After making lots of mistakes along the way, here are some of my tips for painting:
- Get a roller shield. It helps eliminate the "spit" from the roller. If you don't use a shield, you're going to be finding little spots all over the room your painting; which is just not fun.
- Use a good roller. If you buy the cheapest one, you'll probably get the fuzzies stuck in the paint on the wall and then your walls gonna look like its got acne. Ew.
- "You get what you pay for" Yes, a gallon of paint at Walmart is $13 and a gallon for Behr (at Home Depot) is $25+...but the coverage from a gallon of Behr vs. Walmart's brand is UNBEATABLE
- BE PATIENT and let the paint dry before you put the room back together. Semi-gloss/Satin paint takes the LONGEST to dry...so do a coat, wait 1+ hours, add the second coat, then WALK AWAY.
- Use plastic baggies for the face-plates and screws. Why? Because if you take off 6 face-plates and make a pile, you are bound to loose a screw (and then you are literally 'screwed').
Since the plastic baggies come in boxes of 9,000 (approx.) you can surely spare a few.
- When you start painting, it will be SUPER tempting to start painting the border of the room (where the wall meets the ceiling, corners, around outlets, etc.) but DON'T start there!
- Start with the roller! (Why? Just keep reading)
- Once the roller is covered in paint, roll a capital N on the walls, and then, in the same vertical motion, fill in the N.
- Get as close to the ceiling, corners and base molding as you can. Let it dry.
- When you've covered all the walls with the roller, go back to the FIRST wall with a paint brush and a small dish filled with paint (I like to use Rubbermaid plastic tupperware containers, the reusable ones...)
- Start at a corner, and work your way around the room, filling in the spaces the roller couldn't get.
Okay, now some people like to use painters tape. I am not one of those people. I would rather keep a steady hand (and a wet rag in case I mess up) then use painters tape.
I'm a freak about being clean while painting. I keep plastic bags (Target/Walmart bags) under the gallon of paint, roller...
When you are all done and ready to put the lid back on the paint can, put a paper towel or rag over the top of the can BEFORE you pound it with a hammer. Why?
Because, if your like me and you pour the paint from the side of the can, paint collects in that little ridge. If you don't put a towel over the can, when you smash the hammer down, paint WILL SPLATTER EVERYWHERE (and I mean everywhere!)
Do you have your own painting tips? Lemme know!
