8 Professional Painting Tips For The DIYer

You've gone through the arduous task of sorting through a sea of paint samples at your local paint store. Maybe you sat through an awkward meeting with your local color consultant and you have educated yourself on the pros and cons of each type of finish (satin, matte, washable matte, semi gloss, egg shell etc.). You calculated the amount of paint that you need and you lugged all of those paint cans/buckets into the house. You may think that the majority of the work is behind you. Its just a matter of slapping some paint on the walls, ceiling, and trim and your all set right? Wrong. With this mindset it will quickly become apparent why this is a profession that highly under appreciated.

The Following Are Eight Tips To Get Professional Paint Results Your First Time.

Tip #1 – PREP

The majority of DIY paint jobs that I come across in the field stand out due to lack of prep. In fact, it is so common many people don't see anything wrong with it until it is directly compared to a professional paint job, at that point the differences become glaring. Before you break out the rollers and brushes you need to get the caulk and compound. By going through the room and filling any of the nail hole or small imperfections with the spackling compound and touching up any missing or shrunken caulk it will make the job look cleaner.

Tip #2 – SAND, SAND, AND SAND SOME MORE

Even if you have perfect walls and trim that don't need any prep, sanding is a must. By sanding quickly with a pole sander and finer grit paper (like 180 or 220) you are knocking down any imperfections that you cannot see before they are exaggerated not to mention you are preparing the existing surface for proper adhesion.

Sand between coats. For the same reason as above, you want to eliminate the amount of imperfections and promote adhesion between each coat.

Tip #3 PRIMER IS YOUR FRIEND

Even though many paint manufacturers have a paint and primer in one product, these are geared toward painting in areas without any repairs. If your walls have a coat of paint on them already, it is possible to get away with using a paint and primer in one. This generally will work if you are painting with a similar sheen and color. If you are going to drastically change the color of your space or have a lot of repairs, don't be afraid to put a coat of primer on before you start painting. This will help eliminate the amount of coats you will need to get a smooth consistent finish.

Tip #4 – PAINT IN ORDER

Most people don't realize, that there is actually an order to what gets painted when. Many professionals will paint trim and doors, then ceiling, then walls. This will eliminate time wasted unnecessarily taping lines twice and offers the ability to easily overlap paint between the different finishes and colors which will reduce hard line transitions. You will also have the ability to be a little quicker cutting your lines in on the ceiling and trim since you will be painting the walls last.

Tip #5 - SET UP YOUR WORK AREA

Properly setting up your work area is key in working quickly and efficiently. If you are painting before you move in, three quarters of the work is already done for you. If you are painting your current living room, its gonna take a little more elbow grease. Most professional painters will move all of the furniture into the center of the room before wrapping it with plastic for protection. If you can move as much furniture out of the room as possible it will make it much easier to complete your project with professional results. My personal view is don't keep anything in the room that you cant afford to have broken or ruined. Once this is done, its time to roll out the rosin paper. Rosin paper can be purchased at your local paint supply store or big box store. Use masking tape to tape it tight to the floor at the baseboard. This will keep splatter from the roller and the occasional drip from ruining your floors.

Tip #6 - KEEP BRUSHES AND ROLLER LOADED

Most DIYers think that just because there is paint on there brush or roller, that is all that is needed. In Fact painting with the paint on the outside of the brush or roller is the easiest way to leave streaks and hard lines in their finish. When cutting in lines or doing any brush work, loading your paint brush will decrease the number of times that you are dipping your brush throughout the project, and also make it much easier to get a smooth and even finish. The same principle applies to your roller. This will be explained fully in a future article, but for now it can be learned through a quick “How to load a paintbrush” google search.

Tip #7 - TAPE

No matter how steady of a hand you have or no matter how experienced you are with a brush, there is no way you can cut a completely straight line. That being said, I recommend the use of tape whenever you desire a nice crisp line where two finishes meet. Many people don't get their desired result with tape because they didn't read the instructions. For example most don't realize that the most commonly sold painters' tapes on the market need to sit after being applied for 30 to 60 minutes. On top of this there are added steps that will be listed in a future article to get beautiful clean crisp lines.

Tip #8 - KNOW YOUR PRODUCTS

Don't take your sales person's word for it. Educate yourself on the products that they recommended. Factor in the function of the space you are painting. This will determine whether or not you want to use oil based products, or water based. Keep in mind to read all material safety data sheets so you know what is hazardous, or just in case you are sensitive to any of the chemicals you are dealing with. Make sure to have proper safety gear handy and you know how to use it properly. Let’s face it your won’t be able to paint like a pro if you’ve blinded yourself because you decided taking five minutes to read a piece of paper wasn’t important.

With these tips you will be able to avoid many of the most commonly made mistakes that DIYers make. As with any project, education is key, and this is by far not everything you need to know about painting, but if you follow these tips you should be able to take your DIY painting to the next level.