How to Paint Flaking Walls

Prepare the room for the work ahead, removing anything hanging from the walls you will paint along with chairs, tables or other room accessories that might become obstacles or get damaged. Spread plastic sheeting or old sheets along the base of the walls to protect your floors.

Scrape the areas of peeling paint, using either a plastic scrub pad for washing dishes or a paint scraper. The plastic scrub pad is less invasive to the wall beneath the paint, but a plastic, wood or metal scraper may be used carefully. Lift the edges of the paint flakes up as you work, removing as much of the paint as possible until solid paint is reached.

Sand the wall, smoothing out the edges of the areas where the paint flaked away. Slightly scuff the surface of all the existing paint to remove any that might flake off and provide a good surface for the new paint. Use either a piece of fine sandpaper or a palm sander. The palm sander is the more invasive of the two, so apply gentle pressure and avoid digging into the material below the paint.

Mix a small amount of water with a couple of tablespoons of bleach and a few drops of dish soap in a small bucket. Dip a sponge or cotton cloth into the solution and wring it out well. Wash down the walls, rinsing and wringing frequently, to remove all sanding dust, dirt and oils.

Sand over the patched areas to smooth the surface. Apply a second coat of the compound, repeating the drying time and sanding. You can actually use as many coats as needed as long as each layer is very thin and dries thoroughly and the last one is feathered into the undamaged area. Smooth the final layer flush with the surrounding wall surface.

Wipe the walls down again, using a fresh batch of water and adding soap and bleach if desired. Allow the wall to dry thoroughly before proceeding.

Cover the walls -- especially the areas you filled -- with a primer, rolling it on with a paint roller and working from the top of the wall down. Consult the directions on the paint you are using to determine the type of specialty primer to use, or use an all-purpose primer. Let the primer dry thoroughly, according to product instructions.

Paint the wall with a quality paint of your choice; consider a matte emulsion paint, which provides good coverage and covers imperfections better. Use a paint roller and work from the top down, dabbing paint along trim, in corners and other small areas with a brush, as needed. Apply a second coat, once the first coat dries, if desired. Two thin coats of paint generally look and last better than one thick coat.