Tips And Tricks For Residential Interior Painting | Old World Painting

 

Residential interior painting can look rather simple on the face of it.

 

After all, it’s just moving around some furniture and applying paint on some walls, right?

 

Well, it’s actually a lot more complicated than you’d expect.

 

Not only is there a lot more planning involved, but there is also a great deal of preparation work that is required to ensure that your paint is applied properly.

 

A shoddy paint job might not show itself immediately, but rest assured that over time, you will see plenty of cracks, blisters, and peeling on your walls.

 

This is why it is incredibly important for you to paint your home with a great degree of care and attention.

 

Here are some of the best tips and tricks that you can use if you are planning to repaint your interiors.

 

1. Always purchase high-quality paint

 

When it comes to paint, you often get what you pay for.

 

Cheaper paints will start to fade much quicker and will often not adhere to surfaces as well, which means you will see a good amount of paint degradation on your walls.

 

This will only end up costing you in the long run, as you will have to repaint much sooner.

 

Purchasing high-quality paint will ensure that your paint job will last for years to come.

 

2. Use good quality tools

 

The same goes for all the tools you will be working with, as cheaper rollers and brushes will only make your paint job look second-rate.

 

Low-quality rollers often leave fuzz and lint on the walls, making your walls look bumpy, while cheap brushes will leave a lot of streaky brush marks that will be unattractive to look at.

 

It is worthwhile spending more on better tools so that your surface will have a better finish.

 

3. Don’t skimp out on prep work

 

Any residential interior painting job starts with prep work.

 

This is one of the most important steps as this will ensure that your walls are clean and smooth enough for your paint to properly adhere to.

 

First, you will have to inspect the walls you are going to paint for cracks, holes, dents, or any imperfections.

 

If you find any such holes, you should repair them using caulk, and remove any excess with a putty knife. You can then use some fine sandpaper to smooth out the repaired areas.

 

Cleaning your walls is also a necessary step as painting over dirty or oily surfaces will make the paint more likely to chip or peel off.

 

So if you identify any grimy areas, you should clean them with a heavy-duty cleaner that is intended for pre-paint cleaning.

 

The area around a light fixture is usually a big culprit.

 

Ensure that you allow these areas to dry after you clean them.

 

4. Keep a wet edge

 

With shoddy paint jobs, it is common to see lap marks. These are the ugly stripes that are caused by uneven layers of paint buildup. This happens when you roll over mostly dry paint.

 

Avoiding lap marks is as simple as maintaining a wet edge.

 

This technique is where you start near a corner, and run your roller up and down the wall, moving over only slightly with each stroke.

 

You should never let the roller become dry, reloading it with paint so that it is always at least half-loaded as you paint.

 

This will give you a nice smooth wall, with an even paint coat.

 

5. Work in an orderly fashion

 

Professional painters often work in a certain order. They will paint the trim first, then the ceiling, and finally the walls.

 

This is often because it is easier to tape off the trim than it is to tape off the walls.

 

This way, you don’t really have to worry about being neat when painting the trim. You can just focus on getting a smooth finish.

 

If trim paint gets on the walls, you can cover it up later when you are painting the walls.

 

Once all the trim is completely painted and dry (this often takes at least 24 hours), you can tape it off, using painter's tape, and then proceed to paint the ceiling and then the walls.

 

Residential interior painting takes time and effort

 

While it is more than possible for you to paint your interiors yourself, it will take a considerable amount of time and effort.

 

It can be easy to overestimate the amount of work that goes into residential interior painting.

 

Ensure that you have planned out how you are going to do it, and have set aside sufficient time to complete the project.

 

But if you do not have the time to spare, professional painters would be able to complete the project a lot faster and up to a high standard as well.

 

They will have the right experience and know-how to get the job done so that the paint job lasts just as long as the paint itself.