Step-by-Step Guide on How to paint a wall

Painting walls is a fun activity that is DIY-accessible. Set aside a day to gather a friend or partner and paint to your heart’s content. But before you start, here is a step-by-step guide and some tips and tricks on how to paint a wall.

Decide on the Room’s Aesthetic

Like cooking in a kitchen, never start working until you know what you want. Now is the time to visit your local brick-and-mortar and shop for colours that suit you. Source input from those around you, and talk to the shopkeeper who can provide sample swatches for reference.

 There are several factors to consider:

·         How do colours react in natural light? The difference between artificial and natural can greatly affect a room’s look.

·         Provide your own point of reference to employees, whether the colour of a piece of clothing or a mug.

·         Think if you are considering a room dominated by a single colour palette. Such a design choice may create a boring room or, worse, an ugly one.

·         Try not to blindly follow what is featured in this month’s edition of home improvement. It may look good but could also become dated within a year. Choose a design that speaks to you personally.

It is time to prep the room.

Protect The Room Using Tape & Sheets

It’s time to tape all skirting boards, lights, power points, and architraves before putting a brush on the wall. Painter’s tape protects external components from drips and mishaps without damaging the fixture underneath.

Cover the floor with a drop sheet. This can range from dedicated sheets to your old bedsheets and cloth. Ensure that any furniture is covered or removed from the space entirely.

Prepare the Walls

Prepping surfaces is so important that skipping it can ruin a paint job. Use sugar soap to clean the interior walls before brushing the walls down with a soft broom once it has dried.

 Cleaning the wall now removes the dust particles and gunk that can become an eyesore if left alone.

Use a Primer

While unnecessary, we recommend not skipping this step to ensure a smooth and clean finish. Utilising an undercoat and primer, especially on dark walls, ensures you require fewer coats of paint.

Tip #1: Mix Your Paint Regularly

Treat your paint as the high-maintenance material it is. Regularly stir the pot with a wooden paint stick or an equivalent. The paint colour can fade or change without proper stirring to mix the ingredients.

Cut in

Cut-in uses a paint brush to access around edges, fixtures, and window frames that a paint roller cannot easily access. The painter’s tape comes into play here by allowing a clean and sharp finish on the edges.

An angled brush should be used to prevent paint from ending up on neighbouring walls or ceilings. Brushes require a few taps on the side of the tray or pot to remove excess paint and create an even finish.

Once all edges have a cut-in coat, it is time to paint the main section of the wall.

Tip #2: Always Paint in Natural Light

We recommend not attempting to paint without natural light for a job well done. Painting with an artificial light source might look good but can result in splotches that only appear in natural light.

Use a Roller to Paint Top to Bottom

Rollers cover large areas in a fraction of a time of a brush. Ensuring the roller is covered fully is vital to provide an even spread on the wall.

Starting from the cut-in and working in an m pattern, finish just above and below the floor and ceiling cut-in, respectively. A single roll of paint should cover a metre. Continue until the first coat covers the entire wall.

For especially high walls, extendable rollers can be purchased. A ladder or mobile scaffold is ideal for those hard-to-reach areas during cut-in.

 

Now take a break! It will take a few hours for the first coat to dry, so why not bask in your good work? Once the first coat has dried, you can complete the second coat in the same manner.

Clean-up

No time to relax just yet. Tape around edges and fixtures must be removed as soon as the job is complete. Waiting until the wall is dry will result in the tape pulling the paint off.

Remove your canvas drop cloth and wash your brushes and rollers to maintain their quality. Lining your paint tray with plastic bags can ensure an easier clean-up at the end of the project.

That’s it! You can now sit back and enjoy your new pad. Just remember that you are not a professional and that it’s okay if the first try produces some errors. You are building a foundation for future projects and will improve over time.