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Do-it-yourself painting tips and tricks...
Considering painting your house or even just one room yourself to save money? Read on...
The saga begins... Understand this: you will make many mistakes. Twelve plus years experience cannot be conveyed in a few minutes prose. And even if it could the experience factor is not transferable. The biggest problem you're going to have is cutting straight lines between colors. Can you use tape to create a straight line? Not at the ceiling to wall inner corner. It is more important this cut line "look straight than to be straight." That seam is often not truly square or straight, so the best line is a free-hand one. You can get an adequate looking straight line by using a smaller brush and taking your time. Always "cut in" a wall or room first, then roll on the paint with a roller. Always use a roller pole when possible for even application and pressure. For best results, and especially when using non-flat sheen paints, do one wall at a time. If you use tape elsewhere for straight lines, run the tape then apply a very thin bead of caulking at the edge to be painted, wiping away the excess with a damp cloth, paint immediately, then remove the tape immediately. Do one run at a time so the caulking won't dry and harden. Why the caulk? It keeps the paint from bleeding under the edge of the tape.
.
First and foremost use quality paint, products and tools. The Purdy brand is an excellent choice for painting tools and supplies. And avoid Sherwin Williams, Wallmart, and other discount paints like the plague. If you must or do use them, never use their lower end (economy grade) mixtures. Sherwin Williams top-of-the-line (Super Paint, etc.) paints are adequate but ridiculously expensive. Glidden, Ace Hardware's house brand (believe it or not), Pittsburgh Paints, Porter, or Coronado paints, to name a few are much better paints at lower prices. If you have money to burn another good but expensive paint is Benjamin Moore. These "good paints" typically run $40-$50 a gallon. By far the best of these 'good' paints, price wise and nationally available, is Pittsburgh Paints. If you live in the Memphis, TN area Farrell Calhoun is by far your best option - quality and price-wise. Equally important, try to avoid translucent or semi translucent paint bases as they have poor coverage qualities. Try to stick with medium or even deep (solid) based paints. When using red colors this is especially important. The best covering red paints even come in a red base. Use latex (acrylic) paints in a flat sheen for subtle texture, satin or eggshell sheen for semi-washable surfaces, and semi-gloss for a more durable and washable finish for kitchens and bathrooms and such. Use oil-based paints for trim work. And whenever painting water-based paints over oil-based paints always apply a coat of oil-based primer first.
.
Second, a paint job will never look any better than the prep work, Always mudd and caulk any and all cracks and holes in woodwork and walls before painting, then sand and dust and/or vacumm before painting. Always cover freshly sanded mudd work with a coat of flat paint to seal the mudd before painting the wall or ceiling as a whole, especially if you are going to use a non-flat paint. Another golden rule - two coats of paint always, and make that always, look better than one coat. On to the painting itself...
.
SLOW down and take your time. Avoid at all costs getting wall paint on the ceiling. Even with this warning, if you are an inexperienced painter you probably will get wall paint on the ceiling. If the aristex ceiling was never painted to begin with there is no way to make it look right again, short of painting the ceiling. Doing so after the walls is difficult as you will get ceiling paint all over the walls both with your cut lines and with overspray sprinkles from the roller. That's why you always paint from the top to the bottom - ceilings, then trim, then walls, then base. Use kilz product to block water stains, crayon and other markings, mildew and other blemishes, but do not apply kilz to an unpainted ceiling to cover wall paint. It will shine like oil paint and will not blend in.. Applying new ceiling paint over non painted aristex will also stand out and not blend in. There is also a difference in color tints between brands and how many coats it will take to cover the wall paint depending on the wall color. Even reusing the same brand paint will look different as white (ceiling) paint dulls and yellows over time. Touching up a ceiling is rarely effective or asthetically acceptable, that's why NOT getting wall paint on the ceiling is so critical - as professionals know and therefore avoid at all costs. Washing it off, even immediately is not an option either - it will remove the aristex. Spray from a can touch-up aristex won't work either. It will be a different hue than the old aristex.
.
Use a short roller nap. Novices often go with a thick roller nap because it holds more paint and covers better but will leave an ugly "orange peel" effect especially noticable in well lit areas such as bathrooms and kitchens. Shorter roller naps avoid this but require more skill for proper coverage. Depending on the color, multiple coats will change the color often varying significantly from the desired original color you picked from a chart. Always roll your roller up and down only (never at an angle or diagnally) and always "feather out" the edges before moving on to avoid "roller ropes" (build up of thicker paint at the roller's edge. But feather lightly or you will end up removing half dried paint which leads to a trashy build up speckling your walls (called roller bugers). Use the more expensive (Purdy brand) roller naps to avoid "shedding" which causes little hairs all over the walls embedded in the paint. Always strain (filter) your paint (even new paint) with a strainer cloth or bag (or pantyhose) to avoid buggers. And always have the paint "shaken" at the paint store for a creamy, bugger-free paint.
.
And for gosh sakes avoid all those edging and other do-it-yourself toys and gadgets you've seen advertised on TV. If they actually worked real painters would use them. Good luck...
