Help with painting!

5 years ago

We hired a painter who came highly recommended. He has unfortunately had some health problems which is preventing him from completing the job. He’s gotten about 80% of the way through. We don’t have it in our budget to hire someone else and I’m hoping I can finish it myself but need some pro tips. Anyone willing to tutor me?

For instance, he scraped out old paint in cabinet creases. I think his intent was to to caulk and repaint. (See photo). I tried to apply putty and repaint with matching color but the caulk is showing through. Do I need to use a primer first or just multiple coats.

Also, we removed all the wallpaper and glue from dining room. He applied mud over imperfections. But now what? Do I need to sand first and then apply primer and paint? Any special tips for sanding the mud?

thanks in advance for any help you’re willing to offer!

Featured Answer

cat_ky

5 years ago

The cabinets should not have putty or caulk. Those panels need to be free to expand. Since you seem very unsure of things, I wouldnt recommend you try to redo them. They need to be done by a professional cabinet painter, not a house painter. They need a lot of prep, they need a lot of sanding. They need to be primed with a sealing bonding type primer, and then, the paint that is used, is cabinet paint, not regular wall paint, etc. It is a special paint for doing cabinets. The walls are easy, Sand them smooth, clean them well, prime the spots well, and make sure they look good once primed. If they dont, they wont look good painted either. If they do, then roll on two coats of paint. Waiting between coats for drying time. The paint time, will tell you how long to wait before putting on the second coat.

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Comments (7)

party_music50
5 years ago
You can definitely do it yourself and you'll get lots of help here. Do you already have the paint, brushes, etc.? if not, you'll need supplies.

Re the cabinets, I'm not clear on what I'm seeing. Not sure why you'd use putty here either.

Re the walls, you need to make sure the areas he's mudded are smooth and level. I prefer to use a screen sander, then I smooth the finish with a damp sponge and let it dry. Once that's done you'll need to prime, then paint.

So what materials do you have now? :)
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mrwolfe2
Original Author
5 years ago
You guys are amazing. Thank you for jumping into help me. I do have the paints and brushes so maybe I will tackle the walls and see if I can have someone else help with the cabinets.

Regarding the sanding of the walls do I need to only focus on the parts he put the mud or the Entire surface? Note that there had been wallpaper and i spent an entire weekend removing the glue. That was work! But I was proud of myself 😜

Regarding the cabinets I have already touched up some with a high gloss matching paint because I changed the pulls and need to paint over the old holes. Here’s a photo.

so I thought I could use this paint to go over where he scraped and (I think) caliked. Here’s a different photo to better show In the crease where The caulk is but to the earlier suggestion maybe I just hire someone to figure out what to do there
mrwolfe2
Original Author
5 years ago
And one more question (for now). He scraped some paint from the sashes and trim. Do I just need to sand this as well and paint? Do I need to prime?
krissie55
5 years ago
The sashes need to be sanded and primed. Check and be sure the sashes are not rotted any place.
mrwolfe2
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you, Krissie. Is there a special type of primer to use or that you would suggest?
cat_ky
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I didnt know you had removed wallpaper on there. Even if you think you have removed all the glue, it can still cause problems with paint adhesion. Home Depot sells a primer called gardz. You will need that primer to prime the entire wall, that had wallpaper on it. It can also be put over the mudded parts, once they are sanded. Be careful sanding, so you get it nice and smooth, and dont put too much pressure on one area, to get a dip . It will show, once you primer and paint, if you do. Yes, you definitely need to sand, and prime the window sashes. Since there could be oil based paint on the sashes now, you will need a good quality primer before you repaint with, what is probably latex type paint. If you go to a regular paint store, they should be able to help you. Keep moving the windows up and down now and then, when painting and after painting, or you may get stuck windows.
mrwolfe2 thanked cat_ky