How to Prepare Your Home for Interior Painting

Proper preparation is what separates a paint job that looks great for 10 years from one that starts peeling in two. Painters will tell you prep is 70% of the job — and in Las Vegas's dusty desert environment, that's even more true than elsewhere.

1. Clear and Protect the Room

Remove small furniture, artwork, and fragile items. Push larger furniture to the center and cover with drop cloths. Take off all switch plates and outlet covers — painting around them always looks amateur. Label each cover so reinstallation is fast.

2. Clean the Walls

Wash walls with a mild soap solution or TSP substitute to remove grease, dust, and grime. Paint adheres poorly to unclean surfaces. Allow complete drying before applying primer. Las Vegas walls accumulate substantial dust — don't skip this step.

3. Repair Holes and Cracks

Fill nail holes with lightweight spackle and let dry. Cracks and larger damage should be patched with joint compound. After drying, sand smooth and feather edges. Settlement cracks around doors and corners are very common in Las Vegas homes — address all of them before painting.

4. Tape and Mask Edges

Apply painter's tape along ceiling lines, trim, and surfaces you're not painting. Press tape firmly using a putty knife or credit card to block seepage. Remove tape while the final coat is still slightly wet — waiting until it's fully dry can pull paint off with the tape.

5. Prime Where Needed

Bare drywall patches, stain-prone surfaces (water stains, smoke damage), and dramatic color changes all require primer before topcoat. Skipping primer on patches causes "flashing" — the patched area shows through as a dull spot no matter how many coats you apply.

6. Ventilate the Space

Open windows, use fans to circulate air, and run the HVAC. Proper ventilation accelerates drying and improves finish quality. Painting in the morning during Las Vegas summers is significantly better than afternoon — cooler temperatures give the paint more time to level before setting.