Adding a fresh coat of paint to the walls in your home can really go a long way to make a house feel like a home. If you’re going the DIY route, keep a few things in mind. This will help you get amazing results. Today, we’re sharing five helpful tips for your interior wall painting project.
Avoiding Lap Marks
Lap marks are the little streaks of darker or glossier paint that appear when you go over partially dry layers with wet paint. To avoid this, keep a wet edge. Move fast so the paint does not dry. Do not let it dry before you roll over it again. Do this by moving from one wall corner to the other. Roll up and down the full wall. Shift over slightly with each pass. While doing that, it’s also important that you never let your roller get too dry.
Use Canvas or Rosin Paper Instead of Plastic
Everyone knows that when you’re painting a room, you have to cover the floors. However, a lot of people wrongly assume that plastic is the best choice. While plastic coverings work well for furniture or items you won’t walk on, they are risky for floors.Plastic can make you slip, especially if wet paint gets on it.Instead, use fabric drop cloths on carpeted floors.Use rosin paper for hardwood and other smooth floors, and tape it down.
Prime Your Walls Before Painting
This is especially important if you had to patch parts of the wall with new filler or drywall. If you paint over those without priming first, the patches will stand out as dull, uneven spots on the wall. Primer works to smooth everything out so that it all looks uniform once it’s been painted.
Don’t Remove the Painter’s Tape Too Early
When you’re done painting, it might be tempting to remove the painter’s tape from the trim as soon as you can to see the finished product. However, if you take it off before the paint is dry, you’ll find that some of the paint sticks to the tape and comes up when you try to remove it. Wait at least one day (24 hours) for the paint to dry fully. Then remove the tape. As you pull it off, use a utility knife to slice the film between the wall and tape. This helps you get a clean edge.
Mix All Your Paint Beforehand
If you’re painting a large area, you won’t be able to use just one paint can. However, even if the paint is the same brand and colour, different cans can look slightly different.This will be obvious once the paint dries. To keep the colour uniform, estimate how much paint you need. Mix it all in one large bucket. This helps ensure it looks the same. If you end up mixing more than you need, you can always pour it back into paint cans later.There you have it! Five helpful tips for your interior wall painting project. Hopefully these tips will make your DIY painting endeavors go a little more smoothly.