How to Get a Smooth Paint Surface

You are going to paint your walls, and you want to get a perfect result. You’ve already painted your house, but it looked grainy when dried. With our tips, find out how to avoid coarse paint on your walls and paint with peace of mind.

What is grainy paint?

Once dry, the paint presents a grainy aspect to the eye and the touch. It is characteristic of poorly prepared substrates before the product is applied.

A grainy paint cannot disappear under a new coat without preliminary sanding work to remove it. Perfect preparation of the supports to be painted is thus necessary not to waste your time and money.

How to obtain a perfectly smooth paint finish?

For acrylic or glycerophtalic paint, it is necessary to prepare the surfaces before painting. It is also essential to perform some operations between each coat.

The material needed:

• A sanding block and sandpaper of different grains;
• Filler in paste form;
• Smoothing compound in powder form;
• 7 to 20 cm coating knives.

Preparing the walls

First step: filling holes and cracks

After having dug and enlarged, if necessary, the imperfections of the wall to be painted, apply the filler, trying to obtain a fairly homogeneous surface without too much relief. Let dry for 24 hours, and apply a second coat if necessary.

Second step: sanding before smoothing

Sand the wall with sandpaper attached to the sanding block. You will have carefully protected your floor with a plastic sheet to avoid dirtying it. Equip yourself with a mask to not breathe the dust from sanding.

Dust the walls with a brush or a slightly damp mop.

Good to know: if you want to clean the floor with a vacuum cleaner, use only a “canister” model designed to suck up construction dust.

Third step: applying the smoothing compound

Prefer a powdered filler to a paste filler, which may be too dense and difficult to apply.

Prepare the coating with water according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Coat the wall with a knife in parallel overlapping strips. Smooth with a spatula, pressing down to spread the plaster to 1 to 2 mm thickness. Do not go over a drying or already dry area. 

If the result is not perfect, wait 24 hours for complete drying and apply a second thin coat.

Good to know: don’t be afraid to call a professional who can provide you with an excellent finish if all these methods appear laborious.

Step 4: Sanding the smoothing compound

Sand your wall to remove any defects with your sanding block equipped with fine sandpaper.

Step Five: Apply Undercoat

Apply an undercoat to finish your work and obtain a perfectly smooth wall before the final painting.

If you follow all of these steps, there is no risk of getting a grainy paint job.

Good to know: if all these steps seem tedious, do not hesitate to call a professional who can give you a perfect result.

Hope this post has provided you with the information you were looking for. Remember to jot down a few words in the comments below. Also, let us know if you would like to read about a particular topic on paint. We promise to get to you quickly!

Read more:

• Understanding Natural Paints;
• 6 Residential Painting Techniques;
• Peeling Paint On The Ceiling, What Can I Do?
• How To Paint Your Wall Like A Professional;
• Residential Painting: How To Organize Your Painting Work;
• Can You Use the Same Paint Indoors and Outdoors;
• Top 5 Reasons to Hire Commercial Painters;
• 6 Exterior Paint Colors That Are on Trend for 2021.