How to Remove Paint Imperfections

Scrape bubbled, chipped or peeling paint with a scraper. Do this by laying the scraper blade as flat against the paint surface as you can and moving the blade flush with the surface--this way you won't gouge the wall or remove more paint than necessary.

Put on your safety glasses, painter's mask (especially if working on old painted surfaces--old paint may contain lead) and your work gloves. Use fine-grained sand paper to smooth down the area you have just scraped. Do not press the sand paper too hard to the surface. It is better to work longer, gradually sanding it smooth, than to sand too deeply (which will create more work for you as you'd then need to sand the entire surface, rather than simply sanding the freshly scraped areas).

Wipe the dust away from the surface with a soft cloth. Dust or dirt will prevent the paint from adhering well to the surface.

Dip a small paint sponge or brush into the paint. Using small strokes, place a very small (a few inches square) amount of this on a test area near the old paint surface. When this dries, you'll be able to better tell if it is a good match, or if you need to add paint to darken or lighten the paint.

Carefully paint the newly stripped and sanded area. Use lighter coats around the periphery, where the new paint meets the old, to help it blend.