Painting is the last great do-it-yourself project. Our cars may have gotten so advanced that it takes a computer hacker to fix them, our computers have simply revolted and will be taking over any day now, and various home repair jobs grow ever more complex. We finish a carpentry job only to discover that our shelves fall down, our decks tilt, and doors never hang quite the way we intended them to.
But anybody can slap paint on a wall, right? We still have a safe perimeter of pioneering frontier staked out in the realm of painting. The rest of civilization can go on being digital, but painting will always remain a satisfyingly, soothingly analog pursuit.
Things you'll need: Rollers, two sizes of brushes, a trim or cornering (sponge) brush. Paint pan. An unbelievable amount of rags for wiping up. Either or all of newspapers, drop clothes or plastic sheeting plus a few rolls of masking tape. Painter's coveralls, shoe slip-ons, and hairnets, maybe a few spare sets in case it's a mutli-day job. Perhaps a couple of screwdrivers for removing fixtures and such.
Not everybody, but some will also need: Wall scrapers, putty and putty knives, caulking and caulking guns, wire brushes, extra pail and roller grid, painter's specialty paint pads, ladders, scaffolds, sandpaper, and spackling compound. Oh yeah, and paint!
Preparation: This is where ninety percent of the difference between the amateurs and the pros comes out. Think of the key to good painting as spending two days prepping a room that will take half a day to paint. Never, ever say to yourself, "I don't need to cover that. Paint would never get there!" Yes it will! Paint will go places you never thought possible, no matter how careful you are. At the very least, compare the two hours to cover something to not covering it and spending three days afterward with a razor scraper trying to get paint off of it. Cover it.
Everything that's in the room and isn't fastened to it must come out or at the very least be shoved together in the middle of the room and covered. Using either newspapers (less stable), dropcloths (more stable), or plastic sheeting (much stronger) and duct tape, cover every surface in the room which you don't want paint on. The floor should probably take plastic sheeting, especially if it's carpeted or you're going to be dragging a ladder around on it. Windows can be covered with newspapers. Everything gets secured with masking tape. By the way, this is where "masking tape" gets it's name: you're using it to apply a mask to the room before you swab paint on it, then removing the mask.
Consider removing metal and plastic fixtures from the room. Hanger hooks, doors, mirrors, light switch and plug socket faces (cut the power to the room first, even though you're just removing the plastic facing), shelf brackets, thermostat controls, and so on. It's easier to simply remove them than it is to try to keep paint off of them. If you're covering small items, you can get by with mummifying them in tape. Use the cloth, paper, or plastic for large area, and border it with the tape to stick it on. Never trust your covering to a single layer; overlap everything to make sure that if you rip a hole in something, that won't be the one place where paint leaks through. By the way, instead of agonizing over getting the tape border exactly straight, just put it on naturally and then trim the overlap by cutting it back with a razor.
An exception is the hanging lamps or chandeliers in the room. Ceiling lighting fixtures are both too difficult to remove and too labor intensive to wrap. Why not just cover it with a heavy-duty trash bag and duct-tape the opening around the neck? I knew you'd like that idea!
Next, you'll need to at least clean the surface you're going to paint, and possibly patch and prime it as well. Washing is a simple matter of soapy water and a sponge. Depending on what kind of walls you have, there may be some scraping of old paint and filling in of nail holes and cracks. Make sure, after whatever improvements you have decided to make at this point, that the surface you want to paint is clean and dry.
By the way, nothing is more irritating than finishing a new paint job only to have to pick hairs and dirt out of it. So not only should your walls be clean, but should stay clean while the paint is wet. That means putting up some kind of barrier to dust from outside the room, keeping pets out, keeping windows screened so insects and outside litter stays out, and not smoking in the room. For instance, if you're painting a bedroom while somebody else is drywalling the hallway (notice how home improvement projects tend to bunch up on you?) you can tape up a plastic sheet over the doorway to the bedroom to act as a dust curtain.
