Painting is more than just splashing some paint onto a wall. Care must be taken to get the right finish, and the right materials should be used to aid this. It is wise to fully research the materials you intend to use, in order for you to find out how to apply them, and to find whether there are any special techniques which need to be used.
You should spend as much of your budget as possible on high quality paints and brushes, as this can make a huge difference to the finished product.
Colours
If you visit almost any DIY shop, you will be presented with a massive array of colours, plus cards detailing even more colours, usually achieved by mixing other available colours. Most large DIY stores will have a machine available to mix the paint if you require. Many stores will be able to provide you with a small sample pot of your chosen colour, which you can use in a discreet area of your home (for example, behind furniture) to see if the colour looks good before painting the entire room and discovering that the colour clashes with furniture.
When painting a room more than one colour, it is worth considering whether the colours clash or complement one another. Several paint companies colour charts feature harmonising colours on them, though many complementary colours are obvious to the human eye. However, the colours of the room are down to you, so you can match whichever colours you feel would go together best.
Painting the Exterior
Painting the exterior of a home is much more difficult that painting the interior. However, if you wish to attempt it yourself, the following steps should be followed.
- 1. Paint any soffit's, fascias and guttering before starting on the walls.
- 2. Paint from right to left if you are right handed, and vice versa if you are left handed. This avoids you having to paint across yourself, which is much safer, and more comfortable.
- 3. If the surface of the wall is rough, you may wish to use a paint roller.
- 4. Work from the top down, completing areas between natural breaks first (for example, the spaces between two windows).
- 5. Cover up any areas below with dust sheets, including lawns, shrubs and flowerbeds.
- 6. Always use a pot hook, which will allow you to hold on to your ladder or scaffolding at all times.
It may be easier to use a paint sprayer rather than brushes and rollers. Certain precautions must be taken when using a paint sprayer.
- 1. Unlike when using a brush and roller, paint from the bottom to the top using a sprayer.
- 2. Do not paint in windy conditions, as spray may drift onto your garden or neighbouring properties.
- 3. Always cover any bushes or flowerbeds in dust sheets, and move any cars away from the property.
- 4. You should be able to buy extensions for the sprayer in order to reach concealed or out-of-reach areas.
- 5. Most sprayers will have a shield provided, to prevent paint missing the walls or straying onto areas not requiring painting.
Painting A Door
Before starting to paint a door, the door should be wedged at 45º in order to give access to all 4 vertical planes of the door. The door handle and any other fittings should also be removed, to avoid painting them by accident. Once these are removed, ensure that any dust in the gaps is removed, as this can mix in with the paint and cause blemishes.
If the door you are painting is a single, flat panel, you should start painting from the top of the door, and should work in blocks. Once each block has been painted, lightly brush upwards to remove any excess paint.
If the door is panelled, you should paint the panels first, before completing the outer edge of the door.
For doors, a 3" paintbrush is ideal, with a 1" brush for those parts requiring special attention or a smaller brush.
Painting A Door Frame
Prior to painting the door frame, it should be rubbed down with an abrasive (such as sandpaper) to give a smooth finish. You will then need to apply an oil-based primer to the frame, which may require thinning with white spirit. With the primer applied, you will have to wait up to 24 hours for it to dry.
Next, apply an undercoat, which will also require 24 hours to dry; before applying the final finish - a layer of either satin or gloss paint.
When painting a door or a door frame, ensure the surface around the area is protected with a sheet or a piece of cardboard, to prevent paint dripping onto carpet or a laminate wood flooring.
Painting A Floor
If painting or varnishing a wooden floor, your first task is to remove all furniture from the room. Next, you will need to use a vacuum cleaner to remove all dust from the floor, as this can cause blemishes in the coating.
Next, start applying the colouring or varnish, starting in the corner of the room furthest from the door - this is very important, else you may find yourself 'stranded' away from the door if you start elsewhere.
Paint should be applied in blocks of approximately 2 feet square. Apply the paint to a block at a time, systematically working towards the door.
Painting An Interior Wall
Before starting to paint an interior wall, ensure that all your new furniture is moved either out of the room, or if this is not possible, into the middle of the room, so that you can get around the room without having to clamber over furniture. Cover any furniture, as well as carpet, with dust sheets, as paint can be difficult to remove once dry, particularly from fabric.
It is best to use a roller for painting walls, as this allows more area to be painted much faster. A small brush should be used for detail painting, around light switches and fittings, and electrical sockets.
The best finish will be created by using the 'back-roll' method. Using a paint roller, paint a block of about 1 metre squared. Paint two subsequent blocks, before going back to the first and rolling over it again without adding any more paint to the roller. This gives a much smoother finish. Also, if the wall you are painting is not perfectly smooth, you should use a matt paint, as silk emulsion tends to show up any imperfections.
Painting A Ceiling
It is fairly straightforward to paint a ceiling. Obviously, before you begin, you will need to cover any furniture and floor surfaces, as the paint can easily splash down or drip from a roller.
You should use a stepladder in order to reach the ceiling, although in the case of a lower ceiling you may be able to use an up-turned milk or beer crate. This should allow you to use a roller without having to stretch too far, as over-stretching can be both uncomfortable, and can also cause accidents. If you use a brush, one with a width of 7-8 inches is the best size to use; for painting into corners, a brush of 1-2 inches will is ideal.
You could instead purchase a long-handled roller, which will allow you to work from floor level. This also has the benefit of allowing the paint tray to rest on the floor, which makes accidents much less likely!
The most commonly used technique when painting a ceiling is to start in the furthest corner from the door, and paint in blocks of about 2ft squared, working in strips along the roof.
Painting A Skirting Board
As with all wooden surfaces, the skirting board should be prepared before any painting begins, and you should ensure it is dust free. When adding primer, undercoat or paint, you should work from right to left (or vice versa if you are left handed) to ensure you are not painting across your body. A strip of card should be placed at the bottom of the skirting board, in order to prevent paint running into the carpet.
The card should be checked regularly, to ensure no paint is seeping between the card and the skirting board into the carpet. It may be easier in some cases to pull carpets away from the skirting board, although this may not always be possible depending on how your carpet has been laid.
Painting A Window
Most modern windows are made from uPVC, which cannot be painted, except with specially made (and therefore expensive) primers and coatings.
A wooden window will also require attention prior to painting. Any paint should be sanded off, and any dust removed prior to priming the wood. The windows should ideally painted early in the day, allowing the paint to dry, rather than at night when the window could stick if closed.
When painting, masking tape should be placed on glass to prevent paint from being placed on the glass. The tape should only be removed once the paint is dry, else wet paint may drip onto the glass.
Painting A Window Sill
As with any wooden surface, the first step is to sand down the wood, and remove all dust from the surface. Knotting should be applied to the any knots in the wood, followed by primer, which can be applied directly afterwards as knotting dries immediately. After applying primer, you will need to wait for up to 24 hours for the primer to dry, depending on the type of primer used.
Once the primer has dried, and gaps in the wood should be filled, by using a specialist filling product or a linseed oil wax. With the filler dry, undercoat may be applied. New wood should have 2 layers of undercoat applied; for older wood, a single layer should suffice. The undercoat will now require 24 hours to dry.
Finally, apply a coat of satin or gloss finisher in your colour of choice.