[lilpaintchic]

How do you get the dust of the walls then after you pole sand it?

There isn't much if any dust dragging a pole sander over a painted surface...it removes "boogers",lint bits, bits of dried paint, etc and gives me a fresh,smooth surface to work with....not a messy one. If there is dust I use the microfiber mop head that I bought with the circular pole sanding head.

https://www.amazon.com/FCI-R-DUSTER-Radius-Washable-Microfiber/dp/B01KMZRBJA

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Brushman4]

Yup, the good ole' days, slappin lead paint on the walls, in a smoke filled room with babies crawling all over eating paint chips.

You forgot to mention slappin it on with a six-inch brush while drinking a beer.

 

[Schmidt & Co.]

Every surface we paint needs to be clean, dull and dry before painting. So when appropriate, yes, we will clean the substrate.

 

[goga]

Paint thin, fan over to dry quick, paint thick. Kidding? Washing offices? Or anything? It's a paint, will cover)

 

[SemiproJohn]

I've rarely had to wash walls, just for nicotene jobs and, even then, since I had to use BIN over them, wondered how much of that washing was necessary. I find most of my washing/cleaning involves doors and baseboards. I'm not against washing walls, but I just don't come across many situations where I think it necessary.

 

[jennifertemple]

Never! I will sand down to the drywall before I'd try washing! Now, if, like you I had fresh paint on bad prep, I definitely would consider a good scrubbing. I will try to avoid the need for doing so by a deep sanding followed by priming with sure grip or aqua lock first.

 

[PaPainter724]

As a rule of thumb, I always tell clients to wipe down the bathrooms and kitchens for us, if not we reserve the right to add cleaning fees because of the oils and chemicals from cooking and personal hygiene products. I started that clause after doing a year of college dorms a decade ago and realizing every single kitchen was a grease fest and every bathroom (the girls were the worst) needed the walls prepped more than usual. I also typically recommend using a specialty paint in kitchens and bathrooms (California's Nano) because it'll generally stick to anything and are very very good at cleaning up for years.

 

[Painting Practice]

Wow, wow, wow! When I first started painting in 1974, many of the guys I worked with were in their 50's or 60's. The norm for these old timers then was to wash or dry-clean sponge any and every surface before painting.

Well, by the time the seventies rolled along, that became a thing of the past because of labor costs.

To this day I still wash kitchen and bath ceiling and walls with Dirtex or the equivalent and warm water, before priming or painting. Dirty trim would also be the norm.

Why or how anyone can paint over severe grease and grime is beyond me. Do you think priming over it will change the fact your painting over $hit?

No offense but back then doctors smokes Camels, the cities were smog filled, nothing was vented efficiently, you get the idea. As things have changed so have our requirements, as well as our coatings.

 

[Painting Practice]

I'll wash, but i don't have a set system for my estimates, so a dirty job gets a higher number and i just do it, or hire somebody if it is really bad.

 

[Brushman4]

No offense but back then doctors smokes Camels, the cities were smog filled, nothing was vented efficiently, you get the idea. As things have changed so have our requirements, as well as our coatings.

Camels, is that all you got, my Granddaddy smoked 3 packs a day of Chesterfield King non-filters a day for 60+ plus years, and passed at the ripe old age of 93!

 

[jr.sr. painting]

Washing walls is usually so much faster than the above stated ways of getting a non paint ready wall going. If necessary we use Krudjutter and a clean rinse. Sand afterward to get off any stray debris that may have been on the sponge and rag. Way faster than applying another coat and waiting for a proper recoat time plus it's the right way to do it. Just another reason that sets certain painters above other ones. Such a simple step and people make rocket science out of it... interior and exterior.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PaPainter724]

