Drywall grid built for soffits in Orchard Lake, Michigan on new custom home
Drywall installation and finishing are essential steps in many construction projects. But the success of a proper drywall installation is as much the result of a great prime coat of paint as the drywall finish itself.
Painting new drywall is different than a repaint of existing drywall. Existing drywall, even if it is smooth finish, has a "texture" to it.
Understanding how to properly paint new drywall ensures that you get the best finish.
Before you paint, you need to understand the different "textures" of drywall. In most drywall finishes (aka a "level four" finish), some of the drywall is mudded and sanded and some of the drywall is untouched or "raw" drywall.
Here's a brief comparison
How to Reduce Problems with Drywall: Prime Properly
Priming the drywall is the way best way in which to get the proper texture match between the untouched areas of the drywall and the mudded areas of the drywall.
The goal of priming is to get the stipple between the raw drywall and the mudded/sanded drywall to be as close of a match as possible. If the stipple does not match, you are more apt to see imperfections in the drywall because getting matching stipple minimize the imperfections.
Here are the steps to maximizing your prime for a successful drywall installation:
1. Upon completion of drywall, the drywall should be primed as soon as possible.
2. Importance of Good Priming on Newly Finished Drywall:
3. Best Methods for Installing Primer
But there are two options:
Given the different absorption rates of the drywall paper surface and the mudded areas, it's crucial to use a high-quality PVA drywall primer to ensure an even and consistent finish when painting.
Some quality control tips:
· If you can still see the color of the drywall after you have finished priming, or if you can clearly see the areas that were mudded versus not mudded, you probably need to re-prime the entire area as there simply is not enough primer to do a proper job.
· At any time after prime, if you close your eyes and run your fingertips across the drywall and you feel a difference (i.e., like glass versus cardboard as previously described), you probably need to re-prime the entire area as there is a mismatch of texture which will get more and more pronounced as you add the finished paint
· Do not water down the prime. This will only hurt the drywall installation.
· When reviewing the drywall installation itself, the PDCA Painting Contractors Association standard is "it shall be examined without magnification at a distance of thirty-nine (39) inches or one (1) meter, or more, under finished lighting conditions and from a normal viewing position."
As always, if you have questions and/or comments, please feel free to reach out via email at service@multidrywall.com or call 734-432-5000.
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