basic room painting advice/tips

kinger8938

kinger8938

kinger8938

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23 Mar 2011
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As title really!

Got our first home in october (new build, all magnolia)and have decided to paint a room this weekend!

I havent much experiance however. We did paint our living room when we rented as it looked a bit grubby and can kind of remember what we did but had family over helping us!

So basically what do i need to get besides the obvious paint and roller :D any tips for going around sockets etc

Thanks :)
 
Being a new build and freshly painted you should have a pretty easy time of it, I'm crap at painting however but all I say is use quality paint, it can save hours!
 
Buy johnstones covaplus from brewers or a local paint shop please don't buy homebase junk.

Buy a decent brush for cutting in, some masking or frog tape, a paint kettle (never paint straight out the tin. Open tin pour in kettle. Clean tin. Close tin.) Buy a roller and tray. If you have any fine filling use red devil foam filler it's pre mixed and so easy to use.

Decoration is 80% preparation 20% painting.

I use this technique

Preparation filling and sanding
paint ceiling edges then roll ceiling
one coat on woodwork
repeat ceiling
repeat woodwork
two coats on walls cutting up to ceiling and down to skirting and architraves


I like this way then there's only cutting in of the wall colour you're not cutting in oil or satin or ceiling to wall twice.
 
maccapacca said:
Decoration is 80% preparation 20% painting.
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This. Paint covers and hides nothing.
The one thing that I really wasn't expecting the first time I (re)decorated a room was that even small imperfections on the walls next to a window become incredibly visible because of the way the light enters from the side of curtains.
 
sand the walls and then wipe down with a very light mix of water and fairy liquid. You will get a much smoother finish.

Unscrew light and plug fittings to ensure a neat finish.

Take your time.
 
As above, pull an extra shift and pay someone more skilled than you to do these things? I'd rather spend a Saturday doing something I'm good at to pay someone else to do likewise than make a hash of it.

That or take your time.
 
DIY can be fun and rewarding and saves you money as well. So go for it you won't regret it, well depending on the finish :p Take your time and all will be fine ;)
 
I was complete newcomer to decorating and DIY until we bought our first house. I could easily pull a few locum shifts if needed to pay someone else but I thought I'd quite like to do most of it myself. Just take your time. Plan ahead and check out some basic DIY videos on YouTube and you'll be fine. Preparation is obviously very important, try to sand down rough areas and fill small holes etc. We just used some basic dulux matt emulsion and in the majority of rooms a single coat was suffice.
 
Thanks for all the advice, i am willing to have a go at it, luckily its a new home so no holes or marks to deal with so maybe just wipe the walls down and go for it?

Only trying my computer room first and if it goes well, go on to another soon :)
 
Paint the walls white first. It will show up a lot of imperfections that a coloured wall can't. Then use a good filler (I prefer Tetrion to the regular Polyfilla) over all and any marks you can see. Leave for several hours (preferably overnight) and sand it down. Keep repeating this until you're happy with the walls. Also check the walls at different times of the day as the different light will cast different shadows and show imperfections you haven't seen before.

Then paint it the colour you want. Several coats of a good quality paint. Paint the edges with a brush and go over it with avery small roller to remove the brush marks. Then roller the rest of the wall with a smooth but large roller.

Mask areas if necessary but for light switches and sockets I prefer to remove them or at least unscrew them and pull them away from the wall to get behind.
 
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On walls cut in with a brush then use a rad roller (mini roller) to go as close as possible to hide the brush lines

Add a drop of water to the paint you are using to cut in as it will make it flow better and that gives a better line

Dont bother with paint trays get a couple of scuttles they only a few quid and so much easyer

Loosen the switches and sockets off a few turns makes it so much easyer

No need to wipe the walls down in a new build

Oh and use quality paint will save you time and money with less coats
 
We bought our house brand new and we were told we couldnt paint the walls for a year or so because the plaster needs to dry out properly. Dont wallpaper it either because you'll be getting a few cracks in the walls.
 
kingshaun2k said:
We bought our house brand new and we were told we couldnt paint the walls for a year or so because the plaster needs to dry out properly. Dont wallpaper it either because you'll be getting a few cracks in the walls.
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A year? How thick is this plaster, 3 foot?
 
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