How to putty walls for painting. Do-it-yourself puttying of walls for painting

If wallpaper hides some of the unevenness of the walls, then defects are more clearly visible on painted surfaces. Therefore, painting walls requires pre-finishing finishing putty to create a flat and smooth surface on which the paint will lie securely.

When starting the finishing putty for painting, follow the sequence of steps. They look like this:

Preparing and leveling the wall or ceiling;
Surface primer;
Preparation of all tools and materials;
Applying putty;
Final surface treatment.

The finishing putty for finishing will not lie on peeled wood, an old layer of wallpaper or paint. Therefore, remove the old coating and proceed to the next step.

Finishing putty will give a smooth surface.

The finishing putty is applied to smooth walls with differences of only a few millimeters. In order to check the evenness of the wall, use a special construction or laser level. In cases where the surface of the walls or ceiling is not smooth enough, finish with starting putty or alternative ways: finishing with plasterboard (by gluing or frame method), finishing with gypsum fiber board, plaster and other methods. After making sure that the wall is free of irregularities, we begin preparation. The surface after rough finishing has some irregularities in the form of sagging and roughness. These nuances are eliminated and smoothed using coarse sandpaper.

An important point in preparation is processing greasy stains, which will appear through the layer of putty, which will spoil the painting of the surface by the spots that appear.

Is it worth priming the surface, and at what stages?

It happens that the process of priming the walls is missed. This leads to the fact that the painted surface has uneven tone, and the paint lags behind the walls or ceiling after some time.

Painted walls last a long time after finishing putty

The primer helps not only to treat surfaces to increase adhesion and prevent the appearance of mold and mildew, but also to even out the absorption properties of the wall. The surfaces of walls or ceilings in different places differ in the porosity or density of the material. This leads to the fact that the paint is of a different shade and it is necessary to level the surface by color by applying new layers of paint.

Do not forget that the finishing putty is applied to the primed wall only after 12-24 hours. Drying time depends on the temperature and humidity in the room, as well as the type of primer. The approximate drying time is indicated on the primer packaging.

Priming the walls and ceiling is necessary not only before the start and finishing putty, but also after finishing putty for finishing it is applied to the surface - wood, concrete or gypsum board. You can find primer for painting at any hardware store.

Ceiling putty

Selection of tools and materials

Everything is simple with the tool. To finish the walls and ceiling for painting, prepare the following set:

Finishing putty;
Mixing container;
Construction mixer or special attachments for a drill;
Large and small spatula;
Construction level – laser or regular extended;
Small sandpaper.

Manufacturers make several types finishing putty, which differs in composition and some properties. There are cement, gypsum and polymer putties on the market for finishing walls and ceiling.

If we go through the pros and cons, we start with polymer putty. This type of material is ready for use and is sold in special buckets. It is easier to work with it, since there is no risk of kneading a composition of poor consistency. This material fits well on any surface and does not shrink. The mixture is elastic and copes well with temperature changes. The main disadvantage is the high cost of the material. This price is justified by the ease of application and the quality of the mixture.

Different kinds Knauf putties

Gypsum finishing putty fits well on surfaces made of gypsum board and gypsum board, does not shrink the material and does not contain harmful substances in the composition. The material is elastic and easy to work with, but has disadvantages. An important disadvantage is the fear of humidity changes, which expose the plaster to moisture and deteriorate. The application process involves mixing small portions putty, as it hardens and becomes unusable after an hour.

Cement putty is popular and well suited for wet areas. And the cheapness of the material implies use by builders. Resistance to temperature changes is noted.

The disadvantages are that the material shrinks and the composition is not elastic. There are cases when cement putty goes small cracks some time later.

Surface putty

After the surface and tools are prepared, they begin to putty the walls or ceiling. Putty is applied thin layer a few millimeters. This is easier to do if you use a long spatula of 40-60 centimeters. Using a small spatula, the material is picked up onto a long spatula, after which it is applied to the walls with smooth movements and leveled.

