When choosing to decorate your home, it is obviously cheaper to do the job yourself. Yet, as we all know well, getting the finish a professional achieves is far from simple. We all thought it looked easy and stepped back after a hard day’s decorating, wondering why it looks like a nursery school has been let loose with the paint. To avoid those feelings of disappointment, here are some tips for how professionals get the best-looking paint finish.
Prepare the walls.
The most common mistake made by DIY painters is painting without wall preparation. If you want a professional finish, you need to apply paint to a wall that is as near as perfect as possible. Consequently, you must fill holes, gaps, and cracks with ready-made spackle. Then, using a sanding block, you need to sand down every surface you are going to paint.
Once your walls are as even as possible, be sure to vacuum away excess dust, cleaning the area before applying paint.
Check if you need primer.
Primer isn’t always needed when painting walls, but it is sometimes absolutely necessary. If you are painting onto drywall or fresh plaster, you will need to apply a layer of primer to seal the surface before applying paint. Equally, if you have filled a lot of cracks and gaps, you will want to primer these areas to ensure the paint covers evenly. It is a great way to avoid having to do multiple coats to get the professional finish you aspire to.
Remove as much hardware as possible.
Painting around door knobs, window locks, electrical plates, and fittings is possible—but unlikely to get a tidy finish. No matter how careful you are, you will never get that sharp line professional painters and decorators achieve.
It really is hugely satisfying when screwing back in a fixture and seeing how the dried paint sits neatly behind it.
Protect surfaces you don’t want to paint.
Paint is an unforgiving material and will find its way everywhere without much effort from you. Therefore, protecting the areas you don’t want to paint is as important as preparing the areas you do. Painter’s tape is essential, covering the baseboards and the ceiling edges, door frames and window frames. It is time-consuming – and still worth every moment of effort.
You should also get a painting sheet to cover the floor. You will drip, splat or even spill paint. It is better to protect the area to avoid expensive and difficult-to-fix accidents.
Choosing the right equipment.
You need to buy the right brushes for the job. The cheaper your brush, the more likely bristles will moult and ruin your finish. Better to invest in a solid nylon-polyester bristle brush than risk wasting time fishing the bristles from the surface.
Even if you are using a roller or spray, you will need a brush to cut in around the ceiling and baseboard. A pro-tip for cutting in: always brush towards the surface you don’t want paint on. So, if avoiding painting the ceiling, place your brush four inches away from the ceiling and brush upward. By doing this, you avoid the paint-loaded brush bulging paint onto the ceiling.
Once you have large swathes of walls to paint, you can switch from a brush to a roller or a sprayer. Sprayers are perfect for extra-large areas and will give you an even finish in the quickest time. There is honestly nothing more satisfying than the moment you have done all the prep, and you can now fill it in.
If you are choosing a roller, be sure to select a lint-free microfibre roller with a sturdy extension pole. The extension pole is essential for a fast paint job, avoiding the need to climb up and down ladders.
In short
Success when painting your home is achieved well before you begin to apply the paint. In fact, the final spray or roll is the least important part of the process. Buying the right equipment, preparing the walls, and protecting the area are all essential steps before you even get to apply your colour. It might not sound as fun anymore – but that’s how the professionals do it!
