Is it necessary to sandpaper the walls? Doing repair, we are often tempted by the desire to bypass one of the works in order to simplify the task and speed up the whole process. Can I sacrifice sandpaper? Why is it necessary to sandpaper the walls? How to do it correctly? We answer the most frequent questions about walls sandpapering.

Three key questions

When the walls must be sandpapered?

1. After any kind of putty drying. Walls sandpapering helps to get rid of large irregularities and material surges, to level off all small shortcomings. They can be erased easily with the help of emery sheet or mesh using, creating a flat surface.
2. In case of the surface over-priming. Too smooth wall cannot be painted. For high-quality application, strong adhesion of the material to the surface is necessary. Sandpapering helps to create a rough structure, so that the following materials firmly adhered to the surface.

What happens if the surface is not sandpapered?

1. All the shortcomings of the walls will be clearly visible under the paint.
2. On smooth, non-sandpapering walls, the material can roll off the surface during applying or exfoliates from the wall with time.

What to sandpaper the walls with?

Most often, a sandpaper or an abrasive grid are used for these works. The grid is more resistant in using, and it is easier to clean it. The sandpaper is clogged with dust between the grains quickly, is abraded, but its price is lower.

Sandpaper works can be performed manually or with the help of a grinder. Manual work is convenient in small areas. However, if there is a sandpapering of all the walls it is better to get the powerful tool.

How to sandpaper the walls and what materials to use?

All abrasive materials are divided according to the degree of grain size or grid segments.

• A large abrasive is necessary for sandpapering large flaws: remnants of putty, old material removal from the surface. You can prepare surfaces for structural paint applying or thick wallpaper gluing. These materials cover small flaws and do not require thorough sandpapering.
• The medium-sized sandpaper is suitable for the walls preparation for the subsequent application of the finishing putty.
• Sandpaper with small grain is used if it is necessary to give a roughness to a too smooth wall or to remove small defects from surfaces. With the help of this sandpaper surface can be prepared for painting with silky-matt or semi-matt interior paints. These materials emphasize the smallest flaws and all bands from sandpapering will be visible on the walls.

Important point: be sure to take care of eye and respiratory protection! A lot of fine dust is formed during these works, so do not breathe waste from construction work.

Be sure to remove all dust from the surface after sandpapering. You can simply wipe the walls with a brush or with a damp cloth. The final stroke is a primer. The application of this material binds all the dust on the surface and makes the wall completely ready for further work.

Walls sandpapering is irreplaceable, to level the surface, remove small defects and create an impeccable basis for further work.