DIY Painting Tips for a Professional Finish

Are you tired of looking at the same color on the walls of your home?

Perhaps you jumped on some design trend years ago and now, you’re ready to breathe some new life into the space. Nothing can revamp the look of any room in your home faster than a fresh coat of paint.

Sure, you can spend the money and hire a professional to come in and repaint one or more rooms in your home. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with going that route, DIY projects are also a great idea. Not only do DIY projects allow you to feel a greater sense of ownership and accomplishment, but they’re a great chance to save some money.

While some household tasks don’t lend themselves to the DIY lifestyle, painting your walls is definitely something that you can do safely. However, you don’t want it to look like an untrained hand did the work. These DIY painting tips can help you achieve a professional finish as you upgrade your home’s interior.

Prep the Surface

Any professional painter will tell you that the process of achieving a clean, beautiful finish begins before you ever pop the lid on your can of paint. If you try to paint a dirty, uneven surface, not only will you trap small pieces of debris under your fresh coat of paint, but you’re also much more likely to deal with streaks and uneven finishes.

Begin by wiping down the walls to remove any dust that’s accumulated. Then, use a mild degreaser or a mixture of soap and water to wash the walls. You’ll want to be sure to wring out any cloth that you use when cleaning the walls, as you don’t want to let a lot of water get on the surface.

Once you’ve applied your soapy solution or degreaser, use a different wet cloth to rinse, and then a dry cloth to dry it. Be sure to use a microfiber cloth to avoid leaving any small pieces of lint behind.

Make sure to fill in any cracks or dents that you find in your walls, and when the substance that you fill them with dries, sand them down so they’re even with the rest of the wall. If the surface that you’re painting over is glossy and slick, you’ll need to sand and scuff it to ensure your new paint adheres to it.

Depending on the size of your room and the quality of paint you use (more on that later), you may spend more time prepping the surface than you do actually repainting it. However, when you take the time to prep like a pro, you can expect to reap the same results. In painting, prepping the surface is crucial.

Choosing the Right Paint and Primer

When you go to your local hardware or paint store, you’ll be inundated with paint and primer options. The choices that you make when you’re standing in the paint aisle will directly impact how easy or difficult the process is and what the finished product looks like.

It’s incredibly tempting to try to save a few bucks by buying cheaper paint or by skipping primer. However, if you’re trying to achieve a professional finish on your DIY painting job, you don’t want to go that route. There’s no denying that good, high-quality paint can be a bit pricy, but when it comes to projects like this, you get what you pay for.

The more expensive paints that you’ll find not only go on easier, which saves you time, but they also provide a cleaner, even look. Cheaper paints are more likely to run, which can lead to drip marks in your paint.

Also, since cheaper paints are typically thinner, you’ll find yourself having to apply multiple coats which can turn a weekend job into something that takes days as you wait on one layer to dry before applying the next.

Many DIY painters often skip out on priming the surface, too. There are absolutely no benefits of doing this. Without primer, it’s unlikely that a single coat of paint is going to get the job done, so you’ll end up applying multiple coats. The primer that you use can help ensure that the surface is ready to paint when you apply your color of choice.

Fortunately, there are several brands of paint that have paint and primer mixed together. Again, a can of these paints may cost more, but it’s hard to beat their quality.

Buy the Right Tools

Spending the money to buy the right paint and primer is only part of the equation. You don’t want to opt for cheap materials, either. This includes everything from the tape that you use to protect your trim, ceilings, and floor, as well as the brushes and rollers that you opt for.

By investing in quality tools, you’re ensuring that you have what you need to get the job done right the first time.

When you’re in the paint aisle at your local store, you’ll see a wide variety of rollers and brushes that vary in price.

While you don’t have to get the most expensive items, you definitely want to steer away from the cheapest options. The brushes that cost the least will be too thin to effectively apply the paint, and they’ll cause you all sorts of problems when you’re trying to trim along the edges.

Cheap rollers can also be problematic. Not only do they wear out too quickly, but when they do, they’ll leave little bits of fuzz behind in your wet paint. If you’re going to pay for quality paint and primer, spend the money to pay for the right brushes and rollers, too.

Use the Right Techniques

There’s a reason that professional painters are professionals. Not only do they use the right tools, but they know how to use them the right way. When you’re applying paint to a surface, such as a wall in your house, it’s important to apply it correctly to ensure that you don’t end up with visible lines in the finished product.

The best way to paint is to break every large surface into smaller sections. Start by using your roller to create a large M or W on the surface, and then start overlapping as you apply more paint. The different angles at which you apply the paint ensures that you don’t have lines that reach from the top of the wall to the bottom.

You’ll also want to be sure that you don’t overload the roller or brush that you’re using. Many amateur painters fall into the trap of assuming that getting more paint on the roller or brush means that you’ll get the project done quicker. That’s not true at all.

Overfilling your brush or roller just leads to paint running down the wall, creating drip marks and uneven application.

Finally, be sure to use your roller to paint vertically, not horizontally. Even though there will be an angle when you’re making your M or W, you don’t want to turn the roller completely sideways.

Finish the Job

After you’ve applied as many layers as you need to thoroughly cover the surface, it’s important to finish the job. Professional painters apply a top coat or sealant once the paint has dried completely to give it that finished, shiny look that you see in home décor magazines and on TV.

Yes, this means that you’re going to need to buy another item, but if you’re wanting to make your DIY job look professional, it’s a must-have.

Before applying your top coat, be sure that there are no areas that need touched up and that you’ve avoided creating drips down the wall, as the top coat is going to seal everything in.

Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get to Work

If you’ve been wondering whether you’re capable of tackling your home painting project on your own, you are, and these DIY painting tips can help.

Go pick out the color that you want and use these tips to achieve that professional look that you’re going for.