Paint Your Home Before Dashain (Dasai): A Practical Checklist for Sikkim & North Bengal

Dashain (Dasai) is when most families in Sikkim, Darjeeling and the hills refresh their homes. In North Bengal, the same season is used for Durga Puja painting. Either way, this is the busiest painting window of the year.

Humidity is still high after the monsoon. If you paint without the right product and preparation, the finish can peel, blister or grow algae within months.

This checklist helps you plan the work in the right order — walls first, then doors, windows and metal.

When should you start?

Start 3–4 weeks before Dashain, not in the last few days.

• Fresh paint needs drying time between coats
• Exterior work needs a stretch of dry weather
• Painters and material get booked quickly in this season

If the wall is still damp after monsoon, fix dampness first. Do not paint over wet plaster.

Interior walls

For living rooms, bedrooms and puja / prayer spaces, use a quality interior emulsion. It looks cleaner, holds colour better and is easier to wipe than cheap distemper.

Recommended product:

**Urbane Coats Premium Emulsion** — for interior walls. View product: View product details

1. Steps:
2. Clean dust and cobwebs
3. Fill cracks and apply putty where needed
4. Prime with interior cement primer
5. Apply 2 coats of Premium Emulsion

For budget interiors (servant rooms, stores, rental flats), acrylic distemper is a lower-cost option.

Exterior walls

Hill weather, rain and sun fade weak paints quickly. Exterior walls need a dedicated exterior emulsion — not interior paint used outside.

Recommended product:

**Urbane Coats Emulsion** — for exterior walls. View product: View product details

• Before painting:
• Remove algae and loose paint
• Repair cracks
• Apply cement primer (exterior-interior grade)
• On damp patches, use damp-proof cement primer first
• Then 2 coats of exterior emulsion

Read our full exterior guide: https://www.urbanecoats.com/ideas/exterior-emulsion-paint-guide

Doors, windows, grills and gates

Wood and metal need enamel — not wall paint.

• Bare metal (gates, grills, railings): red oxide metal primer first, then enamel
• Doors and window frames: wood primer if needed, then enamel

• Recommended products:
• Urbane Coats HiGloss Enamel → https://www.urbanecoats.com/products/3
• Urbane Coats Red Oxide Metal Primer → https://www.urbanecoats.com/products/6

Suggested order of work

1. Exterior walls (needs dry weather)
2. Interior walls
3. Doors, windows and grills
4. Final cleaning before Dashain

Doing interiors before exteriors often means dust from outside spoils the new rooms.

Colours that work in this region

For Sikkim and the hills, lighter neutrals and soft greens / blues stay calm in strong daylight. Very dark exteriors fade faster on west-facing walls.

Try shades in Color Studio before you buy: https://www.urbanecoats.com/#studio

Related products

• Premium Emulsion (interiors) → https://www.urbanecoats.com/products/1
• Exterior Emulsion → https://www.urbanecoats.com/products/2
• HiGloss Enamel → https://www.urbanecoats.com/products/3
• Red Oxide Metal Primer → https://www.urbanecoats.com/products/6

##Need recommendations?

Share your location (Sikkim / North Bengal), rooms to paint and preferred colours on WhatsApp. We will suggest the right products and quantity.

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