Painting Tips to Ensure Your Painting Project’s Success

May 13, 2016

Those of us at Norby Painting want to be certain that you absolutely love your completed painting project. No matter if it’s one room, a group of rooms or your entire home, we would like to offer a few painting tips that will help you achieve the professional look you want.

Paint and Color Choice Painting Tips

  • If you are switching from oil-based to latex or vice versa, you will need to clean and prime the surfaces. (Hint: put rubbing alcohol on a white cloth and rub it on the wall; if the paint does not rub off, it’s oil-based)
  • Important painting tips must include knowing your paint types:

High gloss and semi-gloss finishes are good for bathrooms and kitchens because they are easy to clean and are durable, but they reflect light which highlights the wall’s imperfections.

Flat paint doesn’t reflect the light as much, so it hides bumps and imperfections under it but it isn’t washable.

Eggshell paint combines the smoother look of flat with the washability of semi-gloss.

  • Before buying all your paint, purchase a quart of your color choice and paint a large sample to live with for a few days and see how it looks in sunlight and lamplight; you may want to adjust the shade and then you’ll be glad this advice was among your painting tips.
  • Be sure you know your square footage; a rule of thumb is to buy one gallon of paint for every 400 square feet, but textured or unprimed walls will need more.

Preparation Painting Tips

  • One of your basic painting tips? New paint will not adhere to dirty walls; wash with soap and water, rinse completely and dry overnight.
  • Clean ceilings to remove dust and cobwebs; dust baseboards, trim and moldings and tape off the ones you aren’t painting, or are painting with a different color, using overlapping strips of painter’s tape.
  • Fill all holes using spackle and a wide blade, let them dry, sand the spots smooth and prime each spot.
  • Scrape cracked or flaking paint off walls and sand down bumps, then wipe clean.
  • Remove outlet covers and switch plates to protect them from accidental streaks and splatters.
  • Use drop cloths to protect floors and furniture that can’t be moved out of the way.

Application Painting Tips

  • Always use primer to seal the surface and give a uniform base for your paint – one of the best painting tips.
  • Use nylon-bristled brushes for latex paint and natural bristles for oil-based; foam brushes are good for detailed moldings.
  • Great painting tips – using a hammer and nail, poke several holes in the rim of your paint can so paint drips into the can after pouring.
  • Taking a break? Cover rollers with plastic wrap and refrigerate to keep from having to clean them each time.

Clean Up Painting Tips

  • Use soap and water to clean off latex paint in the sink if you’re on a municipal system, but not if the paint will get into groundwater.
  • Use paint thinner or other solvents to clean off oil-based paint.

Call us at Norby Painting for more painting tips about your project.