Painting the walls of your house is a task that requires time, technique and patience. For many people, it can be a difficult task, but the key is in the preparation. If you decide to paint your house instead of hiring professionals, these 10 tips will save you time and help you have a good result:
- Pre-inspect and prepare surfaces before you start painting. If the walls have cracked areas or the paint is peeling, you should sand and clean the surface well before applying the paint, because if you don’t, the weight of the new coat will loosen the old paint and you will end up wasting time and money. It also cleans stains and grease and removes any element adhering to the surface.
- When you buy the paint, consult your seller to calculate the amount of paint you will need to cover the surfaces with which you will work. It is preferable to buy all the necessary paint at once so that the tone is more consistent.
- If you’re investing in paint, buy quality brushes and roller covers to make the process efficient and not waste time (or paint) applying. Take into account that the more texture the walls have, the thicker rollers or brushes you will need to be able to go deeper and have complete coverage. If your walls are smooth, choose thinner applicators to avoid creating texture where none exists.
- Protect everything you don’t want to paint. You will never regret the time you spend covering floors, furniture, and hardware before you start painting. Don’t forget to cover or remove the light switch and outlet covers. Use cloths or plastic bags to effectively protect all those elements that you do not want to be reached by the paint.
- However, when it comes to covering the floor, it is preferable to use cloth because plastic is slippery and can cause an accident when you use stairs. When there is a paint spill, clean it up immediately to prevent it from leaking and causing permanent damage.
- Paint the moldings or baseboards first, then the ceiling and walls. When painting the moldings, don’t worry if you get to the walls, because any mistakes will be covered by painting them. Once the trim is completely painted and dry, cover it with masking tape, then continue painting the ceiling and then the walls, from top to bottom. When you don’t have a lot of experience, it’s normal for us to leave drops or splashes on the surface. The ideal is to cover up those errors as we go along; however, when the paint begins to dry, it is best not to go back, because re-brushing or rolling can leave marks.
- Corners and areas near trim are often brushed because the roller doesn’t get into those corners, but that causes the texture to be different than paint on areas that were rolled. A tip to avoid this is to buy a 3-inch roller that is the same thickness as the roller with which you will paint the rest of the walls; spread as much paint as possible with this mini roller and finish details with a brush.
- When you buy two or more cans of paint of the same color, the reality is that they rarely end up being the same shade. Although slight, the shade of the paint varies from pot to pot, but that small difference can be very noticeable on the surface. To ensure color consistency from start to finish, professional painters mix paint cans in a larger container, thus avoiding a mid-wall color shift.
- Wash new roller covers before use. Prewashing removes loose lint that will inevitably come off once you start painting. Wash the covers with water and a little liquid soap, then run your hands up and down to remove any loose fibers. Once washed, you don’t have to wait for them to dry to start using them.
- The common technique for amateur painters is to dip the brush into the paint and then rub the bristles against the container, wiping off most of the paint; the result is a dry brush. Professionals instead dip the brush and then tap each side of the brush against the bowl to remove drips for a truly paint-ready brush.
