DIY Painting Project Advice
Top 10 Tips to make your next paint project a huge success
- Wait for dry weather. Humidity means drips and slow drying, so avoid painting on a rainy day.
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Do a thorough visual inspection and prep. Any cracked, flaking, or peeling areas need to be lightly sanded or scraped (and then thoroughly rinsed) before applying new primer and paint, because the weight of the new coat will pull the old paint loose.
- Buy high-quality brushes, roller covers, and painter’s tape.
- Know your nap. The more texture your walls have, the thicker the nap you’ll want on your roller cover so that it can reach into crevices and give complete coverage.
- Protect anything you don’t want painted.
- Remove light switch and outlet covers.
- Use primer. Paint-and-primer combinations are fine if you already have a clean, smooth surface, but if there are any issues with the wall or it’s been more than eight years since you last painted, bite the bullet and go with a separate primer.
- Get your salesperson to help you with a realistic estimate of how much paint you’ll really need so that you can buy it all at once.
- Today’s premium paints flow on easily, and you’ve already chosen a good roller cover (right?), so there’s no need to use much pressure. Be sure to use an extension pole so you can reach the maximum amount of area with the least effort — and without straining your back.
- Paint from top to bottom.
After you’ve cut in your edges at the ceiling and baseboard using a brush, use your roller to apply paint from the ceiling downward.
