Step 1 Removing Everything From The Surfaces

This Might Sound Super Obvious But It Is The First Step. Any Picture, Art, Posters, Etc. Should Be Removed From The Walls Or Any Surface Being Painted And Either Moved To A Room That Is Not Being Painted Or To The Middle Of The Room On The Floor Where It Can Be Covered Up Later With Plastic. Even If You Are Not Painting Your Walls We Recommend Taking Everything Down So That There Is Zero Risk Of Overspray Or Drips From The Ceilings, Doors, Or Baseboards You Are Painting. If You Are Putting The Removed Items From The Walls In The Middle Of The Room To Be Covered Up Make Sure That There Is Enough Room In Between The Items On The Floor And The Walls. This Will Allow For You To Move Around The Room And Paint While Not Having To Unmask, Move, And Re-Mask Things You Already Took Down. If The Room Is Not Big Enough To Leave About 3-4 Feet Between Every Wall And The Removed Items You Should Probably Move The Items Into A Room That Can Give You Enough Room To Operate.

Step 2 Prep Work

Now That Every Every Thing Is Removed From The Surfaces And In A Position Where There Is No Risk Of Getting Paint On Them It Is Time To Start Masking Things Off. The Technique Of Masking Off Will Be Discussed In Another Blog Post Because There Is A Lot Of Information To Digest In That Topic Alone, For Now We Will Just Cover The Basics Of What Needs To Be Covered. If You Are In Doubt Of Whether Or Not Something Needs To Be Covered, It Is A Good Idea To Cover It With Paper Or Plastic Just To Be Safe. To Determine Whether Or Not Something Needs To Be Masked Off Depends On What You Are Painting In Your House But For The Sake Of Covering All The Bases In This Blog We Are Going To Assume Everything Is Going To Be Painted (Ceilings, Walls, Baseboards, Doors, Jams). We Recommend At Julius Painters That Anything That Can Be Removed, Should Be Removed And Put Back When Finished. This Would Include Outlet Covers, Fan Skirts, Door Hinges, Hardware, Etc.). The Reason Why You Would Want To Do This Is So That 1.) There Are Less Things To Mask Off And 2.) There Is Less Risk Of Getting Paint On These Items And Saving Time Not Having To Clean Them When You Are Done. Put All These Things Either In The Middle Of The Room To Be Covered Up With Floor Plastic Or For Smaller Items Like Screws And Hinges In A Plastic Baggie Marked So You Remember Which Door/Item They Belong To.

After Everything That Can Be Removed Has Been, It Is Time To Start Masking Off The Items That Can’t Be Removed. We Recommend Starting With Masking Off Items From The Ceiling Down So You Don’t Risk A Ladder Puncturing The Plastic On The Floor. As Mentioned The Techniques Of Masking Will Be Discussed In Greater Depth In A Later Post But For Now You Just Need To Know That Everything Needs To Be Covered Completely. Paint Will Always Find A Way Onto Your Things If Possible. There Is No Such Thing As Being To Careful When Masking, Any Hole Or Slit In The Masking Will Almost Always Result In Paint Getting On Your Things, Especially On Your Floors. When You Are Done, The Only Thing You Should Be Able To See Uncovered Are The Areas You Want Painted.

Although We Are Not Going To Discuss How To Mask Things Off It Is Fairly Simple To Do, You Might Be A Little Slow At First And There Are Items That Are Going To Be Awkward To Cover But You Will Be Able To Get The Hang Of It Fairly Quickly. For Now Here Is A Punch List Of What You Will Need To Prep Your House. (Amounts Will Vary Depending On Size Of Job)

SUNDRIES:

• 1.5 Inch Blue Masking Tape (Blue Tape Is A Softer Tape That Will Not Take Off The Finish Of Flooring Or Other Painted Surfaces)

• 12 Inch Masking Paper (This Is Good For Covering Small Areas Of The Floor And Fixtures That The Plastic Is Too Awkward To Cut And Cover)

• 6 Ft X 90 Ft Hand Masker Plastic (This Will Be Used For Covering Windows And Bigger Items On The Surfaces Like Fans. Do Not Use This For Covering Floors, It Is Too Thin And Will Rip.)