Washing walls is usually so much faster than the above stated ways of getting a non paint ready wall going. If necessary we use Krudjutter and a clean rinse. Sand afterward to get off any stray debris that may have been on the sponge and rag. Way faster than applying another coat and waiting for a proper recoat time plus it's the right way to do it. Just another reason that sets certain painters above other ones. Such a simple step and people make rocket science out of it... interior and exterior.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You lost me at the "sets certain painters above other ones" bit. Yes, washing is the best way to clean a wall. But why should painters be responsible for cleaning people's homes? I'm not a maid, and other trades aren't responsible for cleaning people's homes prior to work. I've done work in several trades and I can say for sure painters get **** on the most because people look at them at think it's just painting, it shouldn't cost much and anyone can do it and what's an hour more of their time to clean up walls or touch up walls that I'm not paying for because they already have paint out.

Don't get me wrong, setting a standard is cool and if you're down to be a part time merry maid and you can even make money doing it that's cool too. Just realize that you also have to make sure that people aren't taking advantage of your desire to do quality work.

 

[jr.sr. painting]

You lost me at the "sets certain painters above other ones" bit. Yes, washing is the best way to clean a wall. But why should painters be responsible for cleaning people's homes? I'm not a maid, and other trades aren't responsible for cleaning people's homes prior to work. I've done work in several trades and I can say for sure painters get **** on the most because people look at them at think it's just painting, it shouldn't cost much and anyone can do it and what's an hour more of their time to clean up walls or touch up walls that I'm not paying for because they already have paint out.

Don't get me wrong, setting a standard is cool and if you're down to be a part time merry maid and you can even make money doing it that's cool too. Just realize that you also have to make sure that people aren't taking advantage of your desire to do quality work.

I'm no merry maid but if the surface is dirty no matter what it is don't you want to make sure it's done the right way. Not joe the homeowner saying ya I cleaned it, when in reality they wiped it with a paper towel and water and say it's paint it'll be fine. Once it's painted I own it so it's just a safety net. No primer on earth will take care of soap scum, hairspray, toothpaste, piss, spaghetti sauce, or any other bodily stain. I'll man up and use some krud kutter, bleach, 409, or whatever else it takes to make sure the surface is perfect. To add to the merry maid comment we wash all the floors in the house on an interior job when we're done. Of course it's takes maybe and extra hour but that goes so far for a reference or word of mouth I suppose that's why I've never spent a dime on advertising. Try it sometime and you'll be surprised how far it gets you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PACman]

Had a customer yesterday that was hired to re-paint a house for the new owner that had bought it from a "flipper". They asked my customer to make sure they removed the texture from a wall in one of the bedrooms. When my customer looked at it....it was a wall full of snot rockets that had dried and the "flipper" just painted over. So now, my customer gets to scrape painted boogers off a wall. I guess the idea is, do you clean the walls or just leave it for the next painter? I guess after enough coats of paint those boogers wouldn't show......

 

[RH]

Hmmm... well I will ask customers to clean the toilet and the areas around it. Other than that, it just depends. Kitchens with obvious signs of grease, cooking, or smoke residue will be cleaned. Bathrooms, at least around the sink area, will get cleaned too. Not one of my favorite chores but if it needs to be done in order to create a decent base for the paint then it gets done. Also, I want to be in control of how it is done. Many HO’s idea of “cleaning” can be pretty loose so I’m not going to put the quality of my work on the line as a result of a half-assed HO cleaning job.

 

[ParamountPaint]

I'm not cleaning. If it's that bad, I'll tell the homeowner to clean it. This isn't siding...these are the walls that they are living within.

If it's so dirty that paint won't stick, I'd rather be somewhere else, which can usually be quickly deduced during the initial visit.

 

[lilpaintchic]

I'm not cleaning. If it's that bad, I'll tell the homeowner to clean it. This isn't siding...these are the walls that they are living within.

If it's so dirty that paint won't stick, I'd rather be somewhere else, which can usually be quickly deduced during the initial visit.

