Removing fixtures is possibly the easiest of the steps involved in paint preparation but it has some of the biggest visual rewards. How many times have you walked in to a room and the light fixture had paint on it from the last time the room was painted? How many times have you looked at a light switch and the edges of the light switch have paint color on them from the last time the room was painted? Worse yet the light switch or the light fixtures have been painted right over as if making them the same color as the wall or ceiling added to the finished look of the room. With interior painting light switches and light fixtures are easy to take down, store in a small box (keep all of the screws) or just toss away if you plan on installing new light switches and light fixtures.

When considering exterior painting the easy thing to remove before painting is gutters, especially gutter downspouts, which will get in the way of a new paint job. Many times the gutters are painted in an accent color to help make the exterior of the home look more attractive. If your gutters are currently painted to match the house and that is the look you want to keep you should still take down the gutters to make sure that the house gets a complete paint job. Paint the gutters separately while they are off the house. Replace the gutters when the paint job is complete.

Apart from light switches, light fixtures and gutters here is a list of other items which you should consider taking down before you start to prep for new paint. The more you take off the surface the better.

Interior

1. Electrical outlet covers  
2. Light switch covers and Light fixtures  
3. Phone jacks and covers    
4. Cable TV or computer jack covers   
5. Heating and cooling register covers   
6. Sound system speakers and wall covers  
7. All wall hangings and their respective nails, hooks etc.   
8. All window coverings along with all of their hardware          
9. Door stops or any other stop on the baseboards     
10. Possibly you want to take down the doors and their hardware    
11. Ceiling lights and their decorative moldings or trim

Exterior

1. Gutters, especially downspouts and gutters that block part of the house to be painted  
2. Window screens        
3. Awnings or other attachments to the side of the house   
4. Exterior lighting fixtures and their trim and moldings     
5. Any numbers or name plates on the home

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