Painting the inside of the family house is sad, because in memory, the house is perfect: All the familiar things in place: the books, the furniture, the tsotchkes, the old familiar warm colors. But now the books are gone, the furniture and the tsotchkes are long auctioned, and cruel light exposes the paint drips and failed coverage and errant brushstrokes on the walls. And the cobwebs.
And the walls are filthy and need to be washed, because in painting, preparation is everything.
So what's the best way to wash a wall?
My approach was to sponge the trim and then to use a spongemop on the walls. Interestingly, the "program logic" for this task was just the same as for painting: Work from the top down, narrow sponge for the trim, then work the spongemop just like a big roller.
I used cheap ammonia to lift the dirt. Do I need to worry about a film of any kind, that would cause my initial latex coat not to stick? Or do I not need to worry, given that latex is water-based?
Readers, thoughts?
NOTE I only care about getting the place clean enough to paint. Sparkly clean is not a requirement, if there indeed degrees of cleanliness (as a lifelong bachelor and apartment dweller, I wouldn't know about that).
- lambert's blog
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TSP
TriSodium Phosphate, in warm water. Wear gloves and eye protection. Nothing cuts grease and dirt better; if you're painting over enamel or other high gloss, TSP is the ticket to take off the shine.
Work top down as you said, otherwise you chase your tail with dirty water getting on what you've already cleaned.
I've used a sponge-pad floor mop on walls in high ceiling rooms and the ceiling itself, works pretty good. For the walls, though, I use a stiff sponge by hand so I can get some pressure on it.
Transitions are tough, from past to future. Full sympathy. Hopefully the fresh coat of paint will help to lift your spirits.
Agreed
TSP is what to use...it's made for the purpose
Don’t wash it, just paint
Don't wash it, just paint over it. The paint will hold better. I have a professional painter who adheres to this rule, and he's been painting my house for a few years now, without any peeling.
Bringiton, check your mail for exciting news
That said, Andre:
Your suggestion just feels wrong in principle to me -- preparation is everything!
And I'm betting it's wrong in my case -- a lot of the dinginess is due to wood smoke, and I'm betting that includes creosote and other matter not necessarily conducive to a good underlayment.
Thanks for the tip on TSP, bringiton. If it works as well as the Zinnser primer, I'm all set.
[x] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
actually I'd go with andre
Hey Lambert if there's no offending stains on the walls I think I'd just go for it,too. The 3 rules of good adhesion are clean, dull and dry, and unless you have a kitchen or bathroom (grease and soap)to deal with you should have no problems giving the walls a light scuff sanding with some 80 or 120 grit sandpaper and painting right over top. The problem is that the cleaners clean to a shine and a shine is not dull and unless you rinse the chemicals(TSP) off your wall thoughly they will cause a nasty problem for you. Just sand and paint,and don't insult your efforts by using cheap crappy paint. Get 100% acrylic or other good quality paint.There are some way cool new paints using microparticles of ceramic dispersed through the paint that work very well. You get what you pay for. Cheers Lambert and get that damn tooth thing worked out I saw buddy with half his head swelled up it was nasty! Take care
Actually if the wood smoke looks nasty
Then for sure,TSP and rinse,rinse rinse.....
Lambert, put this off until your infection is dealt with.
Do you want to inhale the dirt from the walls? At least get a mask or a kerchief over your nose and mouth...