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Complete
Room
 Sequence
for painting a room is from top to bottom:
Ceiling first,
then walls, then windows, doors and finally baseboards.
Great
interior painting is as easy as one-two-three
Great interior
painting is as easy as one-two-three
There are many reasons why interior painting is the nation's most
popular home improvement project.
Painting can quickly and dramatically transform the appearance of
a room, an apartment or an entire home; it's personally rewarding;
it's inexpensive; and it's fun.
Moreover, interior
painting is easy. According to the Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute,
even novices can often get professional painting results by following
just three simple rules
Rule
number one: Prepare the surface properly
- Good paint
performance depends on good paint adhesion, and paint adheres
best to surfaces that are clean and sound. Before picking up a
brush or roller, it's important to make sure the surface is "inviting"
to the paint.
 Accumulated
dirt, dust and grime should be removed from walls, ceilings and
trim with a detergent-water solution. After washing, the surfaces
should be thoroughly rinsed with water and allowed to dry completely.
- Next, a putty
knife should be used to fill cracks, holes and other surface imperfections
with either spackling compound or a quality acrylic sealant. If
spackling is used, after it is dry it should be sanded smooth
and flush with the surface; sealant should be smoothed and feathered
as it is applied.
- Finally,
if walls or ceilings have water stains or other serious
discolouration,
then before painting, it may be necessary to coat them with a
acrylic or oil-based stain-blocking primer to prevent the stains
from bleeding through the new paint.
Rule number two: Use only top quality paint
- Compared
with ordinary interior paints, top quality finishes are much easier
to work with and offer superior long-term performance.
- In terms
of application benefits, top quality paints won't spatter or tend
to show brush marks. And since they hide better than ordinary
paints, a single coat is often sufficient to give a great looking
paint job and save on time, labour and cost.
- Top quality
interior paints also are tougher and more durable than ordinary
interior paints, according to experts at the Paint Quality Institute.
They resist fading, yellowing and staining. And even if they do
get spotted or stained, discolouration can often be washed off
without damaging the finish.
Rule number three: Invest in quality tools
- To get the
most from top quality interior paint, it should be applied with
high quality brushes and rollers. Not only will they apply the
paint more evenly, but they will also make the job more effortless
- The best
brushes tend to be well balanced, hold a lot of paint and apply
the paint evenly. Look for brushes with tightly packed bristles
and test them for springiness. And be sure they don't fan too
much.
- When applying
the more popular acrylic or water-based interior paints, it's important
to use brushes and rollers with synthetic bristles and covers.
They'll maintain the proper stiffness and keep their shape regardless
of the amount of water they're exposed to.
Most oil-based or alkyd paints can be applied with brushes and
rollers made either of synthetic or natural materials.
Remember. interior painting can be as simple as one-two-three.
But there are no shortcuts. Good surface preparation, top quality
paint and high quality tools are all essential to get the best
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Ceilings
 First
‘cut in’ a 50mm wide strip with a brush around the edges
of the ceiling. Switch to a roller (usually medium or long nap for flat
paints) with a 1 - 1.5m extension pole.. Starting at a
corner and working toward the light paint
a section about 1 square metre. Use a zigzag pattern, paint a W"
pattern on the ceiling, which will disperse the paint on the roller
evenly. Fill in this sq m section without reloading the roller until
you have complete coverage of this section. Continue to cover the
ceiling, working across its shortest dimension in square metre
sections (rather than working along the length of the room), overlapping while paint is wet to
minimise lap marks.
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Walls
Starting at
the ceiling, ‘cut in’ 50mm strip with a brush. Continue
with the brush to cut in 50mm strips in corners, around windows,
doors, cabinets and baseboards. Note - there are tools available
at your paint retail outlets that help make this "edging"
job easier. Other "tricks" include sliding the roller
cover off the holder slightly so the rollers edge gets closer to
ceiling, window or door.
Switch to a
roller and paint in a vertical direction using a zigzag pattern.
Push the roller upward on the first stroke, then form an "M"
pattern to evenly distribute the paint on the roller. (working in
1 sq metre sections is recommended). Fill in the "M" pattern
without reloading the roller until you have complete coverage of
the area. Continue with this approach until the wall is finished.
