Perfect Paint Job: 10 Tips & Tricks
Painting a house can be fun and tiresome at the same time. But how do we get the perfect paint job done? With time a premium in Singapore, Paint Wares present to you some interesting tips and tricks for you to make the paint job much easier. Moreover, you can now boast to people who visit your house what a great painter you are now. Perfect Paint Job: 10 Tips & Tricks :- Avoid lap marks by rolling the full height of the wall or up to the height of the area you want to paint and keeping a wet edge
- Combine several cans of paint in a large bucket for a consistent colour throughout the room
- Dry the paint, before cutting the tape loose for a perfect edge
- Paint the trim before the ceiling and walls
- Prime and texture wall patches so as to prevent a blotchy finish
- Ensure the surface of painting is clean and dirt free to allow the paint to form a strong bond
- Roll your paint along the edges for consistent texture
- Use drop clothes to prevent accidental spillages.
- Feather out paint areas if you cannot keep the edge wet
- To achieve an ultra-smooth finish, sand trim between the coats
Tip 1: Avoid lap marks by rolling the full height of the wall or up the to height of the area you want to paint and keeping a wet edge
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Rolling the height of the area you want to paint (In this case, we are not rolling the full height but only half height)[/caption]
Uneven layers of paint buildup can cause ugly stripes. We term these as lap marks. How this happens is if you roll over paints that's already partly dry. The way to avoid this is to maintain a "wet edge". This way each stroke of your roller over laps the previous strokes before the paint can begin to dry.
The trick to maintaining a wet edge is to start near a corner and run the roller up and down the full height of the wall or to the height of the area you want to paint. Between each stroke, shift the stroke to increase coverage. Even out thick spots or runs by moving backward where necessary. Avoid letting the roller become nearly dry. Keep it half loaded by dipping into the paint often. Also, make sure you keep the open side of the roller frame facing the area that's already painted. By doing this, you put less pressure on the open side of the roller and have a lesser chance of leaving paint ridges.
Tip 2: Combine several cans of paint in a large bucket for a consistent colour throughout the room
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Pour all the paints of the same colour into a central bucket.[/caption]
Paint colours may vary slightly from one can to another due to the slight inconsistency in the mix of the base and colourants. As such, if you are in the middle of painting a wall and you need to open a new can to complete that section, you might notice a slight variance in the colour of the paint. The best way to resolve this is to mix all the paints together in one can and to use it centrally. Further to this, it will be best to estimate the amount of paint you will need and mix it in a 5-gallon bucket. (This process is called "boxing"). Here is a guide you can use to estimate how much paint you require for a room.
When a coverage is difficult to estimate, it makes sense to add more rather then less. Keep the excess by pouring it back into the cans for future use. If the job is a large one, use the bucket and roller screen rather then a roller tray. This will speed up the loading of your roller. Dip the roller into the paint bucket, then roll it along the screen until it stops dripping
Tip 3: Dry the paint, before cutting the tape loose for a perfect edge
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Cut the tape when paint is dry[/caption]
Do not just pull of the tape off the trim once the paint is dry. Paint forms a film between the wall and the tape, and removing the tape will tear off pieces of dried paint off the wall. The steps to do it would be:
- Cut the tape loose
- Wait for the paint to completely dry for at least 24 hours.
- Use a sharp pen knife or box cutter knife to cut through the film. Make sure that you start in an inconspicuous area to make sure the paint is hard enough to slice cleanly. If the paint is gummy, there will be a mess.
- Pull the tape up at a 45-degree angle as you cut the paint.
Tip 4: Paint the trim before the ceiling and walls
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Painting the trim Perfect Paint Job: 10 Tips & Tricks[/caption]
Experienced painters have a certain order when it comes to painting a room. First place to start with would be the trim, then the ceiling, then the walls. Reason being it is faster and easier to tape off the trim than to tape off the wall.
Concentrate on getting a smooth finish on the wood rather then being neat. Even if the trim paints get onto the walls, you can always cover it later when painting the walls. Again, wait for 24 hours at least to dry off the paint completely before taping it off. Using a masking tape here would be the easiest and most common way. Thereafter, start painting the ceiling and lastly, the walls.
