When decorating your home, there are fewer things that make as big a difference as a freshly painted wall. However, many people shy away from painting themselves because it’s messy, and requires a lot of patience to get right.
You can hire someone to paint for you, but the problem is that it’s pretty expensive. Although the results are worth it, you might be surprised that you can take on the painting yourself to save money and achieve similar results by following a few simple steps.
So, in this post, we’re going to share some tips to help you paint any room in your house quickly, and effectively.
Preparation Matters
The most time-consuming part of painting is the preparation that needs to be done beforehand, but it’s absolutely worth it and makes the most significant difference to the end results.
Depending on the quality of your walls, preparation before painting can vary somewhat, but in most cases, the following steps should be taken before you start painting to ensure a smooth, even finish on your walls with as little mess as possible.
- Apply masking tape around the edges of ceilings, skirting boards, and any corners or areas where you’re not painting or that will be painted in a different colour
- Lay a dustsheet on your floors and tape around the edges of the room to protect them from any splashes or spills during painting.
It’s also a good idea to cover things like doors, or anything that can’t be removed from the room, such as toilets, sinks, or built-in furniture.
- Clean your walls and any areas to be painted, such as skirting boards. The best thing to do this is a non-abrasive sponge or cloth and some sugar soap. You can use a light sandpaper or liquid sander to smooth rough surfaces before painting.
A clean and smooth surface ensures that the paint will adhere better, and provide a much better finish.
Use Paint Spray Gun
Most professional painters today use paint spray tools such as guns, not just for speed, but because they make the job so much easier, and the results are unbeatable.
Paint spray guns are simply filled up with the required level of paint and then you can adjust the nozzle so that the speed and strength of the spray match what you need.
Using tools like these offer much more precision when painting, especially in places like corners and edges that can often be difficult to reach with a roller.
So, if you’re planning on a DIY painting project that’s fast and effective, then this is one of the best things to ensure a professional-looking finish.
Get An Extra Wide Roller
Rollers certainly have a place in painting, and most professional painters will use a combination of paint spray tools and a good roller. The key with rollers is to ensure that they’re good quality and the right type for the job.
For example, pile rollers are generally best for walls and relatively smooth surfaces, whereas foam rollers are more suited for things like wood, and work best when used with gloss paint or furniture paint.
Whether you simply prefer to use a roller, or you think the painting job you’re doing is best suited to this, then an extra wide roller can greatly help cut down on the painting time since they cover a larger surface area.
Many people find they prefer a roller because they feel more in control when using one, so if you find a roller easier to use, then an extra wide one will make painting more fast and effective for you compared to a smaller one.
Make Clean-Up Easy
Like preparation before painting, the clean-up stage is often something that puts many people off from doing the job themselves because it can take some time and patience.
However, there are a few things you can do to speed up the process and reduce the mess that needs to be cleaned up.
- Line your paint container if you’re using a roller and paint tray or bucket. Many DIY stores or even places like Amazon sell these, and they can often be purchased in a set with rollers and brushes. Some of them are also reusable, which is great for reducing plastic waste.
A paint tray liner is simply slotted over the surface of the tray and the paint is poured directly onto the liner, so when you’ve finished painting, you just dispose of the liner instead of having to clean the tray.
- Have a bucket of hot soapy water and a sponge on hand to clean up any minor spills or splashes as you go to reduce a bigger clean-up later.
Once you’re finished painting, you can refill the bucket quickly with fresh water and pop your brushes in there to soak.
We hope that this post has provided you with some useful tips so that you can approach your next DIY painting project without worrying about it taking forever or having lots of mess to clean up afterwards.
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