Groomed Home Smarter Living
You’re prepared to paint (or repaint) your interior walls, but are you actually ready? By trying to paint too quickly, you may create problems and regret it.
Here are five mistakes to avoid so that your paint job does not turn into a nightmare.
1. Lack of protection
Paint spilled on carpet, or furniture stained by a splash are very complicated mistakes to clean up.
Before moving on to the painting phase, it is vital that you must protect the area.
Here are some quick tips:
- Empty out the room as much as possible. Remove anything that is likely to be tainted by paint, such as carpets, rugs and curtains.
- If it isn’t possible to remove everything, place all furniture in the middle of the room. Protect them with a tarp or old sheets folded in half.
- Remove all tables, shelves, screws, rods and other door handles that could interfere with the application of paint.
- Pull out the electrical sockets and switches to be able to paint them without overflowing.
- Protect the floor with a large plastic tarp. Use tape to stick it to the ground.
- Wear comfy old clothes (that you don’t mind getting stained).
2. Lack of preparation
When you want to repaint walls, it’s tempting to skip steps. You want the final result as quickly as possible. But that’s a trap.
If you don’t take proper care of your surface and walls, getting them ready to be painted over (or on), you might obtain imperfect walls, with a ton of flaws.
Take a look at this article on how to correctly prep your walls.
3. Too much or too little paint
What’s more annoying than being in the middle of painting job, and be out of paint? How about having to bring back to the store the buckets of paints you didn’t end up using?
To prevent this from happening, there’s only one solution: carefully calculate the amount of paint you’ll need for the job.
There are a few calculators around to help you out (for example, both Home Depot and Lowe’s offer their own version).
You may want to follow these additional rules:
- Even if your paint only needs one layer, it’s always better to still use two coats of paint for better results.
- Due to a lack of experience, most people tend to overload the brush with paint, and consume more than needed. You should round up the paint estimates.
- It’s always better to have too much paint than too little.
4. Improper tools
Low-end hardware, or unsuited to quality paint may complicate the task at hand. If you don’t get the right equipment, you may end up spending more time painting, the result will be irregular, and it might be impossible to use them a second time. In other words, it’ll be a complete waste of time and money.
Prefer wooden handles over plastic or imitation, for a better grip.
It’s better to use synthetic bristles when painting with water-based paints. However, wool and natural fiber covers are recommended when using alkyd or oil-based paints.
For baseboards and all flat surfaces, it is best to use flat brushes. However, use round brushes to paint the moldings or wall corners. As for radiators, whose corners are not easy to access, they will mandate the use of special brushes.
The short nap roller will be reserved for lacquers and shinier paints. Models with short or medium length hair will be perfect for satin and matte.
Don’t hesitate to ask specialty stores. They’ll guide you to the right products.
5. Painting without trying
Choosing the right color can be a tricky process. Which shade will be adapted to this room? It’s the kind of question that requires actual thinking beforehand.
You can use simulations (online or otherwise) to “test” the way a paint will look in your place. But the result is always artificial, and far from offering a true representation of the shades.
It’s important to check the selected paint at home, with samples, before embarking on this great journey.
Most painting or home improvement stores will offer smaller versions (100ml) to test it out in the real world.
Instead of trying it on the actual wall, it’s best to test the paint on white cardboard (20×20 in.). Place the cardboard in various places, at various times of day (including night-time, to check lighting).
This trial and error is essential when trying out a variety of tones, and shades influenced by the environment. Especially when it comes to combining two or three colors.
You’ll end up saving yourself a lot of time and money in the long run.