Exactly.....if ya run into this situation frequently enough that you have it say "I always clean walls", ya might think about getting a different type of customer. Once in a while we all gotta clean something off a door or something stupid, that's par for the course but cleaning,imo, should not be part of my sop.pole sanding is though. Pac I'd drive right over those boogers with a pole sander.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Vylum]

imagine a world where a human could tell the difference between two well sanded average interior walls, one being cleaned before two coats and one not. i dont want to paint in that world, christ this job is finicky enough.

 

[futtyos]

Thank you.

Hmmm... well I will ask customers to clean the toilet and the areas around it. Other than that, it just depends. Kitchens with obvious signs of grease, cooking, or smoke residue will be cleaned. Bathrooms, at least around the sink area, will get cleaned too. Not one of my favorite chores but if it needs to be done in order to create a decent base for the paint then it gets done. Also, I want to be in control of how it is done. Many HO’s idea of “cleaning” can be pretty loose so I’m not going to put the quality of my work on the line as a result of a half-assed HO cleaning job.

RH, I was going to reply to the back and forth between jr.sr.painting and PaPainter724, but you hit the nail on the head.

Why would you let a homeowner who doesn't know enough about how to keep a kitchen or bathroom clean go ahead and clean their very dirty kitchen and/or bathroom?

I used to work for a realtor who sold foreclosure properties for banks. Some banks had the realtors find contractors to do the work necessary to get a house ready for market and some banks had their own vendors do the work. The banks who had their own vendors often got their services on the cheap.

This realtor had a listing in Cicero IL, a bungalow with a semi-finished basement and an attic that had a stairway to get to. THe bank had their own vendors doing the various jobs - trash-out, winterization, etc.

The bank sent out their crew. I came afterwards and took photos for the realtor to send to the bank. The trash-out was half finished - they left junk in the attic, the basement, the back yard and the garage.

Winterization is where the toilets are flushed clean and they and all the sinks, showers, tubs, whatever needs water freezing prevention - have the water air pressured out and RV antifreeze fluid poured down every drain - its a certain procedure if you will.

When I took my "after photos" there was a pile of _____ above the rim of the main floor toilet that had the pink RV fluid poured right on top of it. The toilet in the basement still had water in it. The bank's vendor had poured pink RV fluid into it which resulted in something along the lines of the color puce. Look up what that color is and figure out what was blending with the pink RV fluid to produce that color.

Now I was this realtor's field man and I either knew how to do all of these forclosure services or I had friends who knew how to do them - at a price. I was indignant at what a terrible job this vending company did with their forclosure duties, and I told the realtor what I thought. I offered to contact the bank and tell them to send their vendor back out there to correct the mistakes they had made.

I don't remember if I contacted the bank or my realtor did, but it was a big mistake! The vendor came back out and made it look like the toilets had been properly winterized. This was all in the fall of the year. Late winter/early spring the realtor had an offer on the property. The new buyer wanted to see how the plumbing worked. We sent our plumber out to de-winterize the property. He called me soon after he got there to tell me that there were leaks from busted pipes!

I later spoke with the vendor and he told me that he worked for another vendor who worked for the bank. There may have been another vendor in between as well. Price for winterizing a 1 story house - $65.00. Price for trashing out a house? $400.00. If you are familiar with forclosure services, these prices are peanuts.

Do you really want a clueless HO cleaning surfaces that you are going to paint? How do you know they are going to do the job right? Is it just that you don't want to do prep that you consider not part of your trade?

I am still trying to figure this one out myself.

futtyos

 

[PACman]

Exactly.....if ya run into this situation frequently enough that you have it say "I always clean walls", ya might think about getting a different type of customer. Once in a while we all gotta clean something off a door or something stupid, that's par for the course but cleaning,imo, should not be part of my sop.pole sanding is though. Pac I'd drive right over those boogers with a pole sander.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

What grit for boogers so i can pass it on to my customer. No one at Menard's has a clue which grit to use.