Painting Tips for Interior Painting

Foam Rollers > Foam rollers can really assist in getting a beautiful smooth wall finish. They are easy to use and spatter very little. Try them for your next paint job! (They won't work on heavily textured or rough surfaces however.) Foam brushes on the other hand are mainly useful only for small paint jobs since they may not stand up to doing an entire room.

Pad Painters > Smooth pad painters are extremely useful and offer neat application and simple cleanup.

Just make sure you only 'float' the pad on top of the paint to load it, since once the pad is submerged into the paint it can become a drippy mess and you'll need to take it apart, clean it, and start over.

Rollers > Look for rollers with plastic interiors (rather than cardboard) for longer life. Foam rollers are great for use on smooth walls. Otherwise, choose the roller nap (the thickness of the fluffy covering) according to the texture of your wall. Flat smooth walls need a flat smooth roller. Rougher walls need thicker rollers so paint will get down into all the crevices.

Latex Paint > Experts agree that latext paints are friendlier to the environment than oil paints. Latex gives you a faster drying time and requires only water cleanup. Use synthetic bristle brushes (not natural bristle) with latex paints.

Oil Paint > Die hard traditionalists still like oil paints. Use natural bristle brushes for oil paints and get advice at the paint store on cleaning brushes and rollers.

Keep Paint Covered > Exposure to air causes latex paint to skim over, so it's best to keep the can of paint covered whenever possible. Pour small amounts of paint into a roller tray or small cardboard paint buckets and work from those.

Drop Cloths > Newspaper won't give your floors enough protection. Plastic sheeting can be slippery. A good environmentally-friendly choice are large heavy canvas drop cloths available at paint stores or home centers. These can be folded to fit most any size room, are not slippery, and can be reused endlessly. Tape down the edges so spills won't get under the cloth. If you have hardwood floors be sure to vacuum them before putting a drop cloth down.

Tinted Primer > When you purchase paint ask to have cans of primer tinted to match your wall color. Lighter colors can be matched fairly well, though primers won't take enough pigment to match deeper wall colors. Using tinted primer can often save painting an extra finish coat. Some ceiling white paint is being marketed that is tinted blue when wet, drying to white, which may offer better control and coverage during painting.

Blue Tape > Painter's blue tape is available in several widths. It is strong yet won't pull up existing paint in most cases. The tape has a slightly waxy coating that helps seal out paint from seeping underneath. Simply "zip" down a length of tape with the back of a spoon or a knife blade in order to activate the seal. Test this on your surface first with the paint you'll be using to see how well it works. The seal will only be effective on smooth surfaces. Also, use a minimum of paint near the tape to reduce the chances of seep-through. Remove blue tape when no longer needed, and leave it up only couple of days at the most.

Painting tips & tricks of the day

Removing paint on glass and windows
It is well known that dried paint can be removed from glass with a razor blade. If the glass objects are textured or uneven, soak them in water and dishwasher liquid for a few hours.

Doing clean touch ups
During light painting jobs, put a "Zip Lock" type sandwich bag in a plastic margarine tub and fold the bag edges over the rim. Pour the paint into the bag of your "paint tray" and once the job is over, remove the bag and seal it, or throw it away.