How do I prep textured walls and ceilings?

Hello, I'm a new homeowner and I am new to textured surfaces and painting properly in general.

I thought the right thing to do is sand the surface first so we have started there, but I find that the sander is only sanding part of the wall because the texture is in the way. The ceiling is even more extreme texture and I'm really not sure what to do with it. I don't think sanding with our little wimpy sander will do it for the ceiling, I was thinking we might have to scrape if painting over without sanding is not an option.

Do I just skip sanding over textures, or do I sand until the texture is gone?

Would it be best just to put primer over everything instead of sanding?

I have a whole house to paint and I am finding a lot of info about painting but it is all conflicting. I have light colored walls as well as very dark walls to deal with. I was going to sand the lighter colored walls and wipe them down then paint. However, with the dark walls I was going to sand and wipe them down and then primer and paint.

At first I was going to wash the walls with a cleaner, but I have heard conflicting ideas on that so I thought I would just wipe them down with water to remove dust after sanding-Is this okay?

Thank you, I would appreciate any ideas!

 

Welcome to the forums!

If you have textured walls, repairs will need to be textured to match. It is all but impossible to sand the texture off thru latex paint. If you want to get rid of the texture you need to skim coat the walls with joint compound, then sand smooth and prime.

Generally primer isn't needed for repainting walls, the exceptions are - repairs, stains and possible adhesion issues. If you intend to paint the dark walls a light color, primer may make the paint cover easier.

Paint will always adhere better to clean walls although there isn't a need to get fastidious about it. The cleaner residue MUST be removed!

 

Thanks for the welcome!

I figure removing the texture would be more work than just texturing where there is repair work needed. That being the case-how do I deal with semigloss textured surfaces? Do I just paint over the texture then? Will regular paint go over the semi gloss or should I prime first with a primer that goes over semi gloss? Thanks.

 

Just to clarify,

I'm not against removing the texture, but time is an issue, but if its needful then I will.

 

Do you know if the semi-gloss is latex or oil? http://www.doityourself.com/forum/pa...latex-oil.html

Generally with latex enamel all you need to do is scuff sand it first. Oil base enamel would need to either be recoated with oil enamel or coated with a solvent based primer before switching to latex.

Do you know what type of texture you have? Most textures can be duplicated by thinning down joint compound and applying in a manner consistent with the type of texture you have.

 

Yeah, sorry I forgot to give all the info needed. I did check the paint and it is all latex. I have no idea what type of texture it is. It is bumpy but not nearly the amount of the ceiling. The ceiling actually has ridges and crevices.

So I assume scuff sanding is just a light sanding over the surface? Is it okay that the sanding doesn't touch all the paint?

 

A light sanding should be fine. I'm not sure what you mean by "Is it okay that the sanding doesn't touch all the paint?"

It sounds like you might have orange peel on the walls and maybe a knockdown texture on the ceiling. If you could supply a couple of pics we should be able to identify the texture and tell you how to duplicate it. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html

 

I looked up images of texture and I think you are right about the orange peel on the walls. However, the ceiling looks like knock down but just more of it. I'm not currently in the house yet, hence the time constraint. I wanted to get everything painted before we actually moved everything in which will be happening next week. I will get picks if needed, though it will have to be later unfortunately for me.

 

Sorry forgot to address the sanding not touching all the paint. When we sanded the walls the sander is only sanding the tops of the bumps and not getting between the bumps. The only reason I know this is because the paint is coming off the bumps but not in between so the walls look speckled now. Maybe we are sanding to much?

 

Knockdown texture can vary both by how thick/thin the j/c is and how it was sprayed and knocked down. There is also an older texture called skip trowel - it's similar to knockdown but it's applied with a knife or trowel. Knockdown is typically sprayed on [like a splatter coat] and then the high points are flattened out with a wide knife. How thick it's sprayed along with how dry or wet it is when it's knocked down all determine the actual texture.

 

Just saw your last post, it isn't important to sand the low spots of the texture. As long as the top is scuffed up, the next coat of paint will adhere to it well and if the paint doesn't adhere great to the low spots, it will adhere to the paint that surrounds the low spot. If you are sanding off the paint - you are sanding a LOT more than I would want to

 

Just to reinforce what Mark is saying, you'r not trying to remove any material, just make the surface more rough to increase the surface area for the new paint to bond better - this is light sanding.

 

OK thank you, I just ran over to the other house and it is orange peel and knockdown. Do I treat the knockdown the same? Just light sanding over and paint?

 

What kind of paint is currently on the ceiling? With the exception of new construction, I don't remember ever needing to sand a ceiling. If the ceiling is halfway clean, you should be able to go over the latex paint with a fresh coat of paint without sanding it. If the ceiling is currently painted with semi-gloss, I'd tone it down and use a satin or eggshell enamel - it should adhere fine. If there is nicotine or soot on the ceiling - you might need a primer.

 

Doh! I forgot to check the ceiling. Checked every different color I could find in that house and it was a lot, but didn't check that. Surprisingly while I was checking out the ceiling I did see some dirty spots. The last people did a number on the walls. There are a few places that need to be fixed before paint and some that need to be redone because they did it poorly. Can I paint over those fixes or should prime first.

 

Always prime repairs - the paint will be absorbed differently by the previously painted areas and the repairs and you'll be able to see the repairs through the paint.

 

Okay, thank you. Also, thank you to marksr. I appreciate your patience. I'm sure I will have more questions soon.