Painting Walls: Tips and Tricks

Painting a room? Here’s tips to help. Paint a room you can be proud of. A combination of wall preparation, the right tools, and the right painting technique will make your project a success.

First: Clean the Walls

Use a no-rinse household detergent that is safe for painted surfaces. Wash the walls, and then rinse them with clear water. Why rinse if it is a no-rinse formula? Because rinsing not only removes chemical residue, but it also catches any dirt and grease left behind. Check the color of your rinse water if you don’t believe me. (Note: if you paint the walls frequently or are painting before moving, skip this step. Starting with washed walls makes paint last much longer than painting dirty walls.)

Second: Repair the Walls

Very few people have perfect walls. While you were washing the walls, did you notice any popped nails, dings, cracks, and other blemishes? Now is the time to handle them. Ideally, you should patch holes and cracks a few days before painting. If this isn’t possible, tackle the repairs early enough to give the spackling compound time to cure. I prefer a 24-hour cure for a good, hard patch. Examine the walls. If nails have popped out, remove them and secure the wallboard with drywall screws one inch about or below the nail hole. Tighten the screw enough to dimple the drywall. Filling this dimple with spackle makes for an invisible screw head. Fill the holes and dings with spackle. If you notice drywall seams, trowel a thin coat of spackle down each side of the seam and feather it out to blend with the wall. Repeat until the seam disappears. Sand between applications and remove the sanding dust with a clean cloth. Treat cracks the same way. After the spackle has cured, sand the plastered areas and wipe with another clean cloth.

If the repaired areas are too smooth for the textured wall, they will show up like smooth satin on rough denim. Correct this with textured powder. Ask your paint dealer which texture will match your walls. Pour a small amount of paint into a can or bowl and add texture powder. Start with a small ratio of powder to paint. Apply the paint to a piece of cardboard to test it. Custom mix it until it closely matches the wall texture. Paint the plastered areas to correct the texture. When painting the wall, repaint these areas with untextured paint.

Third: Cover Up

It’s easier to cover up than to clean up! Start by masking areas you don’t intend to paint (trim, molding, ceiling, etc.). Tape sheets of newspaper over large areas, such as windows, wall designs, etc. Always use masking tape because it has low tack adhesive. There are several types of masking tape available. The standard buff-colored tape is for one-day use. If you leave this tape in place for an extended period of time, it will be hard to remove. I have dealt with this type of tape that was left in place for a year. It stained the white ceiling. Manufacturers have designed some masking tapes for extended period use. Mask off a minimum of two inches of the ceiling — even more is better — so when the roller of brush hits the ceiling you aren’t left with the task of repainting the ceiling, too. Cover the floor and furniture with a cloth or plastic drop cloth.

Efficient painters mask and cover everything the day before they paint. Clear all or at least most of the furniture out of the room. An empty room is a painter’s ideal. As an alternative, move all items to the middle of the room and drape a plastic drop cloth over all of it. Be sure to leave a good-sized workspace in front of each wall.

Fourth: Get the Right Gear

Equipment can make or break a project. Anyone knows it is inefficient to paint an entire room with a 2″ brush. However, many people try to paint a room solely with a roller brush. A good painter chooses tools carefully: a combination of brushes and rollers. Choose a 1″ – 4″ nylon brush for areas like around trim, baseboards, ceiling, etc. Many painters prefer two brushes: one small and one larger. The smallest brush cuts in by the trim and the larger brush makes quick work of corners. You may substitute a painting pad for the paintbrushes. Buy a 9″ roller for walls. The nap of the roller makes a difference in the final appearance. Choose a medium-to-long nap for your standard wall paint. Ask your paint dealer about rollers for specialty paints and faux techniques. The texture of your walls is as important as the type of paint (enamel, latex, oil, etc.) and the paint finish (flat, satin, semi-gloss, gloss, etc.). For example, if you are applying enamel paint, experts recommend a mohair roller.

Fifth: Trim It Up

Wet your brush with water if you are using water based paint. Squeeze as much water out as possible. You want a damp brush. Dip the brush into the paint and wipe it lightly on the edge of the can. Paint from dry to wet, always painting about 8″ – 12″ from the wet paint and stroke into the wet paint. This prevents paint build up. Use this technique when using the roller, too. Paint the corners and ceiling area first. Paint a 4″ swatch on each wall. This will prevent the roller from scraping against the wall. Do the same at the ceiling. After you have painted the corners and ceiling area, paint the trim work.

Sixth: “W – the Move”

As with the brush, dampen the roller before starting. Load the roller then run it up and down the ridged part of the paint tray to distribute the paint evenly. Everyone has an opinion on how to use a roller, but most painters use the “W” method. This method compensates for the roller’s tendency to deposit a lot of paint in the first stroke. The “W” is simple and done in a 3′ square area. Start at the ceiling area and paint a “W” on the wall staying in the 3′ square. Without refilling the roller, return to the first down stroke (where the blob of paint is) and do horizontal strokes. Finish by squaring it up with vertical (up and down) strokes. Repeat these “W’s” in the middle and bottom of the wall until you have a 3′ section painted ceiling to floor. No room divides exactly into three perfect squares so make a short, squatty one at the bottom. Don’t reload. Now go from ceiling to floor and back. This evens out any wet or dry spots and gives a finished look to the paint. Repeat around the room.

Don’t leave in the middle of a section. In fact, professional painters finish an entire room in one session since it is very difficult to blend the drying paint. If you must leave, do so only after finishing a wall. Even this will make it difficult to blend your brushwork with the roller work.

Seventh: Wrap It Up

If you are going to paint in a day or so, wrap your rollers and brushes in plastic wrap. This will keep the paint pliable and moist. Use plastic wrap, not a plastic bag. Plastic bags don’t form a tight seal around the bristles and let the paint dry out. When you have finished painting, clean the brushes and rollers according to the paint manufacturer’s directions. Examine the nap of the roller. If it is worn, throw it away. Properly cared for brushes can last for years. Rollers, however, are usually a one-job tool.

Read up on painting tips and paint color trends at your paint manufacturer’s website or one of the following websites:

http://www.behr.com/Behr/home

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/

http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/products/paint/default.asp

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/

http://www.valspar.com/