How to Avoid House Painting Mistakes

One of the easiest ways to makeover or perk up a room is to give it a new coat of paint. With paint you can turn dark and dinghy to light and airy, loud and obnoxious to calm and soothing, or feeling small and confined to open and spacious. Paint is a very versatile medium when it comes to transforming a space.

The problem is, if you don’t follow a few basic do’s and don’ts, silly mistakes can be made. Mistakes that really aren’t so silly when they cost you time and money to correct. So if you want to paint a room, do it right the first time and follow these…

Do’s and Dont’s to avoid house painting mistakes:

1. It all begins at the beginning – Don’t forget the most important step…the prep work. This includes:
   1. Cleaning the surfaces that are to be painted
   2. Removing outlet covers, switchplates, nails or other picture hanging hardware…don’t paint over them
   3. Patching and sanding holes or other damaged areas such as chipped paint
   4. Cover the floors with drop cloths
2. For an even and professional looking job, don’t forget to tape the edges around doors, windows, cabinets, millwork and baseboards.
   1. Use painter’s tape not masking tape.
   2. Don’t wait until the paint is dry to remove the tape, remove it while the paint is still wet or it could pull off some of your hard work.
3. Choose quality painting tools. Less expensive brushes and rollers will not do the professional job you’d like to end up with.
   1. Inexpensive brushes will shed bristles.
   2. Choose the right kind of brush or roller cover that fits your job.
4. Never paint without priming the walls. Using paint that has primer in it already is fine to use if you’re painting walls that have already been painted. But if this is a first time paint job, or you’re painting over a glossy finish, priming is a necessity.
   1. Don’t forget to prime holes that have been patched, skipping this step could leave dark blotches on your walls.
5. Never paint over wallpaper.
6. Avoid using flat paint in high traffic areas, they don’t clean up as well as a satin, matte or semi gloss.
7. Buy enough paint. You wouldn’t think this would be a problem, but if you have chosen a “mixed” paint and you have to go back for more, you could get home with a slightly different color because they have been created at different times. Plus, who wants to be in the middle of a project and have to stop what you’re doing to go buy more paint.
   1. One trick to not waste your paint is…don’t dip your brush too far into the can. Not only will this cause dripping, but the paint that gets into the bristles up next to the handle will never be used on your project and it’s hard to clean out of your brush. Dipping the brush about a third of the way will give you adequate paint.
   2. A can of paint (1 gallon) will typically cover approximately 400 sq. feet.
   3. Buy enough extra paint for touch ups.
8. Don’t over apply your paint. This is a shortcut many people take to try to avoid applying a 2nd coat. This will lead to drips and runs that will keep you from having a nice smooth paint job.
9. Wait for the 1st coat to be thoroughly dry before applying the 2nd coat. Waiting 24 hours is a safe time for drying.
10. Paint only on dry walls. Whether the moisture is from washing the walls or high humidity, wet surfaces will not allow the paint to adhere properly and may result in blistering or peeling.

This is a lot to remember, but it’s important if you want a great paint job. Maybe hiring a professional will be the better solution.