What Is The Best Way To Paint a Living Room?

Painting interior walls are easy. However, the project can turn into a nightmare if you do not take care. Follow the tips below if you want to keep sanity and get great looking walls.

Interior painting is popular and affordable as it refreshes up rooms. Use a coat of paint. Painting does not need specialized training but requires patience and practice.

Prep the Surface

A successful paint job starts with proper preparation of the surfaces. You must scrap, patch, sand and fill each hole, crack, dent and other surface imperfections. It is an important part of room painting. No paint can hide cracks, dents or holes regardless of thickness and colour or the claims of the manufacturer.

 

Tint the Primer

Prime your walls and ceiling if you are painting a dirty wall or just painting over a dark color. It is smart to prime your ceiling and walls whenever you want to paint. The primer serves three basic functions.
Blocks the stains from bleeding through

 

Allows One Coat Coverage of the Paint

Improves paint adhesion. This reduces peeling and blisters.
Professional painters tint the primer to the finished color by mixing a portion of top coat paint into a primer. The trick enhances the ability of the top coat to hide your primed surface completely.
Buy paints that contain primers. A primer improves adhesion and covers the imperfections well.

 

Choose Canvas Rather than Plastic

Plastic drop cloths provide an inexpensive way of protecting your furnishings and floors from any paint splatter. However, you are better off investing in a canvas because it is rip-resistant and extremely durable.

Canvas lays flat and prevents any tripping hazard. Canvas can absorb paint drips, unlike plastic drop clothes which are slippery. Canvas drop cloths easily fold around the doorways or corners which is difficult to do with plastic sheeting. Most plastic drop cloths are disposed of after use. However, a canvas drop cloth can last a lifetime, and you can re-use it severally.

 

Reach for an Extension Pole

Get a telescoping extension pole for the paint roller. The extension pole comes in different lengths which are up to 18ft long. You can get the one that extends from 18-36 inches which is a better option for painting rooms with 8ft or 9ft tall ceilings.

Check to see that the paint roller handle has a threaded hole in the end. Twist it onto the extension pole. When shopping for an extension pole, look for one with a nonslip grip or rigid metal core.
Make sure the threaded end is a metal. All plastic handles are very flexible which makes it hard to control.

 

Use a Paint Grid

Do not use a tray when rolling paint. It is messy and a futile proposition. On the contrary, use a paint grid. A paint grid is rectangular, plastic screen made of rigid metal that hooks onto the bucket rim. Fill your bucket with paint halfway and hang the paint grid inside.

Dip the roller sleeve into your bucket and roll against your grid to remove excess paint. It is easy, and at the end of the day, you can drop your grid into the bucket then snap on the lid.

 

Overnight Storage

If you have finished painting your Metro Detroit area living room for the day, but there is still more work for tomorrow, simply roll off excess paint or brush before tightly wrapping them in food wrap. You can double up the plastic wrap to seal out any air and place the roller sleeves and wrapped brushes in a refrigerator to keep them fresh. It sounds crazy, but it works and keeps the paint from drying overnight which can render the equipment unusable.

On the next day, just remove the gear from your cold storage half an hour before you begin painting. The brushes will be supple and ready for use. Properly wrapped roller sleeves and paintbrushes can be stored this way for several days.

Leave a flawless finish to your woodwork or walls and ceilings. A clean surface makes the paint to adhere well. For cleaning, you can use trisodium phosphate cleaner and a sponge to quickly wash off grime, dirt or soot. The trisodium phosphate cleans fast and does not need much scrubbing. You can buy TSP concentrate and mix with water.

TSP itches the paint and makes it form a better bond. You can use it in your kitchen to clean grease from your walls or in your bathroom to remove hairspray. However, wear rubber gloves and turn up the cuffs to keep the solutions from running down your arm.