5 DIY Painting Tips – Residential & Commercial Painters in Brisbane

5 Tips for your DIY Paint Job

Got a DIY paint job, but not sure where to start?

Here’s 5 tips to help you paint like a pro.

Painting a room yourself is a cheap alternative to hiring a handyman if you’re looking to save some money on your renovations. While it can be a daunting task to take on, there’s good news – it doesn’t need to be! Here’s 5 tips to help you make your DIY paint job go as smooth as possible.

1. Before beginning, visually inspect and prep your walls.

Are there any places that are flaking, peeling, or cracked? These areas need to be lightly sanded or scraped, then thoroughly cleaned before painting. Any dirt or grease marks will need to be cleaned off as well. This will ensure the new paint has a clean, smooth surface to stick to.

2. Use a primer.

Using a good primer can hide stains and dark colours in the surface you’re painting; it will also help your new paint job last a lot longer, which will save you money in the long run.

"Box your Paint"

The ever important

3. Box your paint.

It’s important to remember that paint colour can vary from one colour to the next. If you have to open a new can half way through a wall, you may be able to notice the difference. The best way to avoid this is to speak to a professional, like the team at Red and Black Painting. Talking to a professional will give you an idea about how much paint you’re likely to use, so that you can purchase it all at once. Then, at home, combine all of your paint into one large container before starting to paint. By combining all the paint you’ll need to use before you begin, the problem of varying colour is eliminated. This process is known as “boxing” your paint.

Paint in the right order

4. Paint the trim first, then the wall.

Painting the trim first, before the wall itself, has two benefits. First, it’s a lot easier to tape off the trim than to tape of the walls. This will save you time in the long run. And secondly, if you paint the trim first, you don’t have to be neat. If you get paint on the walls while painting the trip, it doesn’t matter – you can just paint over it when you start the walls!

First trims, then walls.

Keep the roller wet

keep the paint even

5.Maintain a ‘wet edge’.

Uneven layers of paint build up can cause ugly stripes in your new paint job. This happens when you go over paint that is already partly dry. This problem can be eliminated by maintaining a ‘wet edge’; that is, making sure each stroke of your roller overlaps the previous stroke, before the paint begins to dry. To keep a wet edge, start at a top corner of the wall and run the roller up and down the full height of the wall, moving over slightly with each roll. You can move backward when you need to even out thick or thin spots. Don’t let the roller dry out; dip it into the bucket often so that it stays wet.

Stay Happy!

Following these tips should make your DIY painting go as smooth as possible. For more tips like these, and professional, friendly advice, drop into Red and Black Painting today and speak to our team about your next DIY project.