How to paint your house flawlessly if you have to DIY? Properly painted walls and ceiling can completely change the character of the interior, but poorly performed works will make the end result unsatisfactory.
How to avoid painting mistakes? How to prepare for renovation? Who to commission the finishing works to? We have answered all your questions in this Chlorine post.
1. Decide Whether You Want to DIY?
Painting may take from several hours to several days – depending on the size of the room or the type of paint. If you care about time or you have no experience in carrying out renovation and you are afraid if you have enough skills, use the services of a professional team.
Experts will not only properly perform the painting itself, but also advise what solutions to use. Specialists who deal with, among others You can search for painting walls and ceilings through the
If you already know who will do the painting in your home, you can move on to getting ready for work. The following tips will be useful to you, regardless of whether you will paint yourself or outsource it to professionals. It is worth remembering!
2. Paint Your House: Which Color to Choose?
The first step in the painting process is choosing the right paint. The color itself can cause some problems, because the color in the store lighting usually looks different than at home. Therefore, it is worth buying a sample first and using it to paint a fragment of the wall with it to make sure that this is the color it is about.
The final effect is also influenced by the gloss level of the paint:
- Matte well mask surface unevenness,
- Semi-matte optically enlarge the room, and their color seems more intense,
- Glossy ones look very effective, but they emphasize any unevenness and defects in the wall.
3. Paint for Your Bathroom & Living Room
Various types of paints are available for sale, which differ in the degree of coverage, resistance to washing and scrubbing, and water vapor permeability. The most frequently chosen are water-based emulsion paints (their thinner is water, and the binder is acrylic or vinyl resins). They are easy to apply, efficient and dry quite quickly. They can be divided into:
Acrylic paints: Resistant to abrasion and mechanical damage. They have a relatively neutral odor and their color is durable for years. However, they are quite poorly permeable to water vapor, so they are not recommended for use in wet rooms.
Latex paints: Today it is defined as acrylic paints with a high content of resin emulsions. They are durable and waterproof, so they will work well in the bathroom and kitchen. They create a smooth, flexible and easy-to-clean coating.
Ceramic paints: They create a very smooth coating with a tight structure. Thanks to this, dirt does not penetrate inside, dust does not settle on the walls, and painted surfaces are resistant to scrubbing and wet cleaning. They hide wall irregularities nicely. Ceramic paints can be used in the kitchen and bathroom.
Vinyl paints: They cover well and are resistant to washing, but they get dirty quite quickly, so they won’t work well in a child’s room. They are not very permeable to water vapor, so you should not use them to paint the walls in the kitchen or bathroom.
When choosing a paint, it is best to check the manufacturer’s markings on the packaging, which inform about the room the paint is intended for.
Paints for the bathroom and kitchen (i.e. places with higher air humidity) must have specific parameters. Otherwise, the paint may peel off unsightly or wash away under the influence of cleaning detergents.
Paints for the kitchen and bathroom should be:
- Permeable to water vapor (allowing the walls to “breathe”);
- Resistant to dirt;
- Easy to clean.
4. How Much Paint to Buy?
It is also worth remembering to buy the right amount of paint – not to run out of it, and at the same time not to throw away the excess (and thus not waste money).
It is therefore necessary to calculate the area of the walls and ceiling and divide the obtained result by the paint efficiency specified on the packaging (this parameter determines how much product you will use per square meter of painted surface). Remember that, as a rule, it is necessary to apply two or even three layers.
Never thin the paint , even if it seems very thick to you! Diluted paint may cover worse and give a different shade on the wall than is shown on the label.
5. How to Prepare the Walls for Painting?
Nobody has any doubts that before painting you need to prepare the room – remove the furniture or arrange it so that it provides free access to the walls and ceiling and protect them with foil, remove curtains, decorations and light sources, remove contacts, etc.
However, you should also remember to prepare the same surfaces to be painted. You will need to remove pieces of wallpaper or old flaking paint (this can be done with a spatula or a rice brush).
It may be necessary to fill holes and cracks with putty, and then sand the patched areas with sandpaper. It is important that the walls and ceiling are clean- it is best to vacuum them and then rinse with water and detergent. Never paint walls with old peeling paint or dust from applying plaster!
If the wall has never been painted before, is freshly plastered or has been supplemented with putty – it still needs to be primed before painting. If you skip this step, the wall may absorb paint like a sponge, and you will use up much more product than necessary. Start painting only after the primer coat has dried.
Related: 2 Methods to Remove Paint from Any Metal Surface
6. Paint Accessories Are Equally Important
Paint alone is not enough to paint the walls and ceiling. You will also need accessories and tools such as:
- Roller (selected for the type of paint – it is worth following the information on the product label when buying).
- A cuvette (trough) for mixing the paint.
- Stick for mixing paint.
- Brushes of various widths (useful for painting hard-to-reach places).
- Tape for making color cuts (e.g. at the ceiling) and securing windows.
- A ladder or a special telescopic roller for painting the ceiling will also be useful.
It’s important not to save on painting accessories. It turns out that a poor-quality brush and roller can ruin the final effect . Poorly embedded bristles in the brush head will remain on the wall, being marked on the painted surface, the peeling tape will make the paint leak and destroy the carefully measured ceiling cut, etc.
It is also important that all accessories are clean – not only the remnants of paint should be removed from them , but also dust and dust.