The process is time-consuming, but easier than starting putty on walls. If during the initial putty the walls have to be leveled for a long time, then during the finishing putty the main thing is to apply the layer evenly. In internal corners Using a special angled spatula helps. With its help, the process of finishing corners is accelerated.

To avoid dust getting into the respiratory tract, grouting is done wearing a respiratory mask.

Further painting implies an excellent level of surface smoothness. Therefore, after completing the application of putty, the surface is rubbed with fine sandpaper. Sandpaper grain size – P150. When creating a mirror layer, after sanding the surface is rubbed with a special plaster trowel. The result is a perfectly smooth wall/ceiling.

In contact with

Proper preparation walls for painting - this is the most important stage decorative finishing, ensuring the aesthetics of the result. The work involves leveling and filling the walls, and this can be done in several ways, varying in complexity and time consumption. In all cases, the base is a starting layer of putty, which can be supplemented with reinforcement and decorative material to achieve greater smoothness and durability of the coating. In addition, the surface needs to be sanded. What do you need to know to make your wall paint perfect?

Leveling the wall and preparing for puttying

To get perfectly smooth walls, their surface must be pre-treated, eliminating even the smallest differences in height and all noticeable defects in the base. Depending on the initial state of the walls, they can be leveled in one of several ways:

on a frame structure.

There will be sanding suitable option, if clean concrete base or the old layer of plaster does not have significant irregularities, cracks or other defects. In this case, it is enough to remove the old coating (wallpaper, paint, decorative plaster etc.) and remove thin upper layer rough plaster or concrete using a grinding machine or a block with sandpaper. Before the walls are putty for painting, the base must be covered with two layers of primer, antiseptic and antifungal impregnation if there was mold. As a result of measurements, height differences should not exceed 2 mm.

If the unevenness is significant or the base has significant defects, it is necessary to completely or. The main surface is first sealed with mortar. Old finish should be removed completely, and not just the damaged areas, even if it seems that part of it is quite strong. Then a new layer of plaster is applied or sheets of drywall are installed using the appropriate technology.

When the preliminary leveling is completed, you should, as in the case of sanding, coat the surface with a primer. You can begin further work after 5–6 hours, since you can properly putty the walls for painting only on a perfectly dry surface - it is better to wait longer than to apply putty to a wet wall.

Types of putty

Spider web reinforcement

To create a high-quality painted wall, it is recommended to use a spider web; it will protect the wall from cracks. To prevent this, you can strengthen the finish - for this you use a spider web for walls to be painted.

Glue is applied to the surface of the wall in an even thin layer.
Strips of fiberglass are applied to the wall. They can have any size, the main thing is to correctly determine the front and back side cobwebs, otherwise the material will adhere worse to the surface.
The painting canvas is then flattened by hand and rolled with a roller to remove air bubbles from underneath it. It is important to ensure that the edges of the web align evenly with the corners of the room. If necessary, excess edges are trimmed.
The top of the web is coated with glue until the entire web is saturated. The glue will act as a primer, which will reduce paint consumption and also provide better adhesion of the finishing plaster to the reinforcing layer.
The following strips are glued overlapping; It is recommended to glue them parallel to the floor.

It takes a day for the adhesive to dry completely, after which you can begin applying the finishing putty. In addition, you can paint directly on fiberglass - in this case, an aesthetic relief will appear on the surface of the walls. only needed to get it perfect smooth surface for painting.

Grinding Features

The main rule of sanding is that you need to work with a perfectly dry surface before treating it with a primer. The secret is to use a wide spatula when applying putty and use a light when sanding.

First of all, you need to decide what is better to sand the walls after putty - choice tool will depend on the type of material (starting or finishing), as well as the type of surface. Based on the area of the wall, one of the following tools is selected:

wooden block with sandpaper - for small areas that can be easily processed by hand;
electric Sander- for large surfaces, it should be taken into account that the joints of the walls will in any case have to be processed by hand;
if there are protrusions, bas-reliefs and other areas with complex geometry on the wall, a machine with an eccentric will do.

