Any tips for a first time painter? I need to paint the interior of my house and have never done before!?

Answer 1

Wash the walls first!!! If you don't, the paint won't stick well. Use ****'n'span or ask the paint seller.

Fill all holes and cracks with hole filler. Again, ask the paint seller for advice.

Use painter's caulk (NOT plumbing or window caulk!) to smooth and fill the tops of baseboards and places where mouldings meet wallboard.

Put dropcloths on everything, and tape them down with painter's masking tape.

Don't let masking tape stay on anything more than 3 days.

When painting walls, zig zag the paint on to an area about a yard square, then smooth it in one direction straight. Then go to the next area.

Do two coats.

Painting is fun. Prep work is kinda boring, but very important. Don't skip washing and filling holes before you start.

Painting is fun. Enjoy your beautiful new rooms.

Answer 2

Good answers above, but also prep work. At least dust the walls and better yet, wash them. Grease from the kitchen gets on everything in the house. A sponge mop is fine and reaches just about everything. Just remember to rise often and change the rinse water with each wall. TSP is the ususal wall washing compound.

Patch all the holes from pictures with spackle. Takes awhile to dry, figure in the time. Remove the light and electrical switches. Even if you are painting them the same color, don't paint them on the wall incase you have to remove them some day and chip the wall trying to remove them. Same thing with ceiling fixtures, they don't have to be moved, but often the part that goes around the ceiling can be lowered a bit so you can quickly paint underneath. Let dry and reset.

I'm sure you've seen people use a roller in the W fashion, that's to get paint on going several directions...especially helps when walls have a texture. Don't try to do the edges with a roller, that's where the brush comes in. Do your edging while the paint on the wall is still wet. Don't overload the brush......it's tempting, but you'll end up with a mess. Dip half way or better only a 1/3 of the way, cut off the extra and getting the bristles flat and carefully paint the edges......where wall and ceiling come together, along moldings, etc. Blend into the stuff done with the roller.

Keep a clean rag in your pocket and wipe up boo-boos as they occur.....and they will. Even pros make oooopsies.

Answer 3

What do you want to paint? It's not too difficult but a lot of the skill comes from experience so don't be too dissapointed if it does not come up as nice as you would have liked. We can only learn by our mistakes.First decide ,which room will I do first. Am I going to paint the ceiling, the walls and the woodwork. What colour do I want it to be.Once this is decided clear the room as much as possible.The first thing to paint would be the ceiling. I assume you will use an emulsion paint. Cover the carpet and any remaining furniture.Using steps (or even better a plank on trestles) check that the ceiling is sound. there should be no cracks or areas of flaky plaster.If needs use a filler first to deal with the cracks. Rub down with glasspaper the fillings and flaky bits.Apply your paint,don't brush it out too much, You can use a 4" brush or a roller and work your way across the ceilig. Let it dry. You may need more than one coat if the colour is being altered from the original or if the ceiling was stained.Next the walls Check fill and rub down. Do not paint yet,.The woodwork. Doorframes, window frames doors, skirting boards.Do they all need painting? You do not paint PVC window frames for example,just clean them.Do the doors need painting or are they polished doors. Is the skirting board painted or stained.The woodwork that you are going to paint must now be thoroughly rubbed down and filled as necessary.Wipe the rubbed down wood with a cloth with a bit of white spirit on. This will remove the dust and any grease traces. Undercoat next brushing it to give an even layer. not too many streaks and blobs. When dry lighltly rub down,give a wipe and apply finishing coat of either gloss or eggshell paint,whatever you have chosen.Let it dry. Look at it,does it need another coat? If you are happy now return to the walls.The reason to do the walls last is that if you get emulsion paint on your gloss paint it is quite easy to remove,just a damp cloth, but if you get gloss on to emulsion you cant get it off.OK do the walls. Let it dry. Are you happy or does it need another coat?Hopefully the room looks nice. Have a clean up.Give the windows a clean,hang curtains, put the furniture back Go round with a duster sit back and congratulate yourself and decide which room to do next.

Answer 4

Don't buy cheap paint. Get good paint w/ lots of pigmt in it.

Plan to do 2 coats. If doing red, you may need 3 or 4 coats over a colored primer.

Use the brush and roller appropriate for your paint (oil or latex) and the wall texture. Employess of a paint store/dept. can guide you.

If your wall has ltos of imperfections, use a flatter finish. If it's perfect, you can use a paint w/ some sheen. Flat is often tougher to clean (rubs off) so if you have little hands in your house, rubbing on the walls, go a bit shinier.

Answer 5

Clear the room of all that you can and the carpet. Get a load of newspapers and lay alongside the walls. Use some masking tape round the edge of the glass in the windows. Make sure you have some clean rags around and enough different sized brushes and a roller for the walls. Check you have enough paint as you don't want two different shades of the same colour!!

Answer 6

I just got done painting my whole house. Here are my tips:

*First find the perfect color online with a virtual color visualizer. Lowe's, Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, etc all have them on their websites.

*Since everything looks different in person, I get the $5 sample paint to try first. Well worth the extra time.

*Using the blue masking tape gives me messy results and is time consuming. It's tons better to be careful with a brush along the edges. I will use it along the floor mouldings though.

*Use a canvas drop cloth. I use a medium size one (at least 7ft x 8ft and move it as I go along.

*At Lowes you can get an easy pour lid with a cap on it which makes it much less messy!

*Wear clothes that you don't care if they get paint on them!

Answer 7

Wellllllll.....if you're talking one or two small rooms...follow the last anwerer's advice. If you're talking ENTIRE interior of the house......HIRE SOMEONE!
Especially since you're a first timer. If you're totally inclined to do seriously do it yourself....the neighborhood paint stores like Sherwin Williams or Home Depot offer individual help and tips.

Answer 8

preparation, preparation, preparation