Welcome to our ultimate guide on achieving a flawless paint job for your home! Painting can be a transformative and rewarding endeavor, but starting without a plan can lead to frustration and unwanted mishaps. To help you navigate this creative journey, we've curated six indispensable tips that will not only ensure a smooth process but also a stunning outcome. From safeguarding your furnishings to mastering the art of color selection and choosing the right tools, we've got you covered. Let's dive into these essential steps, making your painting project a masterpiece in the making!
1. Better safe than sorry
No one wants ruined furniture and a dirty floor, these problems can easily be prevented with proper preparation before starting the job. The main goal is to have easy access to the walls and ample room to move around. Temporarily moving smaller bits of furniture into other rooms, will allow you to ensure that they do not get dirty, while also giving yourself extra space to move around. But what happens with the large pieces that are too heavy and too big to move out of the room? For these items,you will need protective mats, masking tape, plastic sheeting and cardboard, to avoid any damages.
Anything left in the room being painted should be covered, plastic sheeting is affordable and easily found. Use some cardboard to cover your floors to avoid having paint drops splattered over your carpet or floorboards. Get creative! You can flatten out some old cardboard boxes you might have sitting in your loft from when you moved in, or ask your local supermarket if you can get your hands on any boxes they might be throwing out. The most important step for this process will be securing it all together, to avoid the cardboard or plastic sheeting from moving around. For this, you will need to get your hands on some good adhesive tape. Finally, but by no means less important; masking tape! Taping around your windows, doors and ceilings is essential if you want to avoid making your house look like a child’s colouring book.
2. It's the little details that are vital
Now that your furniture, floors and anything that could be damaged are covered and out of the way, you’d think you’d be ready to start the job…But don’t get ahead of yourself! It's time to check the walls for any holes, cracks, or any damages they might have, these will all need to be repaired before you get your rollers and brushes out.
For most small abrasions and cracks, a little bit of grout or jointing compound should do the trick. However, if your wall has large cracks, it would be best to consult a professional. No one wants cracks to reappear on their freshly painted walls.
Before starting your work, it is important to know how many times the walls have been painted in the past. If you see a thick layer of old paint on the wall, which is already peeling off, you will need to scrape it off. If the recently scraped walls look patchy, consider using a coat of primer. This will createa uniform surface for the new paint to sit on, and will prevent any stains or irregularities in the walls from showing. It will also ensure the longevity of your painting job, as it will create the perfect conditions for your paint to stick on the walls. The primer strengthens and unifies the surface of the walls and the new paint will hold on to them better.
3. Drowning in choice
Deciding on a colour or knowing what paint brand to choose can seem daunting at first, but it is a crucial step for ensuring a perfect end result. The use of specific terminology such as acrylic or dispersion creates unnecessary confusion and can lead to buyers feeling overwhelmed. The paint you use for regular wall maintenance will be different from the one you’ll use for the first layers; the surface being painted is also a determinant of the paint that should be purchased. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Your local manufacturer and retailers will be happy to advise you on what paint to buy. At Adam, most of the painters use Dulux paint.
After figuring out what type of paint you want, you’ll probably be asking yourself how much of it you actually need? Cans of paint usually specify the area that they can cover, seems simple enough, right? But there’s a catch! Remember, that you will want to use more than one coat of paint, in order to get an impeccable finish to your job. What does this mean? Always buy enough to cover your walls with two coats of paint. You would think that this would come at an extra cost, but at Adam, all of their quotes include two coats! They know it is the only way to assure that your colours remain vibrant and vivid overtime, without having any last minute, extra costs.
4. Rollers vs. brushes
Now, for the eternal dilemma every person wanting to paint their homes - should I use a roller or a brush? Here, too, one can make mistakes, but there is no need to look into it that much. The roller is generally suitable for larger areas. However, when using it, it is necessary to pay attention to the substrate. If you are painting walls that already have a lot of paint that you haven't scraped off before, the roller might peel off the previous paint. The paint is sticky and in this case, the roller can do more harm than good.
On the other hand, the brush is more suitable for painting details around the masking tape or reaching corners. However, you can also use it if you put on the substrate with primer. But beware, you’ll still have to make a decision about what brush to buy, be it with artificial or natural bristles. In general, flat brushes are more suitable for large areas and thus can act more like a roller.
5. Good things come to those who wait
Everyone wants to have the painting done as soon as possible, but a little bit of patience goes a long way. The paint cans themselves often come with instructions and information regarding drying and setting times, so the easiest thing to do is follow the instructions. However, instructions may not always be so clear, so the safest option is to always wait 24 hours between your first and second coat. If you think that a second coat will make the colour too intense, you can always dilute it a bit, to ensure your desired finish.
6. You can do anything, but not everything
Interior painting is never easy, and can become costly if you want the finished product to look professional. When buying the necessary materials, think twice about whether you’re really going to use what you are purchasing. I can’t emphasise enough that you shouldn’t be afraid to consult with experts. Especially if your walls need repairs, I recommend contacting someone in the field. You might find out that you don't really have the means to repair the damage, and it might not be worth your time. Contact Adam, and give yourself a break, they can handle it!
Adam has perfectly tailored their service to make the process of painting your home smooth and stress-free. Thanks to their large network of certified painters, Painteradam.ie offers you the best prices with top quality, and if that’s not enough, it is entirely up to you when you want to get the job started! No more adapting to a craftsman's needs, or having to fight for a slot in a company’s agenda. Finally, you will know your final price before the job even begins, in Adam, there is no room for last-minute extra costs! Adam will take full care of your needs. So if you are looking for a painter in Dublin or Cork, contact Adam. They can handle any type of job, from the rooms in your home, to offices, entire houses and any kind of interior decorating. Just click the “Get a free quote” tab on their main page, and find out the estimated quote for your job within minutes.