Purchased tools

If a wooden block seems too uncomfortable, self made can be used special device with a handle and clamps, allowing you to quickly change worn sandpaper. Instead of paper, you can use an abrasive mesh.

Mesh is preferable because, unlike paper, it does not become clogged with dust and wears out more slowly; however, it is more expensive. The difference in price is leveled by the amount of paper required - in order to obtain perfect walls for painting, you will need many sheets. To save money, you shouldn’t buy cut paper - it’s easy to cut it yourself, and sharpen your scissors at the same time.

The grit size of the sanding block depends on the type of finish: for starting putty, a mesh size of 120 is suitable, for finishing putty - 80 or 60. Most likely, you will have to try several grit options - start with a coarse one, removing the most noticeable surface flaws, then use increasingly finer ones until If the wall is illuminated, shadows will not stop appearing.

More convenient to use and allows you to complete repairs faster; In addition, with its help you can get a truly flawless surface. However, purchasing power tools for processing a small area is not always cost-effective.

Homemade grinding devices

You will have to make the device yourself if necessary sanding walls for painting in hard-to-reach, small areas that cannot be reached with a bulky bar. Homemade instrument is made as follows:

line segment plastic profile cut in such a way as to obtain a strip about 70 mm wide;
on one side, sandpaper is glued to the profile using double-sided tape;
the end of the segment is cut at an angle in the shape of an arrow.

If desired, you can cut and glue several strips of paper with different grain sizes. You need to work at an angle, and cut it as the sandpaper wears away - the principle is the same as when sharpening a pencil.

Cleaning in corners is important stage wall preparation

Operating rules

Before starting sanding, you need to protect the room from dust - furniture, window and door openings, decorative materials are covered with polyethylene film. flooring. You need to work in a protective suit, a mask and always a respirator.

To those who spend decorative works indoors, you may almost always need to putty the walls before painting or wallpapering.

But the approaching hour of painting brings with it a bunch of questions - what, exactly, is needed for the paint to last a long time and look beautiful? What types of finishes are there?

Preparing the surface for painting

Cleaning the wall from old plaster or putty coating;
Leveling and preparing the wall. This stage includes starting and finishing putties;
Applying paint.

If everything is more or less clear with the first stage, then the second is worth considering in more detail.

The care and patience with which you approach the preparation of the walls will determine the entire result of the repair in the future.

The thing is that preliminary work should make the walls even and smooth, and this directly affects how much the paint layer will settle on the wall.

To figure it out and understand how to properly putty walls, it’s worth learning about different types putties.

They can be divided into several methods, each of which has some meaning only for a specific situation or purpose.

For this type of putty, they are used gypsum putty with the addition of various impurities and additives.

Layers should be applied alternately, with pauses for drying.

A huge plus for the quality of the final result will be the use of a painting mesh, which will significantly reduce the likelihood of cracks.

The starting putty process is used to level concrete or brick walls, as well as sealing unnecessary holes.

Lighthouse variety

It is worth noting that this method of leveling walls is noticeably more expensive than the previous one, but there are no visual differences.

The basic material you will need is the same as in the starting putty, but you will also have to additionally purchase slats made of metal, wood or plaster.

The method consists of installing beacon strips in the form of a grid on the wall using a level, and then filling the resulting space with putty and leveling it with the rule.

Finishing touch

This technology, and at the same time a stage of our work, is used to give the wall a completely smooth surface.

Finishing putty is carried out only on top of the starting or lighthouse putty, when the wall is already flat.

It is applied in a very thin layer (up to 2 mm, when previous methods can reach 15 mm), so it is not suitable for leveling.

The technology says that puttying walls before painting should be done more carefully and carefully than under wallpaper, since the paint will not cover small pores and cavities.

We remove cracks

This method is used for local removal of cracks and may not be used at all in the process of leveling concrete or brick walls.

The best material for this type of putty is satengypsum, but the use of gypsum and alabaster mixtures, which have less plasticity, is allowed.

