 Educating yourself to a few basic painting techniques can go a long way in creating an attractive, smooth paint finish, free from streaks, drips and lap marks from paint rollers. Take a few moments now to familiarize yourself with the process for a finished look you will be proud to show off.
Before you begin, ready the room by moving and covering furniture, and repairing holes and cracks in the walls surface. Wash the walls to remove areas of grease, dirt, and oil so that paint can adhere to the surface.
Ceilings - If you will be painting the ceiling of the room too, start there. Cut in the edges of the ceiling, and then load the roller and paint in a zigzag "W" or "M" pattern (follow painting instructions below). When painting ceilings, paint toward sources of light to minimize the appearance of roller lines. When the ceiling is dry, begin painting the walls.
Cutting in - Begin painting wall surfaces by cutting in along the edges of walls, ceilings, and corners. "Cutting in" simply means to use a paintbrush to paint two to three inches along all wall edges where the paint roller cannot reach or where it might scrape an adjoining ceiling or floor. Avoid loading paint brushes with too much paint. This will cause the paint to drip.
Rolling the wall - Once all the edges have been cut in, fill in the remaining wall space using a paint roller. Load the paint roller with enough paint to cover adequately, but not so much that the paint drips when the wall is rolled. Fully saturate all sides of the roller surface by rolling it in the paint in the bottom of the paint pan. Roll the paint roller on the ridges at the top slope of the paint pan to remove excess paint. | The roller should not be dripping when it is raised.
Start near the top of the wall. Begin painting on an upward stroke, then paint a "W" or an "M" covering an area approximately three or four feet square. Work in the opposite direction back over the paint, zigzagging in the same "W/M" fashion until the area is completely filled in. With the first area filled in, move to the adjoining area below. Move approximately three or four feet from the first area to an area that is dry, then work in the aforementioned zigzag pattern back toward the wet paint. When the first section of wall is covered top to bottom, move on to the top of the wall next to the first painted area. Continue in this way all the way around the room, always painting from a dry section toward a wet section.
After completing several painted three-foot square sections, roll over the area to smooth out drips and lap marks. Move on to the next wall until the room is finished.
Painting trim - Use a one to two and a half inch brush to paint smooth, streak free trim. Tape adjacent wall surfaces with painter's tape (thoroughly dried and set walls only) or use a thin piece of cardboard or painter's straight edge to protect the paint next to the trim.
Begin painting trim by painting a section of trim one to one and a half feet long with a fully loaded, but not dripping, paintbrush. Move ahead on the trim the same interval of one to one and a half feet, and work from there back toward the wet painted area. Continue until the length of the trim is complete. |
Amy Westerlund
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