A Comprehensive Guide to Interior Painting Solutions for Your Home

You are remodeling your interiors and can’t wait to get started. However, you also want some advice on what the process entails when undergoing a DIY residential painting project. You know that you’re capable of doing the job, but you want to bring about the best possible results. Interior painting and home renovations can be quite overwhelming, but there are guidelines you should follow that will allow you to become a better painter.

Go to the store and pick up a few different paints. Why? It’s hard to say which one you are going to fall in love with right away. Usually, you need to see the color painted on your wall first before you can get an idea of how it will appear. Also, determine the total square feet of all the rooms you plan on painting. Here’s a pro tip: one gallon of paint will cover roughly 400 square feet. Producing textured surfaces or painting your home without the use of a primer may require you to use more paint.

When you hire a residential interior painting service, they will adhere to a schedule. Painting is a lot more time-consuming than you think, and the project can drag on and on if you are not very regimented in your approach. Once you apply a coating of paint, you have to wait another 24 hours to apply another coating. Most paints job are going to require multiple coatings. Also, don’t underestimate the amount of prep work that goes into a residential painting project, which what we will talk about next.

First off, you always need to prepare your walls thoroughly before they receive any paint. This means that you will need to clean them off with soap and water the night before you decide to paint your home. You also need to clean your ceilings, which is a difficult task in itself. Most ceilings have cobwebs, dirt and dust that you won’t immediately notice. You must also repair any defects or fill the holes in your walls with caulk wherever necessary. Then you should sand dry those spots until they are smooth and apply primer to them.

Before you begin painting, you will also need to lay down drop cloths or old sheets which will catch and absorb any paint that falls to the floor. Also, remove the electrical outlet covers beforehand to achieve a much neater paint job and tape over them so that no paint gets inside.

Ceilings are a major hassle for home DIY painting projects. If it’s necessary to complete the job, a residential painting service will obtain scaffolding. You will need boards or planks to place along the scaffolding as well as wheels to move it around. You can rent your own scaffolding for a day or two at a minimal cost.

Let’s say you want to create a textured appearance with your home painting project. For this, you will need to use a thick-nap roller for better coverage in areas that have bumps and other defects. To paint your drywall ceiling, you should consider using a roller with a shorter nap.

You should always try and optimize the way you manage your time so that the project doesn’t drag on. This includes using an edger instead of taping off your trim, which is a time-consuming task in itself. Whenever you decide to take a break, wrap your paint rollers in plastic and refrigerate them so you don’t have to clean them off to reuse them. You should also consider investing in a 5-gallon bucket with a roller screen inside, which will save you time on constantly refilling your paint tray.

Before undergoing the actual painting process, you will need to acquire certain items and equipment to get the job done. This includes nylon-bristle brushes for water-based paints and natural brushes for oil-based paints. Foam bristles are ideal for special projects, such as window castings. Depending on the scope of the project, you may not get a lot of use out of the brush.

There are several all-purpose brushes that you can use for different types of paints, and they come in varying lengths and sizes. A flagged brush will provide smooth and even coverage with every coating of paint that you apply. You also want to use the right roller for the job. For smoother surfaces, you should use a 3/8-inch or less nap roller. To produce a more textured surface, you will want to obtain a larger nap.

Once you complete your DIY painting project, you will need to put everything back the way it was. You should immediately clean off your paintbrushes, and if any paint dries on them, then you will need to use a special solvent to remove it. You can usually dispose of paint into your sink if your drain is attached to a municipal sewer system. However, be careful not to allow any paint to seep into the groundwater.

You can preserve and reuse most paintbrushes, but you should wrap them in plastic and waxed paper. Then you will want to seal them off with a rubber band or aluminum foil. Also, always hang up your brushes upside so that the bristles will maintain their shape. You should store extra paint just in case you need to touch up any areas at some point later on.

DIY painting projects are never a simple undertaking. They require a lot of planning, precision, and attention to detail. It’s very easy to screw something up or make a mistake, so you always want to be on your A-game. Following the proper procedures and guidelines will ensure that everything turns out exactly the way you want it.

There is never any shame in hiring an interior painting service for your Missoula home. We have a team of experts whom you can trust no matter what your situation is. Give us a call today and speak with one of our staff members if you are interested in seeking professional assistance.