How to Avoid Painting Failures

How to Avoid Painting Failures

For those homeowners who don’t paint often and attempt a large painting project on their own, it is easy to make mistakes. We have compiled a list of the most common painting mistakes in order to help you avoid painting failures and future costs.

Preparation

The biggest mistake is rushing into your painting project and skipping over the much-needed preparation work. Ensuring that you properly prep the paint area will save you a great deal of headache and cleanup in the long run.

For starters, cover the floors and the furniture with drop cloths to avoid paint drips and splatters. Then, wrap doorknobs with plastic and tape trims. Also, remove outlet and switch covers and tape the switches and outlets themselves. Use painter’s tape to ensure that you have clean edges. The tape on outlets, trims, baseboards, windows, etc. must be sealed tightly to prevent the paint from bleeding. Also, remove the tape before the paint dries so that the paint does not peel with the tape.

Next, have you ever noticed dust particles or hair stuck to your wall? Did you ever see areas of paint that looked rippled? You can prevent this with preparation. Clean the walls before painting them by running a vacuum over the walls. Then, mix together one gallon of warm water and two cups of vinegar to wash them down with a rag.

Not Buying Appropriate Tools

Now, imagine being halfway through a room when you run out of paint. No one wants to stop mid-project to have to run to the home improvement store. Measure the area that you want to paint and always add extra for future touchups.

Also, do your research on paint brushes. You don’t want to attempt painting a large wall with a small bristle brush. You also don’t want to use a synthetic bristle brush for oil-based paint.  Make sure that you are buying good quality brushes appropriate to the area you are painting and to the paint you are using.

What type of paint will go best for the type of area you are painting? Do your research here as well. For example, don’t try to paint over an oil-based area with latex paint as it will crack and peel.

Process

Two of the biggest no-no’s when painting are not waiting for your paint to dry properly before adding the second coat and over dunking your paint brush.

Keeping these important tips in mind will help you avoid the most common painting failures. For all questions related to residential painting, contact the experts from Noel Painting today for more information!