1. Buy good supplies: Sure, it is tempting to buy the $2 paintbrush, but you will pay for it latter. Cheap paintbrushes shed and leave the bristles on the wall as you are trying to paint. There is nothing worse than looking at a freshly painted wall and seeing something stuck in it. I recently purchased a Purdy and a Wooster brush, both of which I think have good painting performance.
2. Prime: I learned this lesson in my kitchen. Our kitchen was previously a beige/tan color. I was painting it a light grey color. The color I picked out on the paint chip and the color the walls ended up being were not the same. I'm convinced I would have had a truer color had I put a coat of primer on the wall first. Having learned my lesson, when I went to paint my office and go from a midnight blue to a light pink, I used primer. Two coats of pink and I was done. I know it would have taken more than that if I hadn't used primer on the wall first.
3. Buy Quality Paint: There is honestly only one kind of pain that I have used recently that I wouldn't recommend. Luckily, they don't make it any more, so no worries there. This is the color we painted in the kitchen. In the photo, it doesn't look that different than the color card. However, the color on the color chip looks a little deeper gray, which is what we were going for.
4. Clean Spills Quickly: You are rolling along and your hand slips and you come down onto the baseboard in a room. It has happened to me more times than I care to admit to. I know it is tempting to keep going and plan on cleaning it later. However, wood soaks up that paint quickly and it gets into the grain. It is a lot easier to stop then and clean it up than it is to wait 30 minutes. I always have a damp washcloth on hand when painting to clean up any messes.
5. Supplies Don't Last Forever: I recently learned this lesson when I realized a roller was no longer circular and every pass I made on a wall with it a spot was left bare. After realizing it was going to take forever to go back over everything, I stopped and put a new cover on. The job went a lot faster after that. I know painting supplies aren't cheap, but don't try to cut corners.
6. Dry Time: I used to try to slam a room out in a night. It just shouldn't happen. There needs to be dry time in between. Ladies, it's like when you paint your nails and you put the second coat on too quickly and then 20 minutes later when you think everything should be good and dry it is all tacky and you have totally messed up your nails. My last two painting projects, I let them dry overnight before putting on the second coat of paint. Let me tell you, it worked a lot better. I recently painted one wall in my office a navy blue. After the first coat, I was freaking out because I didn't think the color was going to be dark enough. It also looked like it was going to take 50 coats of paint, and I only bought 1 quart of paint. After I let it dry, it still only needed two coats, and the color got richer the longer it dried.
7. Tape vs Freehand: I started off my painting career using tape to tape off everything that needed to have trim work done with a brush. I didn't trust myself to not have paint all over the place. Now that I have a few rooms under my belt, I generally forgo the tape. I do still occasionally use it when I have tight spaces, or when two colors are meeting in a corner. I go back and forth between the blue painters tape, or Frog Tape. Frog Tape and I had a bad experience when I was painting the hall way on the main level, so I switched back to the blue painters tape the last few times. However, for my office painting job this past week, I was back to Frog Tape, and had good luck with it. The key for me when I was using it to set off a different color was to run something flat down the tape once it was on the wall to get all the air bubbles out and make sure is had a good seal on it. I came out with a nice crisp line, which made me happy.
Here's the line in our kitchen. I used Scotch Blue Painter's Tape for this project.
8. Clean Your Tools: I have been able to use rollers and paint brushes multiple times because I clean them right away when I am done. Yes, our water bill has skyrocketed over the last month since I have been painting a ton. A good rinse will go a long ways. I also use paint tray liners so I don't have to scrub out the paint tray.
9. Don't Clean Until You Are Ready: This is a continuation of number eight. I learned a trick a few years back of wrapping your roller and paintbrush to make them last a little longer. I have done this for a few days at a time. When you are done with one coat and waiting to do the second, don't waste the paint that is loaded in the brush and roller by cleaning them out. Wrap them tightly with plastic wrap or tightly wrap a plastic grocery bag around them. I personally like to use Glad Press'n Seal, it works great!
10. Prep Your Walls: In my early painting days, I started off in a big hurry to paint and forgot about this step. I didn't sand down the walls to keep grooves and bumps from showing. I also didn't wipe down the baseboards. Before you start, vacuum up any dirt and dust from the floor as well as cobwebs that may be hanging around. Don't forget to patch any holes that you wont be reusing to hang things after you are done painting. Once you prep the walls and room appropriately, painting will be a lot easier!
I hope these tips have given you some inspiration for your next painting project. Happy Painting!!
-N
