Guidelines for Interior Painting

By: Tony Evans

There are not many projects that you can do to your home that offer so much improvement at such an inexpensive price as interior painting. You can change the entire look and feel of a room in very little time. Painting is a great way to update any room with just a little time and effort.

Once you have decided on your color choice, go your local paint or hardware store with that particular color and have enough paint mixed to cover your entire room. Latex paint should be your first choice for painting your walls. The most common paint sheen for walls is flat, eggshell and satin. Flat finishes will hide flaws in your wall much better than eggshell or satin finishes, but will not resist dirt as well and is harder to clean. Eggshell or satin would be a better choice for high traffic areas. If you will need to paint the trim in your room you will also need to purchase your trim paint. The most common color for painting trim is white, but you can paint it any color that you choose, just be sure that it complements your wall color. Trim paint is usually semigloss or gloss, both of which form a hard shell when dry and holds up very well to wear and tear.

There are some tools and materials that you must have in order to complete this project. You will need drop cloths or tarps, paint roller, paint tray, a paint brush, screwdriver, putty knife, wall spackling and a household cleaner.

1. To begin, move all furniture away from the walls and place the items in the center of the room. Next, cover all of your flooring and furniture with drop cloths. You can also use disposable plastic covers to place over your furniture instead of drop cloths if you choose. Remove all electrical switch plates and outlet covers. After removing the switch plates, replace the screws so they will not get lost. Remove all pictures and any other items hanging from the walls.

2. Using a cleaning solution, clean the walls thoroughly. Rinse off with water and allow to completely dry. If you have any stains such as smoke or water stains you will need to prime these areas using an oil based primer. If you do not prime these areas first, the stains will penetrate through your new paint.

3. Using the wall spackling and a putty knife, repair all nail holes in the drywall. Once the wall spackling dries, lightly sand the area using fine grit sand paper.

4. Begin painting by trimming around all doors, windows, baseboards and the edge where your walls and ceilings meet. If you are not going to paint the trim, you may consider taping the edges of the trim using painters tape before you paint.

5. Using your paint roller and paint tray, begin painting the wall from the top corner and working your way down the wall with the paint. Apply the paint in small sections, usually an area approximately 4' x 4' can be covered with each roller refill. Begin each new section beside the previous and then blend the paint edges together while still wet.

6. Work quickly and don't stop until you have completed one wall or have reached a break such as a door or the corner of the room so that you can maintain a wet edge.

7. Allow the first coat of paint to fully dry and then determine if you will need an additional coat of paint.

8. When painting your trim, paint the tops of the doors and windows first and work your way down so that you can remove any runs as you go. Paint your baseboards last.

Allow the paint to fully dry at least a full day before hanging your pictures back on the walls.

Take your time and good luck. The benefits that you receive from interior painting is definitely worth the time and effort that you invest.