Before sealing a crack, you should run a sharp metal object (knife) across it to make it deeper and increase adhesion to the putty material.

Then the recess is primed and sealed.

Priming process

After all types of wall putty have been presented, it will be useful to understand more deeply what the technology for preparing a wall for painting looks like.

Listed below are the main tools required for puttying walls:

Spatula 10-15 cm;
Spatula 15-30 cm;
Angular spatula;
Construction mixer;
Sandpaper;
Roller and brush;
Clean container 15-25 l.

The choice of material for work is somewhat more difficult.

The fact is that modern market offers a huge variety of different putty materials of all types and manufacturers.

To save money, you can use a dry type of material - coarse for the starting layer and finishing for the last.

The problem is that dry putties have poor resistance to moisture, and this threatens to soften it again.

To be on the safe side, you should immediately choose a moisture-resistant putty.

To increase the adhesion ability of concrete and brick walls with putty material, they require a primer.

In addition, a layer of primer will protect the surface from minor damage and enhance the absorption ability of all layers applied to the wall, including paint.

There are many different primers, the composition of which is specialized for a specific surface.

For increased humidity levels, a waterproofing primer should be used.

To imagine what the technology of wall putty looks like, let’s look at it step by step.

Prime the wall surface using a roller.

For hard-to-reach places, you can use a brush.

If the walls are uneven, we level them using starting or lighthouse putty.

Using a dry mixture requires time to prepare.

The process involves mixing the material with water according to the instructions on the package.

The material should be applied with a long spatula, overlapping, evenly distributed over the wall.

When the starting putty has completely dried, the finishing putty is applied.

This will only be the first layer, which should be approximately 2 mm.

For final leveling of walls and ceilings before painting, special putties are used. These mixtures are applied on top of the plaster in a thin layer and help achieve a perfectly smooth surface.

Today, manufacturers provide customers with a variety of construction products for processing seams, working with drywall, rough and finishing, and other purposes. When choosing of this material it is recommended to pay Special attention on its binder base (cement, acrylic, polymers, gypsum) and consumer characteristics.

Before painting the walls must be properly puttied

It is also better to give preference to well-known brands, the quality of which has been repeatedly confirmed in practice. The most popular putty mixtures are Knauf, Uniflot, Vetonit LR Fine and Fugagypsum. They will become a good decision for high-quality leveled walls and drywall. An ideal snow-white surface for painting will be achieved with the Eunice mixture. And for utility rooms and basements you can purchase a budget option"Hercules".

Dry and ready-made mixtures

All finishing substances can be divided into dry and ready-made. The first of them contain all the necessary components in a certain proportion. Before use, they are diluted in a certain volume of liquid and applied to the prepared surface. Significant disadvantage This option is that dry putty hardens after dilution with water, so if work shift It was not possible to use all the material, then it will be unusable in the future.

Ready-made mixtures do not have such a disadvantage. They already contain solvents and are stored long time and can be used without prior mixing in water. In addition, they are environmentally friendly, since the main binding element is an aqueous dispersion of the polymer. Such materials are much more expensive, but at the same time they are not without weaknesses. After applying the plaster to the surface, the solvent evaporates, which leads to slight shrinkage. This unpleasant feature limits the scope of application of ready-made substances.

Ready-made mixtures may shrink and crack when dry.

The main types of putty for walls for painting

Depending on the purpose, there are four main types of wall putty:

first layer (leveling);
second layer (finish);
specialized;
universal.

First layer putty

Leveling mixtures are intended for surface pre-treatment. They are applied in one layer up to 5 millimeters thick, and in some places - in several layers with a total thickness of up to 15 millimeters. Once cured, they are usually sanded, primed and top coated with a finishing solution. Such products must meet the following requirements:

good adhesion to the substrate and ductility;
high strength;
long service life;
complete filling of surface defects;
reliable grip.

