Phoenix 85022 was an interior painting project that AZ Express Services was called in to assist with. The project itself was not very technical in nature, but we were asked to preserve the rich tones of the coving. The shelving was to be left in situ while the painting was underway.
Being experts in residential painting, we were excited to preserve the historical elements of this home. Let’s go through the process quickly.
Step One: Clear Out Most of the Furniture
You’ll see that one dresser was left in place. It’s not ideal, but the homeowner had nowhere else for it to go. It’s not an issue – we covered it properly and didn’t get a drop of paint on it.
Step Two: Assessing the Surface
Some contractors operate on a paint-and-pray model. They might paint over areas with peeling paint to save a few bucks. We inspect the surface of the paint first, to make sure that the underlying layer will be sound.
In this instance, the underlying layer was in good shape, so we didn’t have to strip it off the walls. Had it not been, we’d have stripped the walls first.
Step Three: Removing the Skirting Boards
For this project, the homeowner decided that the skirting boards around the room should be removed. We did this for them.
Step Four: Preparing the Surface
The next step is to wipe down the walls. This removes all the grease and grime that might have built up over the years. The walls are then wiped down with clean water again and left to dry.
Step Five: Repairing the Surface
Here we just go in and fill in any holes. You can see—at the bottom of the wall—the holes left by the skirting nails. We’ll fill these, wait for the putty to dry, and then sand over to get a completely smooth surface.
Step Six: One Final Wipe Down
We didn’t put this picture in our gallery, because that’d be boring, but it’s essential to do one final wipe down to remove any dust that might be clinging to the surface.
Step Seven: Protecting the Wooden Elements
We carefully covered the wooden shelving and coving so that they wouldn’t accidentally get splattered or painted over. We also mask off the vents and any light switches for the same reason.
Step Eight: The First Paint Coat
In this case, it wasn’t necessary to apply a primer first, so we could get straight to painting. Had it been necessary, we’d have applied the primer and let it dry properly before applying the first coat.
Step Nine: The Final Paint Coat
And the job was just about done. All that was left was to let it dry and clean up after ourselves. We moved the furniture back in, and the project was complete.
