The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Interior Decorating

Preparing Woodwork

WITH all forms of house decoration, it is necessary to prepare the surfaces to be treated before they are re-decorated and in the case of interior decoration, the work of preparation should be carried out with special thoroughness. Although the preliminary work of cleaning down is irksome, it is only by doing this part of the job thoroughly and well that the amateur home decorator can be certain of applying a successful finish. The job can still be made to look reasonably good even though the work is stinted but inevitably the life of the finished work will be much shortened and new surfaces will soon begin to look dirty and in need of re-decorating.

When preparing walls and ceilings there is only one way to do the job and that is to clean all of the old material down to the bare fabric. With woodwork however the amount of preparation depends on the condition of the old covering and it is not always necessary to clean right down to the bare wood by removing the old paint. In some cases where the old paintwork surface is in a fairly good condition it only requires washing and smoothing down with glasspaper but if the old paint is scratched, blistered or chipped it is best to completely remove it.

During or before the work of preparing woodwork for decoration, any small repairs or alterations that are necessary should be done. This saves the work being spoiled at a later stage by carrying out repairs or making small alterations some time after the decoration has been completed.

Windows should be given very careful inspection before preparing them for paint, the sashcords should be examined and in the case of casement windows the hinges should be inspected. Worn or frayed sashcords should be renewed before windows are prepared for painting The catches and any other fittings should be examined and any loose ones secured before the job is started. Any draft prevention to windows should also be done before or during the stages of cleaning down.

When checking windows the thin layer of putty inside the window glass should be examined and all crumbling putty should be hooked out with a putty knife and replaced with fresh putty. Putty dries out and decays because the linseed oil in the putty is absorbed by the bare woodwork on which the putty is laid.