Tip #1: Start off with a quart of paint.
Once you have chosen a color you like, don’t go and buy all the paint you’ll need. After you paint all the surfaces you need you may come to find that you don’t exactly like how the color looks on surfaces, or wish the shade was slightly darker or lighter.
What you want to do is buy a quart of the color you have chosen and paint small sections of it on all the surfaces you will be painting. Then see how it looks with differences in lighting and at different times of day. This will give you the best idea of exactly how the color will turn out once you finish painting.
Another way to go about this without painting so many sections is, painting a foam board and compare how it looks during different times of day in different parts of the house.
Tip #2: Simple tip for estimating how much paint needed for interior walls.
A simple guideline is roughly one gallon for every 400 square feet. However, that number can decrease if you have new walls, rough, unprimed, etc as this takes more paint. So, calculate how much square footage your painting and plug it into the equation!
Tip #3: How to apply different paint base correctly.
You can’t just paint your oil based trim with latex paint. You need to do some prep work. If you don’t know what base your current trim or walls are there is a simple trick you can do to find out. Wet a cloth with rubbing alcohol and rub back and forth on the paint. If it begins to come off then it is water based, or latex. If it doesn’t come off, then it is oil based.
Now for prep, first you need to sand the surface. Use either a sanding sponge or sandpaper, whichever is applicable. Then vacuum and wipe off the surface with a cloth. Finally, apply oil or latex primer (coherent with your intended top coat) on the surface. Now you’re ready to paint!
Tip #4: How long does interior paint dry for?
Allowing paint to dry properly, helps the paint job last much longer and saves you money in the long run.
Allow 24 hours before putting the room back together. You do not want to risk hitting your wall or trim with furniture and damaging the paint right after you finished painting.
Allow 30 days for the paint to cure before washing surfaces. Doing so, soon after you paint, can ruin the paint.
Tip #5: How to Go Green when painting.
Yes, even when it comes to painting there are organic paints. Eco-friendly paint has zero or low VOC (volatile organic chemicals). Paint that contains these chemicals may release toxic gas into the air, even years down the road.
Buy paint that has a green seal on the bucket or can. This means that the VOC level is less than 50 grams per liter for flat sheen and less than 150 grams per liter for non-flat sheens. Your health will repay you!
Tip #6: Don’t waste your time painting around every outlet!
This is especially true if you’re repainting most of your interior. It will take way too much time to paint straight lines around every outlet and you risk getting paint on them.
What you should do is, remove every outlet. Then tape over the switch or outlet. This allows you to do a neat paint job and avoid paint on any outlet. Simple but well worth it.
Tip # 7: Use a roller that works with your texture.
Walls/ceilings/etc can vary with the type of texture that was sprayed on. Rollers also come with different naps, or thickness, to accommodate those differences.
If the surface you’re painting is smooth, than a roller with a shorter nap will do. However, if you have a textured surface to paint, then you want a roller with a thick nap. A thick nap will force the paint to get into those crevices a roller with a short nap won’t be able to do as well.
Tip #8: Cover rollers in plastic to avoid cleaning them.
If you’re painting project will take more than a day to complete you don’t need to clean the roller every day. What you can do is wet the roller in paint and wrap it in a plastic wrap and store somewhere cool. This will keep air from drying out the paint so that you don’t have to clean it so often. However this is only applicable if you’re using the same color. You will need to clean the roller well before switching to a different color.
Tip #9: Nylon-bristle brushes are for latex paints and natural bristles are for oil paints.
Yes even when it comes to brushes you shouldn’t just grab the first one off the shelf. There are natural and nylon bristles, as well as foam brushes. Each has a specific use it’s made for.
Nylon bristles are best for water-based, or latex, paint. That is because water doesn’t ruin nylon. They won’t absorb water like natural bristles will.
Natural bristles especially made from ox or hog hair are best for using with oil-based paint. These hold paint better than nylon bristles.
Foam brushes can also be used. If you are working on trim such as molding foam brushes do a good job. However they tear easily and don’t clean well.
Tip #10: Let’s all do our part in saving the planet by cleaning safe.
Just to mention, you need to clean brushes as soon you are done with them. If you wait until they are dry or if you are using oil paints then you will need solvents to clean them.
Now if you are on a public sewer system you can clean your brush in the sink. Do not dispose of paint in your background. That will make the paint seep in the groundwater and taint it. If we all do our part to go green our planet will thank us.