• 2 Millimeter Floor Plastic (2 Mm Is The Thinnest Plastic You Should Put On Your Floors. Because You Will Be Stepping Around And Placing Ladders On It Any Plastic Thinner Than 2 Mm Will Most Likely Rip

Step 3 Repairing Damages

Once Everything Is Covered Completely, It Is Time To Do All The Repair Work. This Would Include Spackle All Nail Holes, Any Drywall Repairs Needing Done, Caulking The Baseboards And Window Frames, Etc. It Is Important To Note That This Is A Very Important Step That Also Requires A Lot Of Attention To Detail. Many People Think That Paint Will Cover Up Problems In Repairs However Rarely Will Paint Itself Fix Any Problem. Painting Over A Repair That Doesn’t Look Good Will Only Change The Color Of The Imperfection. If You Are Unable To Repair The Damages To Your Liking Before Painting, It Is Best To Call A Professional At Least To Do The Repair Before Painting. It Is Also Important To Note That All Repairs Should Be Primed Before Painting To Avoid Flashing In The Paint.

Step 4 Applying Product

Finally It Is Now Time To Apply Product To The Surfaces! If You Are Needing To Prime, That Should Be Your First Step. This Blog Will Not Go Into Depth About When And How To Prime But If You Do Not Know If You Need To Prime Please Click Here And Read The Article We Posted About Primer! When It Comes To Applying Paint Different Surfaces Require Different Application Processes And Different Finishes. Below Is The Recommended Application, Finish, And The Product We Typically Use.

CEILINGS

• Spray Ceilings With A 515 Spray Tip At A High Pressure

• Use A Dead Flat Latex Paint. You Do Not Want Any Sheen On A Ceiling Or It Will Show All Imperfections In Your Drywall When Light Hits It. Even Some “Flat” Paints Have Resins That Give It A Sheen So Before Purchasing Talk To The Paint Store.

• If A Second Coat Is Needed Let The Paint Completely Dry Before Applying Second Coat

• We Recommend The Product Superwall From Dunn Edwards

WALLS

• Always Roll Walls With A Latex Paint That Has A Sheen. Flat Paint Will Be Very Diffcult To Clean And Touch Up If Something Happens. For Smoother Walls Use A Thinner Roller Cover Like A 3/8’“ And For High Textured Walls Use A Thicker Roller Like A 1/2” Or A 3/4”.

• Walls Should Always Be Given Two Coats. Apply The Second Coat After The First Coat Has Dried.

• We Recommend The Product Suprema From Dunn Edwards Or Super Paint From Sherwin Williams

WOODWORK

• Spray Wood Work With A 311 Spray Tip At A Low To Medium Pressure To Avoid Brush Marks On Smooth Surfaces. A Glossier Paint Will Protect It Better And Make It Easier To Clean

• Use An Enamel Base Paint. It Will Dry Much Harder And More Durable Than A Latex Base Paint Making It Ideal For Woodwork.

• We Recommend Deco-Glo From Dunn Edwards

Step 5 Touchups And Clean Up

Even The Best Painters Who Have Been Painting For Most Of Their Lives Will Always Have Touchup Work To Do When Unmasking. When You Are Removing The Paper, Tape, And Plastic You Can Be Certain That You Will See Things That Need To Be Touched Up, Lines To Be Made Straighter, Spots Missed, Cut-Ins, Etc. Do This Before Putting Anything Back On To The Walls. After Touching Up The Paint You Can Start Putting Everything Back. Be Sure That The Paint Is Completely Dry Before Putting Anything Back On The Surfaces So That Nothing Dries To The Paint. (This Happens A Lot With Outlet Covers!). You Are Now Finished With Your Interior Painting Job, Congratulations!

More Things To Consider

One Important Thing To Note Is That Even Though The Paint Is Dry To The Touch It Will Take A Few Days For The Paint To Completely Cure. We Tell Our Customers To Wait Two Weeks And Do Another Full Inspection Of The Job To Make Sure That Everything Is Still Good And Holding Up. If After Two Weeks Everything Still Looks Good, You Shouldn’t Have Any Issue With The Paint. Refrain From Using Harsh Chemicals Or Lots Of Pressure On The Surfaces During This Time Frame For It Might Cause Some Sagging In The Paint!

Get A Quote From A Professional

At Julius Painters We Have Total Faith That You Will Do A Great Job At Painting The Interior Of Your Home, However We See Often Times That Homeowners Start Painting Projects That Ultimately Consume A Lot More Of Their Time Than They Originally Thought Or It Proved To Be More Difficult To Do Than Anticipated. We Give Quotes 100% Free Of Charge, Please Reach Out To Us With Any Questions Or To Schedule A Quote And We Would Love To Help You Out!