7 Steps to Painting a Room the Right Way

May 12, 2010, By Greg Hoard 0 comments

Greg Hoard

Now that you have done the heavy work of preparing the room for painting – the walls and ceiling are clean and dry, and the flaws (nail and screw holes and cracks) have been repaired, it’s time to paint.

It’s best to do this during the day under optimum lighting. If that’s not possible and you have chosen to shut off the electricity to the room, use a long extension cord from an adjacent room or hallway and a powerful utility lamp to light the room. You don’t want to miss anything.

Also make sure that there is adequate ventilation in the room. The fumes from any paint can leave you a little loopy over a long period of time.

So, here we go:

• Plan on applying three coats of paint: a primer and two coats of finish. Always use primer on patched and unpainted surfaces. Raw surfaces literally drink paint or reject it.
• With a two-inch or three-inch brush, start painting in the corners. Use the same brush where the ceiling meets the wall, around door facings and window frames – anywhere you cannot use a roller. Give yourself ample space to come back with the roller.
• Pour a small amount of paint in a roller pan – you don’t want it to dry in the pan before you can use it – and roll out the walls and ceiling.
• Start rolling before the brushed-on paint has had time to dry. You want the rolled-on paint to blend in rather become a second coat. Roll out a “W” or an “M” about three- of four-feet wide and then fill it in. That will insure an even application of paint. Work as closely into the corners as you can without making a messy paint line.
• Always paint from dry areas to wet ones, helping reduce the chances for paint ridges. Feather all edges as you go along the surface whether you are using a brush or a roller. “Feathering” means thinning out the paint. This will also help avoid the chances for ridges to form.
• Cover cans or buckets of paint when you are not using them, and always keep rags and brushes handy to deal with spills, drips and the messes that will inevitably occur. No matter how careful you are, there will be mistakes. If a drip or run becomes too dry to spread out, let it dry all the way and then hit it with sandpaper and paint over it.
• Apply a second finishing coat and just step back and gaze upon the final product. You da man, yes I am.

True, painting is a chore, but look at it this way: it’s a great time to think and if that doesn’t work for you, look at it as exercising – all that stretching and bending and reaching, and all the while you are improving your home.

Greg Hoard is the senior writer and former editor of Cincinnati Profile magazine. He is a featured contributor to ManoftheHouse.com.