If the owner of the apartment decided to carry out the repair on his own, then knowledge of how to properly putty the walls will be useful to him. Thus, it is recommended to process any coating before applying a decorative finish to it. In order to putty the walls, it is not necessary to call the master. You can deal with this yourself. How exactly - consider in our article today.
Necessary tools
In order to perform puttying, you will need a certain set of tools. These include:
- Power drill. If you wish, you can do without it, however, it is a drill with a mixer nozzle that will help to quickly and efficiently mix the dry mixture needed for puttying.
- Set of spatulas. It is advisable to have a complete set of spatulas, from the narrowest to the widest. The latter will facilitate and speed up the work, and the former will do just fine in hard-to-reach places.
- Paint roller and brush. The priming of the walls will not be superfluous, especially considering that it will reduce the front of work in the future.
- Rule and building level. The rule makes work easier when it comes to layers that are too thick.
- Sander or sandpaper. These tools help get rid of bumps on the surface (if they are minor).
- Bucket. It is necessary in order to knead the putty in it.
- Rags or sponges. They will be needed in order to maintain cleanliness in the workspace.
The choice of putty
How to putty the walls? First, you need to responsibly approach the acquisition of material. There are many formulations. Among them are the following:
- Based on gypsum. The advantage is that such mixtures can be applied even with your own hands, and they create a smooth surface. The disadvantage is that the material is unstable to moisture. It is used only for indoor decoration.
- Cement They have the property of great shrinkage, but can be used for both indoor and outdoor work.
- Polymer. Such compounds are based on acrylic and latex. They differ from other mixtures in high cost, but also in the absence of disadvantages. The mixture has no shrinkage, moisture resistance and is considered the best for this type of work. Polymer is one of the most advanced blends on the market.
- Universal. Mixtures of this type are used only if the surface initially did not have a large number of defects.
Other classifications
In the question of how to properly putty the walls, you need to consider exactly what amount of work will be done:
- Starting or main work. As a rule, they are made after plastering. These mixtures can be applied even in thick layers, and also have increased strength.
- Decorative or finish. Such mixtures can be applied in a layer no thicker than four millimeters, and consist of finely dispersed substances. They are intended only for the last layer, which should be smooth.
In any case, it is necessary to choose a material based on a specific case. It is better not to give preference to universal mixtures, because their characteristics are much weaker than any others.
Surface preparation
Before applying putty on the surface, carefully prepare the wall. As in the case with any other coating, if you do not carry out the preliminary stage of work, the material will lie poorly and will have to be redone soon.
So what do you need to do? It is necessary to thoroughly wash the surface, as well as to remove all residues of the material that are in improper condition.
The next step is to wash the surface with soap to make sure that there are no greasy stains on it. If after processing there are pieces of paint that cannot be removed, they must be treated with a nail or putty knife to avoid adhesion to the primer. Only after completing all these steps can you start priming the surface.
Work order
To understand how to putty properly, you must carefully follow the instructions and not deviate from it.
The first step is to prepare the mixture with which you plan to cover the surface. For this, the substance is gradually poured into water, constantly stirring. The result should be a mass similar to sour cream.
Do not take up putty immediately after preparing the solution. It must be allowed to settle, and then repeat the mixing procedure again. Manufacturers claim that only in this way will the mixture retain its characteristics.
Puttying the walls
When it comes to how to properly putty the walls with your own hands, you should use a few simple recommendations:
- Of course, you need to start with the starting solution. At this stage, you should not worry about any traces remaining from the spatula, because at the finish they can be easily hidden. The tool must be kept at an angle of thirty degrees, and each new layer should overlap the previous one.
- After the first layer has dried, you can proceed to the second. Here the technology is the same. However, the final layer should not be thicker than two millimeters. If the work requires that more mixture be applied, it is necessary to wait until the previous one has dried, and repeat the procedure.
How to prepare a wall for painting?
If we talk about how to putty correctly for painting, here, in addition to the main stages, special attention should be paid to the next moment. After drying, the surface must be sanded. For these purposes, sandpaper of large gradation is perfect.
Attention should also be paid to angles that must be closed up at the end of all previous procedures. Between the drying of the layers can not be allowed to be exposed to sunlight. There should also be no devices in the room that heat the air.