Second layer putty

Finishing putties are used for final preparation of walls for painting. Such materials are distinguished by a very fine structure: they consist of the finest aggregate dust, which makes it possible to achieve an absolutely smooth surface, free of any defects. Drying time for finishing putty room temperature is about six hours. After this, you can proceed directly to the painting procedure.

Specialized

This option is designed to solve more specific problems. So, if it is necessary to seal gypsum joints without using reinforcing strips or to cover up “breathing” cracks, then a special elastic mixture will cope with this task perfectly. There are also specialized options for processing building floors and joints, for urgent finishing (quick-drying), etc.

Universal

These Construction Materials combine the properties of all the types listed above and can be used for both small cosmetic repairs, and for complex leveling of walls and ceilings in a room. Such mixtures have a multicomponent composition and are more expensive.

Technology of wall putty for painting

Tool preparation

The main putty tools are:

spatulas: regular (with a blade width of about 80 millimeters), wide (from 400 to 600 millimeters) and angular;
abrasive mesh;
jointer.

Outwardly, they resemble devices used for plastering works, however, there are significant differences. Thus, putty spatulas should have a thinner blade with smooth, rounded edges. Sanding paper should be chosen with medium grit.

Immediately before starting work, the tool is wiped from dust and lumps of the previous compounds with a rag, washed and wiped dry with fiber or cotton rags.

Preparation of material

Many novice craftsmen do not know how to dilute putty. Meanwhile, the quality of the repair performed directly depends on the correctness of this operation. Therefore, it is advisable to approach this issue responsibly. The sequence of preparing the dry mixture can be represented in several steps:

Take a clean construction bucket and fill it a quarter full with water.
Pour the powder into the bucket little by little until the top of the pile appears above the surface of the water.
Wait about 10-20 seconds until the material is saturated with liquid and subsides.
Mix everything thoroughly with a spatula or construction mixer until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. There should be no dry lumps or clots left.
After 40 seconds, stir the substance again.
The solution is ready for use.

The material must be mixed well with a construction mixer.

Putty process

After diluting the putty is finished, you can proceed to its direct application to the surface. In this case, it is highly desirable that each individual wall be processed in one step. If according to technical reasons this is impossible, then after a break the dried material is sprayed with water from a spray bottle, and the transition between the wetted old and newly applied layer is smoothed out.

Scoop the solution from the bucket with a narrow spatula, from which it is transferred to a spatula more wide instrument, evenly distributing along the perimeter of the edge. The direction of spreading the putty on the wall is not of fundamental importance. The main thing is that the coating layer is applied neatly and evenly. IN hard to reach places(behind the batteries and near the pipes), the wall putty technology requires the use of a narrow spatula. Here, a tool with a wide blade is already used to transport the mixture to the work site.

Important!
When the leveling layer has dried, begin sanding the surface with an abrasive mesh or medium-grain sandpaper, removing the bumps and grooves left by the tool. Next, the surface is treated with finishing plaster.

After finishing one wall is completed, the master moves on to leveling the opposite, and then to the other two parallel sides of the room. This sequence is chosen so that enough time has passed for the finishing putty applied in the corners to dry. This way, the painter can safely move on to finishing the second part of the corner without the risk of bevelling it.

Directions for tool movement when sanding dried putty

The price of puttying walls for painting from specialists

In general, leveling the surfaces of a room is not something very complicated and can even be done independently. The most important stage of the work is the finishing putty of the walls before painting. This is where inexperienced craftsmen often have difficulties: getting a perfectly smooth surface can be quite difficult, and this requires experience and some dexterity. If, in the case of wallpaper covering, small surface defects are hidden under an acrylic or non-woven fabric, then the defects on the painted walls will be visible quite clearly. Therefore, when there is doubt about own strength, it is better to turn to professionals.

On average, specialist services will cost 150-220 rubles per square meter. The cost mainly depends on the scope of work and surface geometry. So, if the work plane has different levels and transitions, then it will be more difficult to process it. Accordingly, the price for specialists to putty such walls and ceilings for painting will be higher.