re: About to paint an interior for the first time

shhh men are talking right now

i'm not a painter or a pro builder, but i have done a lot of renovation work and a bunch of painting. i have a nice $650 Grayco sprayer i use for whole house painting inside and out. when i'm just doing one room, or changing colors from room to room i get the wagner paint stick i find that it works quicker and puts more paint on the wall than using a roller with a tray or bucket. also, i only have to bend over about once every 15 minutes, rather than every 30 seconds.

Yeah just pay someone. This is a bad decision you will only make once, talking from experience.

If you tape, don't let the tape sit for more than a few days. If you have a fairly steady hand (I don't really but still managed) you can roll about 2" short of the baseboard and crown/ceiling and then touch up with a 2" brush.

I recently painted my entire interior and got pretty good freehanding by the time I was done.

Pay someone.

quote:

---

i only have to bend over about once every 15 minutes

---

You should get a painter with more stamina

quote:

---

Any tips from the OT

---

Here is the definitive painting guide for beginners from someone who painted for money during college.

1. Prep your paint. Buy a mesh paint screen that fits over the opening of a 5 gal bucket. Buy a 5 gal bucket. Add 1/2-3/4 a gallon or so water to the empty bucket and put the screen on. Pour the paint through the screen into the bucket with the water. This will get the trash out and thin the paint some. Most paint needs to be thinned some so it doesn't dry while you're brushing it on. If it dries while you're brushing it will look like pure shite. Once you have half of your 5 gallon paint bucket poured through the screen pull the screen out and squeej it with your hand. Stir the paint/water by inserting one of these all the way into the bucket and twisting it back and forth until the water is completely mixed in.



If the paint is still too thick, add more water little by little checking each time, if it's too thin add more paint through the mesh screen.

2. Buy a 3" Purdy trim brush. You can also buy a wall brush which is thicker if you want to drop the dough, but walls and trim can be cut with a trim brush. It takes more skill to cut trim with a wall brush, so if you're just buying one brush, best go with a trim brush.

3. You always cut in the wall before rolling. To roll, get a frame, stick and roller cover (3/8" nap or smaller for untextured wall, 3/8" or bigger for textured wall) I prefer wool, afore mentioned roller screen and 5 gal bucket already 1/2 full with prepped paint. Hang the screen on the rim of the bucket and start running your roller down the screen into the paint, submerging no more than 1/4 of the roller into the paint. repeat until the roller is completely soaked with paint then run it the length of the screen once without touching the paint to get excess off. Have a drop cloth down. put your roller on the wall about half way up and about a roller width over from the corner (if just starting) or the last thing you rolled before re dipping your roller. Roll upward but not all the way when your roller is full of paint, then down going slightly diagonally towards unpainted wall so that you're one roller width from where you started then go back across where you started slightly diagonally until you get to the corner or overlap the last thing you rolled. Overlap at least a roller width and then go back over everything once to your new edge making sure there are no holidays (small unpainted gaps). Each dip in the bucket should get you 2-3 roller widths of newly painted wall. the smaller the nap roller, the less area you can cover. a wool roller will save you lots of time because it holds a lot of paint. Never roll close to an edge with a roller full of paint, that's why you don't go all the way up when you first put your roller on the wall. Try to get the most paint possible on the roller before touching the wall. I get it so full that I have to twist it coming out of the bucket to keep it from dripping. If you have to press the roller hard to get it to cover, you're spreading the paint too thin.

4. To cut in a wall, fill a 1 gal paint can about 1/4 full with prepped paint. Dip your brush tip about 3/4" into the paint then lightly tap both sides of the brush on the side of the can. Make a stroke next the the edge your cutting to get excess paint off the brush and then press the brush onto the wall lightly and use the side bristles to cut your edge only letting the tips lightly touch the trim you're cutting against. it's like riding a bike, a longer and faster stroke will be straighter. The slower you go the wobblier the line. Cutting into corners is the hardest part. After dipping your brush and making a stroke on the wall to get excess paint off, tap the brush tip on the wall on both sides to make a sharp point. Roll the brush diagonally into the corner so that the point is the last thing to touch the wall a couple millimeters from the corner. Bend the handle towards the corner slowly and the brush point will slide into the corner. Figure this part out and you're ready to go pro.

5. Cutting trim. You're probably better off painting the trim first and making your straight lines when you cut the wall. To paint trim, just get your paint on it and then long strokes pressing very lightly with just the brush tips to get brush strokes out. if your paint is drying while your painting, nothing you do will look good and you need to add a little water to it. Using good paint will also help with this.

Don’t use a drop cloth. They just encourage you to be sloppy.

Hire a couple fellas to do it.

If that can’t be done, watch videos on how to “cut in”.