Painting Your Walls Like the Pros Part 2

​Thank you for taking the time to read some of our next tips in painting your walls like a pro. It’s time to get to the final steps from our last article. We hope you weren’t on too much of a cliff hanger there. Continuing from our tip number 5 from our last article to prep your walls and room. If you haven’t read the last article be sure to check that out first. Get your painter’s tape in hand to seal your drop cloth to the floor and over other surfaces using a putty knife to create a proper seal. Some people are artists and have an extremely steady hand. Most people will benefit from taping and avoiding inevitable mistakes. Take off outlet covers to paint around and behind them rather than spending time to tape around them.
 
Don’t keep your paint stagnant but rather stir it often to keep the color consistent. With multiple cans of paint be sure to mix them all together in a larger container. By doing this it will keep all the colors consistent.
 
Make sure you’ve planned your strategy now that your paint is mixed and ready to go. A common practice is to paint from the top of the walls from the ceiling and downward. If you are painting walls a different color paint the lightest wall shades first and then the more pronounced colored walls afterwards. Don’t let the idea of getting lighter paint on your focal wall give you too much concern as the darker paint will easily cover it up. Following the painting of your lighter wall use tape to tape of the corners of the darker wall that can easily seep into the lighter wall otherwise. Dark walls that are transitioning to lighter require 3 coats of paint including a primer and two coats of color. Take care of one wall at each time, not overwhelming yourself with multiple walls. For paint rulers incorporate a W pattern with the roller to effectively cover the wall. When the wall has become dry to the touch it’s time to implement the second coat. When painting trim make sure the wall is painted first then transition the tape to the wall starting with door trim and ceiling and move down to the baseboards.
 
Our eighth tip to your professional painting project is to make sure your room is well ventilated. Keep yourself from getting light head from all the paint fumes by using fans and opening windows for proper air flow. Keep the temperature of the room warm and air dry with a fan to get walls dried faster. Next it is time to clean up, clean up, everybody do their share. Pick up the painter’s tape and your drop cloths that go along with it. Oil based paints will require mineral cleaners to clean and water or latex based paints you will only need soap and water. Roller covers it’s best just to get new ones and you can dispose of those, don’t be cheap.
 
Your final word of help is to section off enough time to complete your project. Don’t assume that you can just complete the project with a snap of a finger. Take into consideration your skill level and the size of the entire project you plan to complete. Spaces can take several hours but some may be extensive and require a few days. Take all these steps into account when budgeting your time. We’d like to thank Lindsey Mather for her article “How to Paint a Room: 10 Steps to Painting Walls Like a DIY Pro”.