash the walls with TSP to cut through grease, especially in a kitchen. If you don't, that new paint is just gonna stick to the grease, not the wall. It's a ton of extra work now, but there's no real shortcut for a lasting finish.

benclark19d ago

Tell your buddy @jordan903 he's living proof that "work smart, not hard" doesn't apply to painting. That shortcut just got him a free demo job for round two. Honestly, watching paint peel is only fun when it's on a reality TV show about bad flips. The TSP step is the boring part everyone wants to skip, right before they learn a very sticky, greasy lesson.

rubys8027d ago

Yeah, peeling in sheets is the worst, @jordan903. He's gotta scrape it all off and sand it smooth before trying again.