I can just imagine the type of disappointment you might have felt when your house walls were not painted according to you. Sometimes it’s difficult to explain the painter about the color or way of style you’re looking for. Also, many people complain about the painter and the type of painting the labor has performed on the walls.
It is very natural that people are unaware of the professional painting techniques and are unable to detect where the painter is going wrong. Therefore, understand the who procedure and painting techniques, we included few tips that will make your project go smoother and faster while giving you a professional finish on your walls.
1. Mix several cans of paint in a 5-gallon bucket
The paint color might be a little different from can to can. If you have to open a new can in the middle of the wall, the difference might be noticeable. Perhaps, it is suggested to mix 5-6 cans of paint in one 5 gallon bucket (or as the requirement) before start painting. However, if you extra is left in the bucket, you can always pour the leftover back into the can.
2. Avoid lap marks
Lap marks are the marks caused by an uneven layer of paint buildup. This generally occurs when you roll over the paint that’s already half dry. The only key to avoiding lap marks is to maintain a wet edge, so every stroke of your roller overlaps the prior stroke before the paint starts drying.
Maintaining the wet edge is very simple, you have to start near the corner and run the roller up and down the full height of the wall, moving on slightly with every stroke. Now, what’s necessary is that you don’t let the roller dry; reload the roller frequently so that it’s always wet and half loaded.
3. Cut the tape when paint is dry
Once the paint is dry, you cannot pull off the tape. The paint creates a film between the wall and the tape and removing the tape tears off the dried paint from the wall. Therefore, before removing the tape, cut it loose. Before removing the tape, let the wall dry for at least 24 hours. Take a sharp pointed tool like a knife to slice through the film. If you remove the tape, cut it out at 45-degree angle.
4. First paint the trim
Professional generally paint the trim first, and then the walls and the ceiling. It’s is quite simpler to tape off the trim than to tape the walls (certainly you don’t want to tape off the walls).
In the starting, you don’t need to be neat while painting the trim. Once the trim is painted, let it dry for 24 hours and then tape it off to start painting the walls and ceiling.
5. Clean dirty walls before painting
Painting on dirty walls will let the paint peel off quicker than on cleaner walls. You need to clean the grimy surfaces with a heavy-duty cleaner or degreaser especially made for pre paint purposes. They work well to clean varnished, painted, and enameled surfaces to improve the adhesion of the new paint. Also, remember to clean your kitchen walls so that the paint can remain for a longer time. Kitchen and the bathroom walls are the most greasy and oily surfaces which need definite cleaning before painting the area.
Conclusion
These are few tips and tricks to monitor your painters. It’s essential to have basic knowledge of techniques used for painting walls in a house. This will help you to understand how the house painters work and what techniques are they performing wrong.