As for the kind of paint and quality of tools: A common maxim in the painting trade is that you can do it the cheap way and have it to do again next year, or you can do it the expensive way and not have to do it again for eight years. So, high quality paints and tools only cost a few dollars more than the bargain stuff, and will save you money and labor in the long run. Paint quality isn't so much a matter of brand as the different kinds of paint each brand offers.
Painting itself is somewhat monotonous work. It helps to have two people or if you're doing it solo, an iPod or radio going. Music tends to help keep you relaxed and focused. Get just enough paint on your roller or brush and apply evenly and generously. While today's paints aren't quite as stinky as those of ten years ago, they are still harmful if inhaled in concentrated quantities; always keep that window open or fan going and keep things ventilated, perhaps even ducking out of the painted area once an hour to get a clear breather.
Good luck and have fun!
#1.) Before starting any interior house painting or prep work, take down curtain rods, pictures, nails, remove wall socket covers, etc. Sometimes it is easier to buy new socket covers. Lay down some drop cloths or plastic to protect the carpeting and furniture.
#2.) Teenagers are good at putting sticky-tape or gummy stuff all over doors and walls. I use a product called "Nafta" for removing the stuff. You can find it at your paint store.
#3.) Next, lightly sand the walls and the ceiling with a pole-sander. This helps remove cobwebs and any paint buggers left from the last paint job.
#4.) Now you're ready to roll out the ceiling. I use a flat white ceiling paint on bedrooms, living rooms, dinning rooms and hallways. For kitchens and baths I use a washable sheen paint (eggshell or satin finish). I usually finish the ceiling first. I do two coats.
#5.) While waiting for the ceiling to dry between coats, start cutting in the walls in the corners and around the woodwork and around windows using a 2" angular brush. Don't bother cutting in near the ceiling line until you have the second (finish) coat on the ceiling complete.
#6.) Once the ceiling is completed, roll out the walls with the primary coat of paint.
#7.) Now after the walls are first coated and dry, look for drywall cracks and small holes that need fixing. Dig or score them out a little, sand and fill with lightweight drywall joint compound.
#8.) I like to peen nail holes with a long skinny bolt. This makes them easier to fill. Tiny nail holes seem to dish outward even after you sand them. By Peening them in slightly all I have to do is skim coat them flat with drywall compound and lightly sponge-sand them later or the next day.
#9.) If you are not putting pictures or curtain rod brackets back up in the same places go ahead and fill the holes you don't want and sand smooth when dry also.
#10.) If any of the holes that held curtain rods or anything else didn't tightened up well, use "drywall anchors". A proper drywall anchor is a spiral-shaped plastic screw plug that comes with it's own metal screw in the center. For plaster use regular smooth anchors.
#11.) After the drywall defects are repaired and dry (usually by the end of the day), sand with a light sand sponge until smooth. Second coat the ones that need more with another thin coat of drywall compound.
#12.) The next step is to prime all of the repaired areas that you fixed and sanded. Once they are primed and dry, make sure they look smooth. If not, put another light coat of drywall compound on them and re-sand when dry.
#13.) If you see stains (ink or crayon marks) lightly sand them out most of the way. You can use a product called "Bin", which is a shellac primer. Another primer is called Krylon "Fusion". Both are available in an arousal spray and will block "bleed-thru" stains. Cover the area with drops before spraying because the spray does travel.
#14.) Now the ceiling is finished and all four walls have been completely first coated. Drywall repairs are done. If the woodwork is to be painted I do a light sand and prime or paint that up one coat also. Fill and caulk all needed areas before giving everything a final coat. Now it is time to cut in at the top of the four walls along the ceiling line doing two coats. I will also cut in the corners and around the windows, trim and woodwork one more time. Now you can finish the walls with the final coat of paint.
#15.) Once the room is dry, The last thing needed is the top final coat of paint on the woodwork. You're done! Everything has two solid coats of paint and all your drywall repairs and caulking were done between coats. Put your socket covers back and everything else back in place.
Both Josh Stone & Lee Cusano are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.