Do you want to give your home a new paint job but don’t know where to start? Here are a few tips to help you get the job done efficiently.
Paint during a dry season
Painting during a dry weather means the paint will dry faster. Rainy days present many challenges to painters. From drips, to slow drying, it will take forever to finish a project since you cannot move on to the next coat until the first one has dried up and doesn’t have any errors.
Prepare Accordingly
Being well prepared for the painting job will make everything else easy. Start by doing a thorough visual inspection of the area to be painted. Watch out for cracked, flaked or peeling areas and make sure they are well sanded or scraped, and rinsed before you start painting. Failure to do so will result in a situation where the weight of the new coat pulls the old paint loose.
Get Quality Equipment
These include brushes, roller covers, painter’s tape, and a host of other essential tools. Good equipment will have a lot of impact on your painting and finishing. Quality brushes and roller covers are for proper coverage which helps to save on time and paint. The tape, on the other hand, takes care of drips and blurs.
Cover the Furniture and Hardware
Protect all the equipment and areas which you do not want painted. You can use drop cloths, plastic bags and just about anything that can shield your furniture, door knobs, and floor. The last thing you want to stress yourself with after the job is done would be removal of tough stains.
Get the Ideal Roller Cover Nap
When selecting a roller for your painting project, you must consider size of the paint roller and surface being painted. Mini rollers work best on woodwork and other small areas. As for the nap on covers, you should know that they come in varying sizes and the longer the nap the more paint it holds. Therefore, walls with more texture would require roller covers with thicker naps that can reach into crevices and cover more ground.
Let the Roller do What It Does Best
Once you have picked the right roller, don’t stress yourself applying too much pressure while painting. The premium paints available today flow easily hence making your work less strenuous. Your only concern should be to get an extension pole that enables you to reach the high walls and ceiling effortlessly.
You Need a Primer
Mixing your paint and primer should only happen if you are dealing with a smooth clean surface which gets the luxury of being repainted occasionally. However, aging walls that were last painted more than 8 years ago need a separate primer used on them before you get to the actual painting.
Light Switch and Outlet Covers Should be Removed
Removal of the light switches and outlet covers is very important because you won’t have to worry about them being stained by paint. Plus, most paints would glue the plate and switch to the wall, and make it hard or messy to do a replacement in future. Such small details are what makes professional painters reputable.
Get Enough Paint
Paint is the most important material in your project. Make sure there is enough supply so that you do not stop your project halfway to go looking for paint, which in turn has to be mixed again before being applied on the wall. The tiring physical hassle and loss of time could be put to better use if you consult an expert in advance to give you an estimate of the total paint required for the job.
Paint from Top to Bottom
The main reason for starting to paint from the top is so that you can paint over drips as you go down. That is how the pros achieve a perfect finish in their job, without having to re-do any paint job.
We know all this because we are one of the best painting contractors here in Cape Town. We have decades of experience in residential and commercial painting projects. Our company is made up skilled painters who deliver nothing short of quality work in interior décor and waterproofing. Reach out to us on 087 550 2598 to get more tips on professional painting services.