Painting can be a tricky task, requiring loads of time to be dedicated towards the preparation, task and clean up. Painting is such an art that entire professionals devote their careers to specializing in it. Here are some quick tips for helping you make your paint job look professional, even if you are just beginning.
1. Mind the Trim
The first sign of an amateur painter is paint marks all over the trim and other areas that, clearly, should not have paint on them. When painting for the first few times, it is easy to lose control of the brush or roller and make marks where you had not intended to make marks.
However, it is essential that you clean these marks up if you want your paint job to appear professional. Clean these marks up quickly using soap and water. If the marks have been on the wall for a prolonged amount of time, then you may need to use some paint thinner to remove them. Of course, you can always paint over any marks that cannot be cleaned away. It is always a good idea to keep reserves of the paint that you use for your wall, trim and ceiling on hand so that these quick clean-ups can be more efficient.
2. Apply several coats
A single coat of paint can appear splotchy, leaving too much room for the under layer color to shine through. In order to make your paint job look professional and adequately completed, it is important that you lay two coats of paint on the wall. Two coats will also help the color to shine, avoiding any pale casting that only one coat can also cause.
3. Choose colors of wall and trim that compliment on another
Many people do not fully understand how wall paint and trim work together. Ideally, the wall paint is the layer that stands out and makes a statement, while the trim compliments it by providing a pleasing contrast. To learn more about trim colors and textures, visit any paint section of your local home improvement or paint specialty store.
4. Avoid streaks
The mark of am amateur is the abundance of streaks present in the wall. Professional painters paint so that the wall appears to have an even layer of paint throughout, while a beginning has a tendency to overlook some of the coated layers. To ensure that your wall is sufficiently even, make sure to always work with good lighting, such as a floodlight. Take ample steps backward to evaluate the paint applications throughout the painting procedure. Spending a few extra minutes during the painting will help to eliminate undo clean up afterwards.
5. Prepare the surface well prior to painting
It is easy to get so carried away about the actual task of laying the paint on the wall that one can easily overlook the important clean-up and prep work necessary to make sure that the paint goes on the proper surface and will last for awhile. Make sure that your surface is clean, sanded and coated with a base layer of primer prior to laying your first coat of paint.