The saga begins... Understand this: you will make many mistakes. Twelve plus years experience cannot be conveyed in a few minutes prose. And even if it could the experience factor is not transferable. The biggest problem you're going to have is cutting straight lines between colors. Can you use tape to create a straight line? Not at the ceiling to wall inner corner. It is more important this cut line "look straight than to be straight." That seam is often not truly square or straight, so the best line is a free-hand one. You can get an adequate looking straight line by using a smaller brush and taking your time. Always "cut in" a wall or room first, then roll on the paint with a roller. Always use a roller pole when possible for even application and pressure. For best results, and especially when using non-flat sheen paints, do one wall at a time. If you use tape elsewhere for straight lines, run the tape then apply a very thin bead of caulking at the edge to be painted, wiping away the excess with a damp cloth, paint immediately, then remove the tape immediately. Do one run at a time so the caulking won't dry and harden. Why the caulk? It keeps the paint from bleeding under the edge of the tape.
.
First and foremost use quality paint, products and tools. The Purdy brand is an excellent choice for painting tools and supplies. And avoid Sherwin Williams, Wallmart, and other discount paints like the plague. If you must or do use them, never use their lower end (economy grade) mixtures. Sherwin Williams top-of-the-line (Super Paint, etc.) paints are adequate but ridiculously expensive. Glidden, Ace Hardware's house brand (believe it or not), Pittsburgh Paints, Porter, or Coronado paints, to name a few are much better paints at lower prices. If you have money to burn another good but expensive paint is Benjamin Moore. These "good paints" typically run $40-$50 a gallon. By far the best of these 'good' paints, price wise and nationally available, is Pittsburgh Paints. If you live in the Memphis, TN area Farrell Calhoun is by far your best option - quality and price-wise. Equally important, try to avoid translucent or semi translucent paint bases as they have poor coverage qualities. Try to stick with medium or even deep (solid) based paints. When using red colors this is especially important. The best covering red paints even come in a red base. Use latex (acrylic) paints in a flat sheen for subtle texture, satin or eggshell sheen for semi-washable surfaces, and semi-gloss for a more durable and washable finish for kitchens and bathrooms and such. Use oil-based paints for trim work. And whenever painting water-based paints over oil-based paints always apply a coat of oil-based primer first.
.
Second, a paint job will never look any better than the prep work, Always mudd and caulk any and all cracks and holes in woodwork and walls before painting, then sand and dust and/or vacumm before painting. Always cover freshly sanded mudd work with a coat of flat paint to seal the mudd before painting the wall or ceiling as a whole, especially if you are going to use a non-flat paint. Another golden rule - two coats of paint always, and make that always, look better than one coat. On to the painting itself...
.
SLOW down and take your time. Avoid at all costs getting wall paint on the ceiling. Even with this warning, if you are an inexperienced painter you probably will get wall paint on the ceiling. If the aristex ceiling was never painted to begin with there is no way to make it look right again, short of painting the ceiling. Doing so after the walls is difficult as you will get ceiling paint all over the walls both with your cut lines and with overspray sprinkles from the roller. That's why you always paint from the top to the bottom - ceilings, then trim, then walls, then base. Use kilz product to block water stains, crayon and other markings, mildew and other blemishes, but do not apply kilz to an unpainted ceiling to cover wall paint. It will shine like oil paint and will not blend in.. Applying new ceiling paint over non painted aristex will also stand out and not blend in. There is also a difference in color tints between brands and how many coats it will take to cover the wall paint depending on the wall color. Even reusing the same brand paint will look different as white (ceiling) paint dulls and yellows over time. Touching up a ceiling is rarely effective or asthetically acceptable, that's why NOT getting wall paint on the ceiling is so critical - as professionals know and therefore avoid at all costs. Washing it off, even immediately is not an option either - it will remove the aristex. Spray from a can touch-up aristex won't work either. It will be a different hue than the old aristex.
.
Use a short roller nap. Novices often go with a thick roller nap because it holds more paint and covers better but will leave an ugly "orange peel" effect especially noticable in well lit areas such as bathrooms and kitchens. Shorter roller naps avoid this but require more skill for proper coverage. Depending on the color, multiple coats will change the color often varying significantly from the desired original color you picked from a chart. Always roll your roller up and down only (never at an angle or diagnally) and always "feather out" the edges before moving on to avoid "roller ropes" (build up of thicker paint at the roller's edge. But feather lightly or you will end up removing half dried paint which leads to a trashy build up speckling your walls (called roller bugers). Use the more expensive (Purdy brand) roller naps to avoid "shedding" which causes little hairs all over the walls embedded in the paint. Always strain (filter) your paint (even new paint) with a strainer cloth or bag (or pantyhose) to avoid buggers. And always have the paint "shaken" at the paint store for a creamy, bugger-free paint.
.
And for gosh sakes avoid all those edging and other do-it-yourself toys and gadgets you've seen advertised on TV. If they actually worked real painters would use them. Good luck...