When making repairs indoors with your own hands, it is important not to forget about such an important event as priming the surface before painting or wallpapering. At the same time, it does not matter at all what material underlies the walls or ceiling, as well as what texture and shape the area necessary for processing has. Therefore, you should consider in more detail how to prime the walls and ceiling of the room correctly. But it is best to start with the mixture used as a base, that is, directly from the primer.
What is a primer?
This composition is a special solution, the main function of which is the treatment of a particular surface before applying paint or wallpaper to it. Working with a primer is very convenient, since the material fits perfectly on any area, creating a kind of film on it. To understand why this or that place is primed, it is important to remember that without this solution, the paint can be absorbed very poorly, and after it dries, the result of the work may be far from ideal, since the surfacewill be full of lines and streaks of poorly applied composition.
Do not forget that there are several types of mixtures, so you should focus on the difference between them, the purpose of each of them and decide not only how to prime, but also what is the best way to do it.
Primer types
In accordance with the composition, it is customary to distinguish between lime, oil, alum, emulsion and other primers, so it is worth considering only the most common of them.
Lime-based mixture has a wide range of possibilities and is used both in interior decoration and outside buildings. The main function of such a primer is to prepare for the subsequent finishing of a brick surface, as well as plaster or concrete.
The use of alum mortar is not as widespread as that of lime mortar, since this material is only suitable for preparation for adhesive applications.
Production and storage of mixtures based on copper sulphate is carried out strictly in wooden containers or plastic containers, as the steel tank may rust. This primer is used for interior decoration, usually it is applied to plaster or concrete surfaces for the purpose of their subsequent adhesive or silicate coloring.
The oil composition, as it becomes clear, is used only together with oil paint, which is the main component of this mixture (the primer must be diluted with drying oil).
The main purpose of the emulsion solution isthinning thick paints.
What is a primer for?
Many owners during repairs often wonder whether the walls of the room need to be primed or whether this procedure can be completely dispensed with. However, this work has two very important points, given which, we can conclude that it is definitely necessary to prime the walls before wallpaper or before painting:
- this mixture allows the coating (wallpaper, paint, decorative plaster) to adhere more firmly to the treated surface, preventing the appearance of various and visually recognizable defects;
- using a primer, you can clean a certain area in a special way, getting rid of dirt and dust, thereby increasing the adhesive properties of the walls and their absorbing ability. It is thanks to these factors that paint or other finishing material can be applied freely, and the liquid coating will be absorbed evenly, and the wallpaper will fit tightly with the wall.
Priming Tools
We must not forget that many primer mixtures are too toxic, so they cannot be used to treat concrete surfaces. As a rule, acrylic and polystyrene compositions are the main types of wall solutions.
To figure out how to properly prime a particular surface, you first need to have a certain set of tools required for this job. These include:
- roller with fine pile;
- smalltassel;
- roller tray;
- sponge;
- bucket;
- respirator (mandatory item required when working with paints and varnishes to comply with safety regulations).
Primer application process
The application of a fixing composition, like any other work on interior decoration, requires compliance with a certain procedure. The algorithm for how to prime a particular surface is as follows:
- First, you need to thoroughly clean the desired area from dust and dirt, and then wipe it with a sponge dipped in water.
- After that, the primer must be poured into a specially designed roller tray and begin to apply it to the surface.
- It is important that the mixture is laid down in a thin layer, while proportionality must be observed, avoiding the accumulation of a large amount of the solution in one place, otherwise this may cause streaks.
- Using a small brush, you can process inconvenient places, such as corners, but here you should also carefully ensure that the applied layer of the mixture is uniform.
- A mandatory condition for the result of the work to be positive is to allow the surface to dry.
Features of priming drywall
Some owners are firmly convinced that it is not worth priming drywall, because it is even and smooth anyway. However, this is not true, because inin this case, for example, when changing the wallpaper, it will be possible to remove the old coating only together with part of the plasterboard base.
When deciding how to prime plasterboard walls, remember that it is forbidden to use alkyd compounds, as they can easily damage the layer of material. This will cause surface bubbles and peeling of the paper, which will certainly not affect the reliability and quality of work.
Since priming a plasterboard wall should be done in a special way, the work process may differ to some extent from the standard one. It is important here that the mixture previously diluted in the basin is applied with a roller from top to bottom throughout the entire area to be treated. The minimum application thickness should be 0.03 mm.
Primer drying time
In order to make the task as easy as possible for the consumer, manufacturers, as a rule, indicate the required drying time of the primer directly on the pack, so just before priming the surface, you need to read the instructions. But in order to protect yourself from possible troubles, it is recommended to remember these terms once and for all.
Acrylic-based primer should dry for at least 3-4 hours, while the oil solution takes a whole day. In addition, you should remember about the optimum temperature, which should be approximately 25 ° C. The drying result will be good even if such a parameter as humidity is 65%.
Provided that the above values arelower, then, accordingly, the time required for the mixture to dry will increase by 2-3 times. The surface can be checked by touch, but you should not trust this method too much, since you can simply not notice the minimum moisture content of the primer, and, as you know, it is absolutely impossible to work with a wet base.
Additional primer recommendations
The variety of such mixtures allows you to purchase absolutely any composition, for example, having an antiseptic effect and helping to get rid of harmful microorganisms and mold. To complete the entire procedure, you first need to treat the desired surface with hydrogen peroxide or vinegar diluted with water, then leave it for a while to dry. After that, you can apply a primer. With significant damage to the wall by the fungus, it is allowed to repeat all the manipulations again.
We must also not forget that the mixture can only be applied to a previously prepared surface, which must be properly leveled and covered with a reinforced mesh. It is imperative to get rid of any remnants of old plaster.
If you plan to prime under heavy weight wallpapers, then the best solution here would be to purchase an acrylic-based composition, which will not only level the desired area well and prevent the formation of fungus and mold, but also prevent bubbles from appearing and hold the wallpaper tightly on the wall.
Following all these recommendations, you can provide a reliable and high-quality coating of any surface and forget aboutthe need for any interior decoration.
