Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Imperfections in drywall on walls that have been painted?

I hired a contractor to remove wallpaper in a very large room. He did a lousy job and painted over imperfections in the drywall after the wallpaper was removed. This includes pits, scratches, etc. I'm determined to fix the damage myself. I've had it and my house is for sale. What do I use to fill in the imperfections before I repaint?Imperfections in drywall on walls that have been painted?
It's very hard to sand over the paint with sandpaper and I don't suggest it. You need to get what I call sheetrock mud, comes in small container to 5 gal. bucket. Stir with enough water to make consistency as thick as a thick pancake batter. Use a sheetrock knife, 6 in. should do, and spread mud evenly over pits, as evenly as possible. Use the outside edge to scrape the edge of the mud placed to feather, don't want thick edges. Let dry. If ridges still appear, put another thin coat, leaving as least as possible over area again. After dried, use med. to fine grain sandpaper or a sanding block, it's easier to hold, and lightly sand smooth, making sure there are no ridges and edges are blended down to nothing. After sanding take a dry cloth and remove sanding dust. Then all you have to do is paint. You may have to put 2 coats to get a match. I used to do this for living and am hoping I remember correctly, been a while. Good luck!Imperfections in drywall on walls that have been painted?
Also, if you want the filled areas to be flat and level with the surrounding surface, be sure and back up the sandpaper with a hard, flat block of wood so that it doesn't dip into the newly filled areas which are often ';softer'; than the surrounding paint, etc. IOW, don't use one of those rubber backed sanding blocks.
At the hardware store or home supply center, they will have ';drywall joint compound'; for this purpose. Easy fix with broad putty knife, and easily sanded smooth.





But! here where I live, in California, the contractor would have to make good on bad work. This is a reason ALWAYS to hire a licensed contractor, and never to make full payment until the job is completed to your satisfaction. There is an implied 1 year warranty.





So can you call him back? Remember that you have the power to recommend him to others in the future. This may be incentive if he is disinclined to make good.
you'll need to sand off the bad places, fill them with spackling, level it all with a big old flat spreader and make sure you repaint with a compatible paint. It's a messy job.
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