Tips and Tricks for Painting and Priming

So I have finished building the partition wall in my basement and it is time to start painting and priming. This step of the renovation, although I do not mind painting, can be quite messy and can be quite tedious.

I have painted every room in my house, but I am not a professional by any means. As a DIY’er, my tips to you if you are thinking about painting a room in your home or apartment are:

• TIP #1 – Make sure that you have plenty of room to work in. It is important that everything is picked up off of the floors. It does not take much to trip over a cord and spill a gallon of paint onto your carpet or hardwood floors. Doing this will cost you more time and money than if you took the time to clean the area in the first place.
• TIP #2 – Don’t buy the cheapest supplies! You don’t have to purchase the most expensive Purdy brushes that the Home Center sells. But don’t waste your time and money using brushes and supplies that you picked up at the dollar store. There are many brands and styles of brushes and rollers and it can be quite confusing when you are standing in front of them in Home Depot. Do your research and make sure that you get the type of brush and/or rollers for the job that you are going to do. I am speaking from experience on this. I had to redo a lot of the cutting that I did because I used a cheap brush that left streaks and even bristles on the wall. I ended up having to re-sand and cut the room with the better quality brushes that I had to go and get.
• TIP #3 – PREP THE WALLS!!! What does prep the walls mean? Well, in the least, make sure that you wash down your walls with a damp cloth of warm soapy water and then let it dry. You will also want to remove any nails or screws that are in the walls that may have been used for hanging pictures or shelves. Fill any nail holes or cracks with spackle, wait for it to dry and then sand smoothly using a 120 grit sandpaper. After sanding, wash dust off of walls again with a warm soapy towel. If you are not 100% sure of your ability to cut paint in corners and along baseboards and molding, use painter’s tape and carefully tape on woodwork and around windows. The final step for prep is to make sure that you have some type of drop cloth on your flooring to catch any drips that will happen… And they WILL happen. You should be now ready to begin painting.
• TIP #4 – TAKE YOUR TIME. Unless you are a professional painter or have painted many rooms before, you will want to take your time painting. Double, triple and quadruple check your work. You will leave brush marks and the paint will run. By going back and checking what you have done, you will catch these mistakes before the paint dries. This will save you the aggravation of having to go back to re-sand and paint an area again.
• TIP #5 – CLEAN UP. Make sure that as soon as you finish your project to thoroughly clean your brushes according to the manufacturer’s recommendation. The quicker that you clean your brushes, the better shape they will be in the next time that you need to use them. Once the paint has dried on your brushes, you might as well just throw them out. If there is paint left over, makes sure to wipe any wet paint off of the side of the can and to secure the cover tightly back on to the can. If you use a hammer to pound the cover back on the can, be careful of any paint that may be on the lip of the can. The first whack that you take to fasten the cover to the can, any paint on the lip will splatter everywhere! By securely fastening the lid, the paint that is leftover will be OK to use for years to come. If you do not want the leftover paint, make sure to check where you live on how to legally dispose of excess paint and painting products. Once you have gone back and checked that there are no brush marks, drips or runs in the paint, you should be able to now remove the drop cloth from the floor. Once the paint has fully cured to the wall, I usually wait 48 hours, you should be able to remove any painter’s tape that you used to cover moldings and window frames.

Like I said earlier, I am not a professional painter, but these tips are methods that I use for painting. In my opinion, take your time is the most important tip that I can give. You will make mistakes, no matter how careful you are. Make sure to keep a damp rag nearby to clean any drips or spills.

Painting a room can be a tedious job, but when you are finished and everything is cleaned up, the satisfaction of the work that you just completed is well worth all of the prep and time.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. If you have any questions, comments or if there are any tips or tricks that you may want to share, please let us know in the form below;