5 Interior Painting Tips For A Flawless Finish

Painting or updating one’s walls is no small task as all the furniture and belongings need to be removed and if you are attempting the job without professional input, you will still want it done properly. Here are some interior painting tips for a flawless, professional finish so you can have gorgeous new walls in just a few coats.

1. Pre-Planning And Preparation

Before you start painting your walls, you need to do the necessary preparation to make sure you have a clean base. Remove expensive or valuable items and cover furniture or fabrics in the area, make a route to go back and forth and lay down plastic on the flooring. Choose an outfit you don’t care about and remember to clean the wall itself and scrape it down with a metal scraper to get any dust or other residue off it. The smoother and more even your wall is after it is scraped, the easier it will be to put even coats of paint on it.

You can also use a lint remover or a piece of cloth with some oily beeswax or other substance on it and give your walls a good wipe-down so that any residue stuck on them comes off. Make sure you sand down any nail holes or other hooks that may have been used for hanging art or floating shelves. Once you have achieved that smooth base, you can proceed to mix the paint emulsion preferably in a 50:50 ratio with water and apply very thin coats with a brush appropriate for the job. For thinner strips such as next to windows or radiators, you might want to use a thin brush for fine strokes.

If you have to touch up the ceiling of a room or add contrast with a statement wall that has a different color of paint, have ladders and other equipment set up beforehand so you can minimize mess and get an effective job carried out.

2. Use Plenty Of Painter’s Tape

Painter’s tape is used in canvases as it doesn’t damage the surface it is put on and is commonly used by professionals like house painters Washington DC. Make use of this tape to mark out clean corners before you start laying down the paint. It can also be used to cover power outlets or the outlines of windows. This professional trick can ensure a professional look to the painting job once it is finished. While painting it is smart to keep a separate cloth or sponge to wipe away any mistakes or drips.

3. Don’t Skimp On Primer

Primer is an extra step and not all walls require it but it goes a long way in creating and ensuring that flawless, smooth-painted look. Invest in a good quality primer for a preliminary layer and it can even be cost-effective if you are doing the project yourself or only painting certain walls in your house. For walls that were previously painted in very bright or bold colors, you might need to sand them down quite a bit and add a primer to neutralize the shade before painting them a lighter color. Generally, to neutralize very strong colors, multiple layers are needed and each must be dried before the other is applied, even for thicker semi-plastic emulsion paints.

4. The Layering Technique 

Novice painters often make the mistake of incorrectly mixing the paint with water or thinner and applying very thick coats of paint. This can lead to blotchiness and an uneven texture and for an inexperienced painter it can have a bad result that can be very costly and difficult to fix once it has dried. Apply as thin a coat as you can and let each coat dry before applying the other one. It might take longer this way but the layering technique will ensure a smoother, more even coverage along with better color payoff.

5. No Improvisation On Tools

The right tools are imperative for a flawless paint finish so invest in some good quality tools like a roller cover, and synthetic brushes in at least 3 sizes (for those hard-to-reach corners). Inexpensive rollers or brushes may break or leave residue marks on the walls so it is not worth saving money on tools.

Rollers come in different heights as well so that you can reach the top of the walls and the ceiling and some have extendable rods. A professional painter’s trick is to paint nooks and crannies and window outlines first as they need a thicker coat and there can be some trickling down of paint which can look uneven when dried.

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