When your home's interior is in need of a new coat of paint, you can hire a professional painter to handle the job or you can complete it yourself. If you choose to paint your home's interior yourself, here are some tips you can implement to make your interior home painting project a successful one.
Wall Preparation
Preparation is one of the most important parts of painting your home's interior. This step includes cleaning the wall's surfaces and trim and filling in any nail holes, dings, and dents with drywall compound.
First, use a wet sponge or rag and a cleaning solution for removing grease from surfaces, and clean the walls and ceiling in the rooms you plan to paint. Your home's walls will collect a fine layer of dust and an occasional cobweb in addition to skin oil that can mar your new paint application. Wipe down the baseboards and chair rails in each room to remove dust and dirt.
Cleaning is especially important when preparing your kitchen for painting. Your kitchen's walls can accumulate a layer of sticky grease from all the cooking you do in the space. For cutting through the grease on your kitchen walls, a cleaner containing trisodium phosphate is helpful.
Now you can patch any dings, dents, and holes in your walls with a bucket of drywall joint compound and a drywall knife. Apply a small amount of drywall joint compound onto the drywall knife, and press it into the hole or dent, smoothing it onto the wall to make the patch compound level with the wall. Allow the patches to fully dry before applying paint.
Paint Application
When painting a wall, it is recommended to cut in around the edges and corners of the wall with an angled paint brush. Load your paint brush with paint by dipping it into the paint, then gently pat it against the inside of the can. This forces paint between the bristles of the brush for you to apply onto the wall.
With a steady hand and long, slow strokes, you can apply the paint right up to the edge of your painting surface without inadvertently applying paint onto the trim, ceiling, or adjacent wall. Keep a wet rag with you so you can wipe up any accidental paint drips or dabs before they dry. When you rely on masking painter's tape to block off areas you don't want to apply paint onto, the paint can run and seep beneath the painter's tape. When you remove the tape, it can also cause your paint to peel from the wall, damaging its application.
After you have cut in around the edges of your walls with a paint brush, finish painting the interior of the walls using a paint roller for an even coverage. Be sure to smooth the paint and blend it over the wall to prevent streaks in the paint.
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