Renovation can be fun, craft, creative, and overall an exciting experience. It’s creating something new and interesting from a previously dull and boring. Creating something new is always fun… or is it? Yes, when nothing goes wrong and a demotivated spirit when Something does not go right and the end-product does not satisfy your soul.

Painting is art too. Be it with a brush or a paint sprayer, it requires some serious skills. True the advent of paint sprayers has made things easy, but boy was it a thing of talent back in the days.

Just like any art. It needs to follow certain rules to turn out pleasant. Of the many rules, one concerns this article. Cleaning. So to answer your question on whether you need to carry out some cleaning before starting your splash-the-colors project? The answer is – yes you do. It would be best to do some cleaning before starting. Cleaning has never hurt anyone now has it?

Basics Of Cleaning

Cleaning ensures you have a nice surface to work with.

If the work surface is metal and it’s old, which is probably why you decided to paint it. It most probably has rust. That rust can be your biggest enemy if you don’t get it out of the way. You will apply paint on it thinking the thick layer of paint will cover things up. You couldn’t be more wrong. The rust will stick out of the paint once it dries. Not only will it destroy the finish, but it will also make the surrounding paint flaky and you’ll have to redo your work again.

In the case of wood, it will mostly have dust on it. The dust has a primary role in the destruction of the finish. The finished product is going to have a grainy texture and can a grainy feel. Moreover, when kept in sunlight, it will have a grainy look. Not attractive at all.

The same is the case with glass, ceramic, plastic, or any other surface you are working with. Here’s a basic guide of cleaning each type of surface.

Wood

Sand the naked wood with fine grain sandpaper. Remove the paint from the previously painted wood

Then wipe it with a damp rag to remove dust. Preferably a clean one.

Metal

Use a wire brush to remove rust. You can also use a sandpaper or chemical rust remover if you see fit

Also, you can sand areas where the paint is flaky to achieve a smooth to touch surface.

Use a degreased to remove dust. Degreaser can also be used to remove oil. You can substitute degreased with denatured alcohol

To protect against further corrosion, it’s a good idea to prime the surface. Exterior metal must always be primed before any further action

Glass/Ceramic

Both of these have resembling textures hence the same methods can be used for both of them. Lightly sand with fine grain sandpaper and use a cloth, a damp one, to clean it off.

Also, you can use primer too. The primer will increase adhesion so the paint can have a higher durability

Plastic

An ammonia-based cleaner will do just fine for cleaning the surface. If the plastic is relatively new and you don’t want to apply an ammonia-based cleaner on it. Just use paint thinner. A paint thinner can do the cleaning quite well as well.

You don’t want previous paint sitting around before applying the new one. If the plastic is previously painted, use sandpaper to remove the previous paint.

Then there’s dust after sandpapering. Clean the dust with a damp cloth

Keep in mind that you don’t want to apply paint immediately after using a cleaner to clean the surface. Let the plastic chill out in the sun for a while so it’s dry. Don’t keep it too long because dust will land on it again and you will have to repeat the entire process.

Wicker

Again, if the surface is previously painted. Remove the paint by using sandpaper. Medium or fine grain, both will do just fine as long as the paint is removed. Remember, don’t be too aggressive in removing the paint, you might scratch the surface. You don’t want to put a scratch on the surface.

After removing the sand, use a damp cloth to remove the dust and paint particles.

Finally, apply some primer to improve adhesion. Keep in mind that most of the exterior wickers are usually primed. This improves adhesion and extends durability. You should also consider using a primer.

Conclusion

And that’s it. Those are the basics of cleaning you must know and those are ones you must practice. If you want to have high durability, a beautiful glass finish, and a smooth surface, you must practice cleaning.