It is always pretty easy to spot a poor paint job in a room. You will see a lot of drips, spots on the ceiling around the edges and lines that are not even. Usually a bad paint job is because of haste. If you follow our beginner’s tips, you will be able to paint your room like a professional.
After you take down any of your wall art and move your furniture from the walls, you should put canvas (not plastic) tarps on the floor and on the furniture. Canvas is more absorbent than plastic and less slippery. You should use painter’s tape to fasten the edges of the tarps to the floor. You should then unscrew all of your switch plates and electric outlet covers and tape over the holes.
It is a good idea to screw the screws back into the holes after you remove the plates so you don’t lose them.
It is a good idea always to sand your walls before you paint them so you can get a really smooth and professional look. You should use a pole sander that has 120 grit paper. You should then move your sander from left to right as you move your way from the top and then down. Use medium pressure and be careful that the head does not flop around.When you are done sanding you will need to wipe the walls down with a sponge or a sponge mop to get rid of the dust.
You need to run beads of caulk on any cracks or gaps where your molding meets the wall. You should moisten your finger and make the caulk smooth with firm and even pressure so that you push it into any cracks and leave a nice, crisp edge. You should then use your putty knife to fill any holes. Use 120 grit paper to sand it when dry.
You are ready to begin painting now. You should use a 2.5″ angled brush in a paint bucket. Load it with paint only about 1/3 of the way up your brush. Tap the excess off on the inside of the bucket. You should then use your brush to paint about a 2-3 inch strip of paint at all corners, near molding and against your ceiling.
Now you should start by painting on the wall an inch or so from the edge with your brush. All of the corners and edges with the ceiling should now be cut in and with a strip of paint about 1 inch wide painted on. It is a good idea to paint from a bucket not from the can. You will end up contaminating your paint supply with dust and chips if you use the can.
After you have done all of your cutting in, you can use your roller to paint the whole wall. Moisten the roller before you start. Be sure your roller is covered in paint before you start.
Now you should use your roller to paint an M or a W on the wall to put most of the paint on the wall. Then you can overlap with vertical strokes to spread the paint evenly between the lines of the M or W. You should try to overlap some on the parts that are cut in so you can get rid of any visible marks from your brush.
After you have painted the rest of the wall, you can use a small brush with a straight edge to paint your trim. Then you should use a small sash brush with an angled edge to paint a straight line next to the trim.