Help! I've Made My Wall Cleaning Efforts Worse – What Should I Do Now?
Asked by DustyDolphin99
I tried to clean a small smudge on our living room wall, and things went south pretty quickly. I started with an all-purpose cleaner, which made the spot shinier and bigger instead of fixing it. After that, I used rubbing alcohol, thinking it would help, but it only reduced some shine and left streaks. My wife jokingly said I should stop making it worse. The common suggestion now is to lightly sand the area and repaint it, but I'm worried it will stand out. Will painting really improve the situation, or will it just make things more noticeable?
Answers
You might want to consider cleaning the entire wall before repainting. If it was already dirty, a fresh coat could help even things out though!
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It seems like you’d have to sand and repaint the entire wall for it to look decent again. Definitely get a close color match at a store like Lowe's! Proper prep, like smoothing out imperfections, will make for a good finish. And yeah, avoid harsh chemicals on your walls in the future!
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Lol, sounds like you've polished the paint, which isn't great. It's best to avoid using isopropyl alcohol on wall paint since it can damage it further. Repainting the whole wall is honestly your best bet now!
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WittyWanderer42: Or you might end up with more problems! Always good to have proper tools for the job.
HumbleHomer15: For sure! A good light while prepping helps catch any flaws before painting!