What is the best way to prep a wall for painting?

The wall already has paint on it. Should I use a soap/water solution with something like Pine Sol or Mr Clean?What is the best way to prep a wall for painting?
Just wipe the walls down with a damp cloth. You do not even need a solution on the cloth. Do not wash them, as this will get into the paint, and take longer to dry. All you are wanting in wiping the walls down is to get the surface dust/dirt off that may keep the paint from bonding.





You may or may not need to prime depending on the old paint and the new color. If the old paint is a latex with a medium or high gloss (if it is the kind that you can wipe down with a cloth if it gets a stain) you need to sand it first and then prime. The reason you need to sand is to make the surface rough enough for the new paint to hold. You prime to make sure that the surface is smooth after priming (this is also why they prime drywall walls even though they are actually white). The importance of priming a wall goes beyond covering the color underneath, it also helps the finish coat bond.





If the paint you are covering is just a simple flat paint with no real texture, you do not need to prime... assuming it is not a dark color or the over color is not very light. If the old color is black, red, dark blue, or any other heavy color you need to prime. If the new color is very light like white, baby blue, off white, sand, etc. you need to prime. Color can bleed through very easily. The last thing you want is to spend the time/money to paint and then find after all the work it looks bad because it is bleeding through. You also do not want to paint and then have it chip off. Take the little extra time to prime if you think maybe you need it. It will be worth it in the long run. Good luck.What is the best way to prep a wall for painting?
the best way is to sand the walls first nice and smoth then wipe the walls clean

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clean walls first

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A little dish soap %26amp; water is really all you need to clean the walls. You dont want to use anything that might leave a residu on the walls. Jules suggested that you prime it, however unelss the paint that is on the walls is dark you dont need to prime it.
Wash the wall with soap and water and then apply primer.

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