We spent most of our time surrounded by the walls of our home. Our house is our sanctuary, and we want to keep it modern and good looking. One of the easiest, budget-friendly ways to upgrade is to paint the walls. A new coat of paint in a fresh colour will do wonders for your home. Even though painting the interior walls looks simple to the untrained eye, there is finesse and technique required to ensure a satisfactory outcome.
To help you avoid some of the most common oversights, we compiled a list of things to keep in mind.
1. Leaving Furniture and Rugs Exposed
This is a common mistake that happens to the best of us. You took out or covered all of the more prominent elements in the room and made sure they will not get paint splattered on them. You feel as if you did a good job protecting your furniture, and bam, there is paint on the door or the light fixture. Although dry paint and glue can be removed from rugs and fixtures, it is better to prevent than to mend. We recommend you double check when covering everything in the room.
2. Painting On An Unprepared Surface
The walls or the ceiling may look like they are spotless and ready to go, but that is not always the case. Many particles such as dust or insects are minuscule and frequently overseen, yet they interfere with the result. Then, this new coat of paint must be applied on a clean surface. Moreover, flaking paint or a glossy surface should be scrapped before using paint. If you skip this part, the coverage of the new colour won’t stick well.
3. Not using primer
The primer is a preparatory undercoat that ensures better adhesion of paint to the walls and provides a safeguard for both the walls and the new paint. Moreover, the primer does a good job at covering flaws and evening out your walls with a flat, non-glossy finish. It is especially important to use it if you have stains on the wall or if you want to go from a darker to a lighter colour. If using a primer seems like a hassle to you, the least you can do is use paint-and-primer-in-one mixes.
4. Using the Wrong Painting Techniques
It is commonly known that to do any job properly, you need to follow a tested technique. Professionals, through experience, developed their methods of doing things, and painting walls is no exception. The finished look of your walls is correlated with the painting process. For instance, you should always start at the top of the wall. Work your way down to prevent dripping over the already painted part. Moreover, do not fully submerge the roller in the paint since this would overload it. Make sure not to press too hard when you are smoothing out the colour and apply it in an even balanced way.
5. Using traditional masking tape instead of real painter’s tape
Painting can take a lot of planning and preparation. One crucial part of that arraignment is covering window sills, door frames, or any other edges that can get unwanted paint on them. To avoid a sloppy-looking paint job you would want to use painter’s tape. Another useful application of painter’s tape is when you want to create patterns on the wall. Just make sure to distinguish between the masking tape and painter’s tape. They are not identical since the paint will bleed through masking tape and leave you with terrible results.
6. Overpainting
It is a frequent beginner’s mistake to use too much paint. There are two common types of overpainting. First, there is dipping the brush too far in the can. Second, applying too much paint on the wall. Painting like this will leave you with dripping, wasted paint all over the place as well as uneven, seeable brush strokes on the wall. That is why you should only dip the brush a third of the way and apply the paint in even coats with just a few brush strokes.
7. Painting in Low Light
Applying paint with low lights is tricky. It will seem like you are doing an excellent job right until the point when it is too late to fix your mistakes. Visible paintbrushes, patches, missed spots are expected when the room is dim. Using lamps will be of some help, but they can cast shadows that will also cause problems. The best solution is to paint during the daytime when there is much natural light. That way, you can observe every detail of the drying paint.
If that is in no way an option, be sure to contact a company and loan industrial lamps that will illuminate the whole surface and will supply you with the desired light.
8. Using the Wrong Tools
Painting does not require many tools; however, the ones that are used have many variations in size, shape, and type. Sometimes you need a roller and other times a paintbrush. If you’re using a spray machine, it’s important to know the type of gun and tip you’ll need to use to avoid damaging the machine and affecting the coating process. If you’re not sure what to use, a graco tip chart will help you determine the correct tip for your spray machine. Before you invest in painting tools, make sure you know what exactly fits best for your desired idea and your home. Furthermore, it is smart to buy high-end equipment if you want the result to look professional. If you purchase the lowest price tools, not only will the results be unsatisfactory, but it’s highly likely that you won’t be able to re-use them in the future.
9. Forgetting to Keep Touch-Up Paint
The colour you picked will likely get discontinued sometime in the future. Forgetting to keep some of it is not so much of a mistake, it is more of a pro tip. It is a brilliant idea to keep a bit of the colour for later use. After you finished painting, store some of the paint in a jar. Stains and scratches are bound to happen, and with that extra paint, you are prepared for them. Just shake the jar and dab a cotton swab for a quick fix-up.
10. Using the wrong paint type or colour
Being disappointed in the result after all the effort you put in is upsetting. According to experts at Matsandrugs, to prevent errors, be thorough and mindful when picking the paint. Not every colour is suitable for some walls. High-traffic areas exposed to more moisture, such as kitchens and bathrooms, require more durable paint that is resistant to cracking and bubbling. Moreover, the colour on the catalogue may not look the same on the wall. You should ask for multiple samples and paint small portions of the wall to see which one is your favourite.
Conclusion
Many things can go wrong with a paint project. The best way to avoid mistakes may be to hire a professional. However, learning a new skill, and doing things on your own is a rewarding job. If you are up for the task, be sure to inform yourself of the best ways to avoid these mistakes by reading up on the subject.