Tip 5: Prime and texture wall patches so as to prevent a blotchy finish
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A primed wall beside a non primed wall[/caption]
If you look at your freshly painted walls closely, you will realise that it often look blotchy. The colour is uniform, but there is a difference in the sheen. The difference is especially obvious over the holes and cracks you patched with a putty or drywall compound. The porous fillers absorb the paint, dulling the surface (a problem called "flashing"). When the light hits these dull spots, they exacerbate the problem. Smooth patches will also stand out in contrast to the slightly bumpy texture of the rest of the wall. The solution is simple; coat one layer of primer to eliminate the flashing and texture difference.
Primer will seal the patch and prevent the paint from sinking in and looking dull. To match texture, primer the area with a roller, feathering out the edges. Choose a nap (the roll of fibre fitted into the roller) thickness to match the surrounding wall texture. (a 3/8 inch nap roller for smooth walls; 1/2 inch one for textured).
Tip 6: Ensure the surface of painting is clean and dirt free to allow the paint to form a strong bond
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Giving the wall a good cleaning[/caption]
Painting over dirty and oily surfaces will cause the paint to easily chip or peel off. This is especially true in grimy and places which are in high contact with water and dirty. To prepare the surface for cleaning, do use a deglosser or heavy-duty cleaner intended for prepaint cleaning. They are perfect for cleaning painted, varnished or enameled surfaces and in turn improves the adhesion of the new paint. They can be used also to clean greasy or oily areas like kitchen and bathroom walls and removing hand marks around light switches and door knobs.
Start by using the cleaner to wipe in a circular motion using a lint-free cloth or abrasive pad. Work from bottom upwards to the top. Once the surface is clean, spot any pock marks and holes, fill it up with putties and fillers. Then using a sand paper, smooth them before painting. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and eye protection to avoid exposing your hands and eyes to the harsh conditions.
Tip 7: Roll your paint along the edges for consistent texture
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Rolling paint along the edge of a wall.[/caption]
Brush painted areas such as corners and areas next to trim have a noticeable difference in texture when compared to surrounding paints. To eliminate this issue, first brush on the paint and immediately roll it out before the paint dries.
Use a 2 inch roller with a nap (the roll of fiber fitted into the roller) that is the same thickness as the roller used for the rest of the wall. Roll as close as you can without touching the opposite wall or dripping paint on the trim. Complete the brushing on the paint and rolling it out in one area before moving onto the next section.
Tip 8: Use drop clothes to prevent accidental spillages.
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A typical plastic drop cloth[/caption]
As careful as you can be, spills and spatters will still happen. Rather then watching your furniture and carpets being stained and having to clean them up is a huge waste of money and time. However, you can prevent this by using drop clothes. There are 2 types of drop clothes, canvas and plastic drop clothes.
Plastic drop cloth is perfect for one off projects while canvas ones are good for long term or big projects or for people who do projects on a consistent basis. Which drop clothes you use would depend on which projects you are doing. However, no matter which drop cloth you use, a large spill would require your immediate attention. Canvas ones would still have seepage if its large enough. While plastic ones would not have seepage, a large enough spillage would still cause spillage past the area of coverage.
Tip 9: Feather out paint areas if you cannot keep the edge wet
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Example of feathered edges[/caption]
Large areas like ceilings, stairwells and long columns and walls require more then single strokes to cover. As such, you are bound to have overlapping marks in the process of covering them. To minimise the overlaps, you will need to feather out the paint along the edges that you cant keep wet. Having a thinner feathered coats of paints will avoid the build up that causes the lap marks.
Roll the nearly dry roller in different directions along the dry edge to feather the paint. Upon completing the entire length of the wall or ceiling, move to the next section and paint over the feathered edges. For the second layer of paint, move in the opposite direction. This creates a crisscrossing method of applying the paint reduces the lap marks significantly.
Perfect Paint Job: 10 Tips & Tricks
Tip 10: To achieve an ultra-smooth finish, sand trim between the coats
A single paint coat typically does not hide underlying colour and sheen on the trim. If you do not sand between the coats, the finish may have a grainy texture. Therefore, you will have to sand the trim before apply each coat of paint to create a smooth texture.
Using a fine-grit sanding sponge, you can create even pressure on the crevices. However, if you use sanding paper, it will suffice as well if you are meticulous enough. Apply the first coat of paint and let it dry for 24 hours. Then lightly sand it again for a completely smooth surface. Apply the second coat of paint thereafter. After each sanding, vacuum the trim and wipe it down with a clean cloth to remove the dust.
And this concludes our beginners guide to painting. While it might seem a lot to digest initially, practise makes perfect. Keep a look out for more tips, tricks and interesting articles related to painting and home improvement in the upcoming days!
Perfect Paint Job: 10 Tips & Tricks
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