January 14, 2015

Where do I Start when I’m painting a room in my house

One very common question is: Where do I start when I am painting a room in my house?

IF you are a DIY type of person, here are some tips that could help you.

  1. Select the colors you want to paint the room. Ceiling color, walls color and Woodwork color.
    Purchase good quality paint.
  2. Cover up the items in the room you want to protect completely with Plastic, drop cloths, and painters tape.Tip – Use Canvas Drop ClothsProfessional painters don’t use bed sheets as drop cloths, and neither should you. Thin sheets won’t stop splatters and spills from seeping through to your flooring. And while plastic can contain spills, the paint stays wet for a long time. That wet paint can (and usually does) find the bottom of your shoes and get tracked through the house.Use what the pros use—canvas drop cloths. They’re not slippery and they absorb splatters (but still wipe up large spills or they can bleed through). “Unless you’re painting a ceiling, you don’t need a jumbo-size cloth that fills the entire room,”
  3. Remove all wall electric plates, window coverings or any hardware like towel bars that you don’t want paint on.Tip – Press Tape With a Putty Knife
    spackle

    Use the blue painter’s tape instead of masking tape. Masking tape can leave behind a sticky residue that’s hard to clean off. Plus, paint can cause the tape to buckle or get wavy, which lets paint run underneath it. Painter’s tape can be left on for days (some up to two weeks) and still peel off cleanly. And it stops paint bleed without buckling.

    Nothing is more discouraging when you’ve finished painting than to peel tape off the woodwork and discover the paint bled through. To avoid the pain-in-the-neck chore of scraping off the paint, do a thorough job of adhering the tape before you start. “Apply tape over the wood, then run a putty knife over the top to press down the tape for a good seal,”

  4. Sand Away Flaws.
    You have to start with a perfectly smooth surface to end up with perfectly painted walls or woodwork. Sanding levels outs spackle or joint-compound patches and flattens ridges around nail holes. Sanding also removes burrs and rough spots in your trim.
    Sand the walls from the baseboard to the ceiling with fine grit sanding paper on a sanding pole. Then sand horizontally along the baseboard and ceiling. Don’t put a lot of pressure on the sanding pole or the head can flip over and damage the wall. Sand woodwork with a sanding sponge to get into crevices.
    Tip – Clean Dirty Walls With Degreaser
    Paint won’t bond to greasy or filthy surfaces, like kitchen walls above a stove, mudrooms where kids kick off their muddy boots and scuff the walls or the areas around light switches that get swatted at with dirty hands. “I always use a degreaser to clean grimy or greasy surfaces,” a pro tells PM. “It cuts through almost anything you have on walls for better paint adhesion.”
    Be sure to read the label and follow directions—this stuff is potent. Rubber gloves and eye protection are required
  5. Prime your wallsTip – Use Tinted PrimerBefore painting walls, fill holes and patch cracks with joint compound. But if you paint directly over it, the compound will suck the moisture out of the paint, giving it a flat, dull look (a problem called “flashing”). Those spots will look noticeably different than the rest of the wall. To avoid that, prime the walls before painting.sander-degreaserInstead of using white primer, we usually have it tinted gray or a color that’s similar to the finish paint. Tinted primer does a better job of covering the existing paint color than plain primer, so your finish coat will be more vibrant and may require fewer coats. This is especially true with colors like red or orange, which could require three or more coats without a primer. Prime any patched areas and apply caulking to seams around windows, doors and woodwork.
  6. Start with the ceilings by painting with a brush the corners and around fixtures, then rolling in the large areas. Tip – Wash Roller Covers Whether you buy cheap or expensive roller covers, washing them before their first use gets rid of the fuzz that inevitably comes off once you start painting. Wash them with water and a little bit of liquid soap, and run your hands up and down the covers to pull off any loose fibers (a practice called “preconditioning covers”). You can start using the roller covers right away—you don’t need to let them dry.

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