I've been living in my house from 1939 for over 13 years now, and while trying to remove a mirror that was glued to the wall, I discovered that the latex paint pulls off in thick sheets, even taking the ceiling paint along with it! I've been scraping paint with a steamer and now I'm left with some exposed sheetrock, stubborn paint flecks, and uneven patched spots that just won't come off. I'm wondering how smooth I really need to make the walls before I skim coat and repaint. The videos I found all show pristine sheetrock, but my situation is quite different. I can handle the large cracks – I have supplies for that – but I want to avoid the issue of paint peeling off again. I've tried using 120 grit sandpaper on my orbital sander, but it's not smoothing out the raised areas as much as I hoped. I plan to try 80 grit next. So, what's the consensus? Do I need to remove every tiny bit of paint, or can I just smooth down the raised parts and proceed with the skim coat? Any tips from those who have tackled similar projects would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
It really depends on the final look you want. If you're aiming for a smooth finish like modern walls, then yes, you need your base to be super smooth as well. However, if you're going for a textured look, then you can get away with more imperfections than you think.
Honestly, you need it really smooth. Paint shows every little flaw. Aim for a surface that’s almost perfect underneath the skim coat to avoid issues later.