Preparing greasy walls for painting

Ishtar

The walls in my kitchen are in need of repainting and I've got a question about what to do with what's already on there.

Basically, the previous owners redecorated for a quick sale, but in their haste it looks like they haven't cleaned the surface properly and the paint has cracked. My guess is that it's the grease and dirt they painted over causing it.

What would be the best way of preparing the surfaces? Is there a primer that I can use to provide a sound base (after I sugar soap the walls), or will I have to take more drastic action and strip the walls?

Many thanks
D

ian103

you will need to remove all of paint applied by the previous owners, then degrease the walls. Its probably easier to strip them and start again with something you want.

nickj_2

give the walls a good sand with an electric sander and something like an 80grade paper , you need to get the new paint and the grease off , once you've given it a good sand get something like this and give the walls and probably the ceiling a scrub with a nylon scourer , go over again with sponge to remove the crud , rinse off , then paint

shegar

Give them a good clean with sugar soap and re paint......

budgetdiyer

You sure this is caused by grease? Could easily be matt painted over a vinyl paint

Ishtar

budgetdiyer wrote: »

You sure this is caused by grease? Could easily be matt painted over a vinyl paint

Could be - is there any easy way to tell? If so, would I have to strip/sand it all off and start again? (This looks like it's turning into a bigger job than expected )

nickj_2

if you want it to look good then it needs to be sanded and cleaned whether the paint has been painted over silk paint or grease , either way you need a sound clean surface to paint on