How To Prepare Your Walls For Painting

• Selleys Spakfilla Rapid

• Selleys No More Gaps Multipurpose

• Sugar Soap Original concentrate

• Flexible filling blade

• Fine sandpaper

• Sanding block

• Soft clean cloth

• Drop sheet

• Hammer

1. Clean the area

• Lay down your drop cloth in the area you’ll be working, then use the sandpaper and sanding block to remove any uneven surfaces and crumbling paint flakes. Remove any nails or pins from the wall with your hammer
• Dilute 1/2 cup of Selleys Original Sugar Soap into a full bucket (10L) of water.
• Using a soft clean cloth, soak in the sugar soap solution, ring off excess and clean walls. *Handy tip* If you have sensitive skin, use gloves!

2. Fill and cracks or holes

• Fill any cracks, scratches, dents, or nail or screw holes before continuing. Apply a small amount of Selleys Spakfilla Rapid to your filling blade and draw it across each imperfection. Skim the filled areas lightly in both directions a few times to ensure there are no air bubbles, then remove any excess by drawing down the surface firmly with your filling blade.
• Allow the first application to dry for 30mins, then sand down lightly. Remove any dust with a soft clean cloth.

3. Fill the gaps

• Next you’ll need to fill the gaps between any skirting boards or architraves with Selleys No More Gaps Multipurpose and the wall. Use a dry clean cloth to make sure the surface you’re working is dry and free of any dust.
• Cut the tip of the cartridge, then cut the nozzle at a 45 degree angle. Attach the cartridge to the caulking gun and the nozzle to the cartridge.
• Tilting the gun at a 45 degree angle, dispense the product into the gap making sure sufficient gap filler is forced into the gap.
• Use a wet finger to smooth over your work, and clean up any excess product with a damp cloth.
• Allow 30 minutes if you plan to paint the surface using a water-based paint, or 2 hours if you’re using ceiling or oil based paints.

4. Paint!

• Paint your wall the colour of your choice! 2 coats is ample however, be sure to use an undercoat if you are painting a light colour over a dark colour

• Its important to put a drop sheet down just in case you spill anything or you just don’t want to damage the floor.

• To minimise sanding and obtain a perfect finish, tool/spread to a ‘feather’ edge when applying filler.

• For a neat clean finish, before applying your gap filler, tape both sides of the gap before applying the product.

• Before applying Selleys No More Gaps Multipurpose, extrude a small amount onto a piece of scrap material to ensure a smooth continuous flow of gap filler, and a perfect finish.