Interior painting is an impactful upgrade you can make to your home. It’s easy to give a room a completely different look simply by applying a new coat of paint. Painting is not as easy as it seems, and if you aren’t careful, the finished room may not have a clean finish. Here are five tips to help you paint like a pro.
Prepare to Paint Like a Pro
Don’t rush the process of painting. Take the time to properly tape the room. Wipe down surfaces to remove dust, fingerprints, and other grime so that the paint will adhere to the surface. Put down drop cloths to protect floors and furniture.
Use Quality Materials
When you’re buying materials for painting, you get what you pay for. Cheap tape, rollers, brushes, and paint will give you the exact results you should expect from a discount price.
Remember that you’re painting for the long term and you don’t want to have to do it again anytime soon. Spend the money that it takes to do things right the first time so you will be happy with the results. High-quality paint requires fewer coats, so you’ll also save time.
Have Good Lighting
If you want to paint like a pro, you need to be able to see what you’re doing. Bring in work lights, lamps, or other lighting fixtures so that you can clearly see your work area. If you need glasses, wear them as you paint. You’ll be surprised how much easier the detailed trim work is in a well-lit space.
Remove Electrical Plates to Paint Like a Pro
It’s easy and efficient to remove the outlet and switchplates and set them aside. You’ll get the cleanest outcome if you go this route rather than taping around them.
“Box” Your Paint
No matter how precisely the machine at the hardware store mixed your paint, there will still be some slight variations from one bucket to the next. That’s a problem if you need more than one for a room. The pros work around this by having their paint “boxed”.
“Boxing” paint is a method where the finished buckets are mixed together in one large container and then poured back into the original cans. This way the paint is mixed evenly and you’ll have a consistent finished color.
Painting is a job that you can do yourself, but it’s best to take a professional approach. Good planning, preparation, and materials will give you beautiful results.
Blackbird Home Inspections provides inspection services to buyers and sellers in Central Arkansas. Contact us to schedule an appointment.