So today while I primed the entire stairwell, upstairs landing and ceiling, I had plenty of time to think about how I've gotten better and made painting a bit more palatable over the six or seven years I've been working on this house. Hopefully they make your life a little easier. This isn't at all a comprehensive list of painting tips, just my own takeaways that I haven't seen elsewhere.
Prep
1. Think of prep as part of painting. I always think of painting as the bulk of the work, and for some rooms or projects that really is the case, but it helps me to reorient my project mindset to 60% prep, 40% painting. Or something like that. Otherwise I do a sloppy job prepping and end up with messes that need cleanup later.
2. Frog Tape. The trick with this stuff is to wipe it with a damp rag/sponge before going to town with the paint. While the water in latex paint theoretically activates the tape's barrier, my experience is that without the water, I've just spent twice as much on tape that performs like blue painter's tape. When it's wet, it's pretty incredible how well it works.
3. Remove outlet and light switch plates. Do it while you're prepping so you won't be tempted to paint over them. Not that I know anyone who's ever done that.
Tools/Gear
1. Hat. As you know, I have curly brown hair. When there is white paint, or especially primer (primer is my hair's FAVORITE) my hair will dive into the freshly painted surface. Getting primer out of hair is no picnic. Wear a hat.
2. Safety glasses. My dad is usually right about things. I keep learning that. Just last week, I cut my tongue a little while licking a butter knife and scowled when I heard his voice in my head saying "don't lick knives." Another thing he told me a while back was to find a pair of safety glasses that were comfortable (that is important) and actually wear them. I'm not as diligent about the safety glasses as I should be around power tools, but with painting a ceiling, I can't not. There's just something about looking up at the roller that feels like eyeballing the inside of a gun barrel.
I know. They are super fashionable. Whatever... you know what's even less fashionable? Getting paint in your eye. (Another Dad-ism: it's not a fashion show, Joanna.) Also please note the HAT. I primed all day and have none in my hair. I think.
3. Spatter guard roller. Even when you're pretty careful and not slopping paint all over, like I was for most of today, you still end up with a bit of splatter from the force of rolling the wall. This thing cuts down dramatically on that. They're like $5. Well worth it to avoid drop-clothing everything (or ending up covered in spatter).
4. Trim guard. I don't always use this thing, but sometimes it's handy. Don't expect it to be as crisp as what Frog Tape will do for you, but it can be the right tool for semi-detailed work.
- Paper towels and some water, good to have nearby
- Quality brush. Bite the bullet, buy one and then treat it nicely. This Wooster is my favorite. I have an equivalent Purdy and don't like the handle feel as much, so I use it less frequently. Brushes make an enormous difference in the finish you get.
- Paint pourer of some type. There are tons out there, just get something that goes on your paint can to keep it from getting paint crusted in the rim.
- Mini roller. Two types: sponge for untextured surfaces that you'll follow with a brush and a normal one, but mini-size, for small textured areas
General
1. Don't cheat. It took me a long time to realize cheating actually made my life more difficult and resulted in more work and crappier results. If you're lazy and you hate painting, do a good job the first time.
2. Paint trim and walls the same color with different sheens. This is almost as good as cheating and you don't really get caught unless you are super sloppy. It mostly works if you're going with whites or maybe grays if you're doing gray molding. I did an eggshell wall and semigloss trim in Behr Swiss Coffee last week and didn't tape anything. It's not perfect, but you can't really tell where.
3. Music. I'm not a big music-listener in general. I only sometimes have something on in the car and probably go days without listening to anything. But for painting, I've found it helps me a TON to listen to something, and that something for me is country.
I'm not sure what "the holler" is, but from what I can tell, there are trucks and beer and swimmin holes and biscuits. I love two of those things, so that's good enough for me. I also pick up gems like "idle hands are devil's handiwork," so I get good, everyday lessons out of it too.
4. Paint quality. Buy good paint. Like a good brush, good paint makes life easier. Cheap paint is infuriating to deal with, because you put just as much work in and end up with something that looks awful, and the $10 you saved will not be enough to buy the amount of beer you will need to make yourself feel better about it.
I ended up with a gallon of Behr's Ultra Premium Plus (or something, there are so many fancy words on it I can't even remember) and have been very pleased with how it's performing. Behr Premium Plus has also treated us well; most of our house is painted with it.
5. When you get tired, stop for a while. The wall will still be there later. If you don't stop, you know what else will be there later? The bad job you did because you were tired or sore.
Cleanup
1. Drips. If you get a paint drip on the floor, leave it (assuming your floors are wood). They scrape off very easily once dry, as long as you leave it in an undisturbed gloob (technical term) on the floor. Also, these are fun to use to mess with people. Try putting a few dried ones on your significant other's cell phone screen.
2. WD-40. I've discovered that a bit of this on a rag will remove smaller dried spatters from a polyurethane-finished wood floor.
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