We process drywall
How to putty drywall? As a rule, apartment owners neglect the ability to process such walls, and do it in vain. Despite its absolutely smooth surface, drywall has a high absorption property. This will interfere when it comes to how to properly putty the walls for painting. After all, cardboard will start to absorb paint, and such a surface will look sloppy.
The difference between how to putty drywall is only in cleaning and greasing the seams. Additionally, a fiberglass mesh is also required for operation. It is needed to strengthen the composition at the seams.
The rest of the process is the same as with the usual filling of joints. However, the latter only need to be sealed with masking tape and filled with a thick mixture.
Cooking the walls under the wallpaper
How to putty the walls under the wallpaper? The main thing here is to choose the right tool. For such a procedure, a wide spatula is best suited for which you can conveniently and quickly perform work. In addition to all the above features, the putty of the walls under the wallpaper has certain difficulties.
So, corners, window and door slopes are recommended to be additionally equipped with metal corners. They are first attached to small nails (a gypsum mixture is suitable), and covered with putty on top. How to putty on wallpaper? It is important to consider that there should be several more layers than in a conventional process. So, after finishing with starting materials, and later with finishing, you need to wait until the surface dries. After it is necessary to cover with another layer of primer. This will add strength.
How to putty cracks?
In order to repair such defects, gypsum mixtures are best suited, and especially a material called Santegypsum. Despite its elasticity, it dries much longer.
Before starting, it is recommended to expand the crack on its own, that is, increase its depth and thickness. You can use a knife or other sharp object for this. First, the primer is cracked, and only then can the composition be applied.
Lighthouse Putty
This wall putty is not very common, but it is also worth talking about. The main difference is that for the lighthouse you need additional equipment. These are beacons that are set strictly vertically.
These are usually long wooden slats designed to check the level of the wall. They are attached to the wall with a gypsum mixture that dries quickly enough.
Alignment of the walls with the help of beacons first occurs vertically, and then the same procedure is repeated horizontally. Visually, the lighthouse putty has no differences from the starting one. However, the first is considered more expensive, and therefore less commonly used. In the case of such a putty on the walls, the rule will not be out of place. With the help of this tool it will be possible to check the correctness of the wall level.
General tips
How to putty the ceiling with your own hands? It is strongly not recommended in this matter to try to do this on a frozen surface. In this case, not only will there be no result, but the existing situation may worsen. In general, this aspect is relevant for any surface.
The mixture does not need to be bred in large portions. It is better to make them small, but constantly replenish. Indeed, over time, the mixture hardens and loses its properties. It will simply be a waste of the product.
The average drying time of one layer of putty is at least twelve hours. But the exact result depends on the degree of humidity of the room, air temperature and on the solution itself. Only after complete drying, the excess elements can be carefully cleaned with sandpaper. If you still have doubts about whether the putty layer is really ready for use, you can carefully check this with a piece of sandpaper.
If the bumps could not be aligned with the base two or three layers, the procedure can be repeated, add three more layers to the putty. So it will be possible to completely eliminate all defects on the surface.
Conclusions and recommendations
As you can see, the question of how to properly putty walls without experience is not difficult. If after reading the above information you are still not sure that you can cope with the puttying of the walls properly, it is better to contact the specialists for help. Nevertheless, if you follow all the necessary instructions, and also do not rush, everything should work out the first time. It is important to remember that the puttying process is best done slowly, the training will take some time, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
It is recommended to practice how to putty the walls correctly on the most inconspicuous surface areas. They can later be covered with additional layers. So you get even more confidence in the process.
Remember that the result largely depends on whether the right material was chosen for the mixture, as well as its quality. It is strictly forbidden to save on the quality of putty. Indeed, the success of literally all repairs depends on this characteristic. Wallpaper does not lie flat on the surface with flaws, let alone the painting of the walls.
There is no need to rush during the repair process - give time to dry putty. She must acquire a solid state. If you are not sure that it is already dry and ready for a new layer, you can carefully check it with an emery cloth. Thus, the surface will hardly be damaged, and you will have full confidence that the putty can be continued. Check better in inconspicuous places.
In general, the putty process cannot be considered an easy task. However, attentiveness and caution will soon yield a positive result.