A guy I know who used to make a living painting people's houses visited
me in my newly purchased very old house a few years ago and gave me some
ideas how to do some stuff. I think he said I should prime the walls
before filling pits, holes and cracks etc. with filler. Is that right or
not?

I'd thought that you spackle before priming, then spot prime the spackle
and then prime and paint.

I think he said the fillers wouldn't stick well unless the holes,
cracks, etc. were primed first.

I've really got a ton of this sort of thing to do. Walls that have all
kinds of imperfections, peeling paint, gouged wood, many layers of paint
in many places, dirty degraded paint, all kinds of challenges await me
in getting this house in shape. Any tips, suggestions, sites, books,
etc. much appreciated!

Dan

PS I was speaking of the interior, but I have serious exterior
challenges paintwise as well.

I forgot to mention, I'm also wondering what to use for imperfections.
Spackle, fixall, bondo... what do I use under what circumstances? I just
wish I had a world of experience, but I don't. I've done painting,
mostly interior, but this house presents bigger challenges than I've
experienced. Thanks again.

Dan

PS I have 5 gallon buckets of Kilz2 water based primer and Zinsser
Cover Stain oil based primer (a few years old, but unopened), a pretty
fair variety of basic tools, including a heat gun/paint remover, orbital
sander, belt sander, paint remover, brushes, tarps, rollers, paint
scrapers... the basic stuff.

"Dan_Musicant" wrote in message
...
A guy I know who used to make a living painting people's houses visited
me in my newly purchased very old house a few years ago and gave me some
ideas how to do some stuff. I think he said I should prime the walls
before filling pits, holes and cracks etc. with filler. Is that right or
not?

I'd thought that you spackle before priming, then spot prime the spackle
and then prime and paint.

I think he said the fillers wouldn't stick well unless the holes,
cracks, etc. were primed first.

I've really got a ton of this sort of thing to do. Walls that have all
kinds of imperfections, peeling paint, gouged wood, many layers of paint
in many places, dirty degraded paint, all kinds of challenges await me
in getting this house in shape. Any tips, suggestions, sites, books,
etc. much appreciated!

Dan

PS I was speaking of the interior, but I have serious exterior
challenges paintwise as well.


Both drywall mud (spackle) and latex painters caulk will stick to primer
better but still may stick to what you have. Use the painters caulk for the
small dings and nail holes and hairline cracks as the flexibility of it will
make it last longer. Patch larger holes and skim coat bad areas with
drywall mud. Faster setting spackles are also OK if the damage is modist.

Latex caulk can also be applied by wiping it on with a wet rag.

Dan_Musicant wrote:
I forgot to mention, I'm also wondering what to use for imperfections.
Spackle, fixall, bondo... what do I use under what circumstances? I just
wish I had a world of experience, but I don't. I've done painting,
mostly interior, but this house presents bigger challenges than I've
experienced. Thanks again.

Dan

PS I have 5 gallon buckets of Kilz2 water based primer and Zinsser
Cover Stain oil based primer (a few years old, but unopened), a pretty
fair variety of basic tools, including a heat gun/paint remover, orbital
sander, belt sander, paint remover, brushes, tarps, rollers, paint
scrapers... the basic stuff.

Hey Dan
Fill your holes with spackle or plaster before you prime. If the walls
are in really bad shape and have bigger holes that can't be filled with
spackle take a piece of sheetrock and create a patch by cutting the
back paper off of it and leave the front paper larger. stick the patch
in the hole and cover with spackle.
Sand all your spackle before you paint and make sure it's relatively
smooth. You might have to spackle two or three times and sand in
between each application before you paint.
Its easier to use the water based primer instead of the oil based, but
if the walls had wall paper on them before the oil based is a better
choice.
Have fun bro!