Interior painting isn’t something that you can do on a whim. You need to carefully plan things to ensure that you get the results you want. Although everyone is familiar with the process of using paint on a flat surface, only trustworthy master painters in Sydney can make a huge difference when it comes to your walls.
To help you figure out how to paint your home’s interior faster and neater, here are a few tips that several professional painters do when doing their job.
Essential tips for interior house painting
Use a sander
To apply an even coat of paint on surfaces, you need to ensure that everything is as smooth as possible. One way to do it is by using a sander or sandpaper. Sanding helps level out exteriors so they’ll blend with their surrounding surface. It also eliminates the rough spots and the burrs in various painted wood trims like windows and door casings.
Get only the best supplies
When painting your interior, buying cheap paint and brushes aren’t helpful. Using a cheap brush will only make it look like smeared paint on the wall using a rake. That’s why it’s best to invest in quality supplies to get the most out of your project. Although they may cost more than standard brushes, they are more durable and can apply the paint much smoother.
When choosing the best paint, consider its coverage and durability. A quality one helps you avoid getting those unwanted fingerprints from your walls because these paint products often dry quicker and easier.
Cover your furniture
You don’t need to get everything off before starting your project. Instead, you can move all the furnishings to the centre of the room and then put a cover on them. You can use plastic sheets to protect them. Doing so will protect your furniture from any paint splatters or drips, as well as all the dust from the sanding.
Consider using a tinted primer
Before you start painting the walls, it’s best to fill the holes and patch the cracks using a joint compound. Painting them directly will only cause the mixture to absorb the moisture from the paint, making it look flat and dull. Fortunately, applying a primer before applying a fresh coat of paint can prevent this from happening.
Using a white primer with a bit of grey paint or the same colour as the finish paint will conceal the patched area better than other colours. This will also help make the finished paint coat appear more vibrant and energetic.
Use a putty knife to press the tape
A painter’s tape is crucial when doing any interior paint project, especially when you’re working on wood trims. However, it can be pretty challenging when the tape peels off, and you find out that the paint has bled through and got all over the trim. To prevent such a scenario, consider using a putty knife to press the tape and make it adhere to the tape much more effectively.
You can apply the tape directly to the wood trim then run the putty knife over it to press the tape down better. This will stop the paint from bleeding. You can leave it for several days and peel it off cleanly to ensure that the paint has already dried.
Apply a paint extender to get rid of lap and brush marks
One of the most common signs that an amateur did the paint job is the presence of apparent lap marks on the finished paint coat. This can be avoided by mixing a paint extender to the paint when applying a fresh coat.
Aside from slowing down the paint’s drying time, it also helps level out the paint and gets rid of the brush strokes. Most painters and decorators use this technique when doing woodwork projects, doors and cabinets. It’s highly advisable to read the instructions to know how much extender you can add to your paint.
Bring in some canvas drop cloths
Apart from the furniture, it’s equally important to protect the floors from paint drip and splashes. Using canvas drop cloths effectively stops spills and splatters from getting through to your flooring. Although they’re pricier than used bedsheets, you can guarantee that they’ll absorb splatters more effectively. What’s even great is that you don’t need a lot to cover the area unless you’re painting a ceiling.
Complete one side first before starting on another one
Most amateurs often apply the first coat of paint all over the room until it’s complete. However, doing so can be tiring. One trick to make it easier and more seamless is by finishing one wall first and waiting for it to dry before you complete the rest of the area. Doing so will allow the rolled and brushed sections to blend seamlessly.
It’s also essential to cover the tray, container or paint bucket using a towel damped in water between brushing and rolling. This ensures that all your tools won’t dry out when you’re not using them.
Get an extra bucket
When doing an interior painting project, you should always have a few clean, empty buckets handy because a shaken paint doesn’t stay fresh for too long, especially once it’s opened. It would help if you poured it back and forth until you’ve entirely mixed in the solid of your paint to ensure that it’ll apply to the wall evenly.
The bottom line
Doing an interior painting project takes a lot of time and effort. So, if you feel like the task is beyond your skills, then hiring professional painters might be a better option. You can either ask around for referrals or check a few master painters online for more options.