Touching up spots you missed when the paint is wet will help
minimise
sheen potential sheen differences.
Most manufacturers
recommend that when you finish one wall, make sure you have enough
paint to complete the next entire wall. Starting with another can
of paint in the middle of a wall can result in slightly different
colours, which will be perceptible side by side, but not wall to
wall.
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Doors
Open door wide
to reach all parts to be covered. Protect hinges and other metal
with masking tape. Always start at the top. If the door is
panelled,
paint the panels first, the horizontal sections next and finally
the vertical sections. If the door opens into the room you are painting,
use the same colour on the latch edge that you have used for the
rest of the door. If it opens into the next room, do not paint the
hinged edge. It should be the same colour as the other room
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Decks
Due to the
growing popularity of decks, there are now a wide variety of Deck
finishes - ranging from conventional penetrating ones to new water
based acrylic ones. In the alkyd category, there are clears, semi
transparent and opaque finishes. In acrylic, semi transparent and
opaque.
Many homeowners
are starting to use the semi transparent or opaque to maximise the
protection and duration of their deck coating.
Begin by cleaning
and power washing to remove dirt, mildew and old coatings. If you
are using a clear, penetrating coatings, deck brightening products
help restore a "new wood" look to the wood.. Both sides
of the railings should also be powerwashed.
Brushes and
Rollers - Once the deck is clean and thoroughly dry, start with
a brush on the outside of the deck, on tops of the railing and work
your way down to the deck, then in toward the house. Then switch
to a roller for the deck, starting at an outside edge and working
toward the house. Use even pressure on the roller on each board
to give uniform coverage and sheen.
Spraying is
another way to coat decks - faster than brush/roller, but you must
be sure to protect scrubs etc. from overspray. Spray equipment can
be rented at many paint stores, home centres or rental companies.
Check with a paint professional for tip size and pressure setting
- which will depend on the type of coating you use. Spray railings
first, unless the railings are to be a different colour than the
deck. Then the deck should be coated first. One trip for protecting
plants or other objects from overspray is to tape kraft paper to
the outside of the railing, which will catch the overspray. When
spraying the deck itself, spray evenly over a two square metre area,
then go over that area with a 25mm nap roller to spread coating
evenly into deck. Continue this procedure in sections until deck
is covered. Be sure to use a large shield (such as 1.5m square piece
of cardboard) when painting alongside the house to protect it from
overspray.
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Windows
 Of
all the woodwork in the home, windows suffer the most stress. Constant
exposure to temperature changes and condensation means that windows
often need to be painted more frequently than doors, moldings and
trim.
Unfortunately, the process involved in painting windows can be confusing.
To simplify things, the Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute offers
some window painting guidelines that can save you time, money and
aggravation.
Start by gathering the right tools for window painting:
- a 35mm or
50mm quality brush (use synthetic bristles if you are painting
with
- one of the
popular acrylic interior paints);
- a cutting-in
brush for precision work;
- a paint shield
or masking tape;
- a screwdriver;
- enough top
quality paint to complete the job.
Remove locks, curtain hooks and other hardware from the windows.
This will speed your work and produce a better-looking paint job.
Double-hung windows
For double-hung windows, follow this six-step procedure:
1. Raise the bottom sash and lower the top sash most of the way,
so that there is a 150mm overlap. Paint the bottom horizontal
section of the top sash, then the accessible vertical members. Use
care to keep paint from getting in between sash and frame which
can "glue" the window in place.
2. Nearly close the upper and lower sashes, then finish painting
the rest of the top sash.
3. Paint the entire bottom sash.
4. After allowing the sashes to dry, paint the window frame.
5. Close the windows and paint the exposed parts of the runners.
If your windows have sash cords, avoid getting paint on them.
6. Paint the window sill and apron.
Casement windows
If your home
has any casement windows (windows that open out or in, rather than
up or down), use a different technique:
1. Open the windows and paint the top, side and bottom edges.
2. Paint the crossbars and frame casings.
3. Complete the job by painting the sill and apron.
Regardless of the type of windows you are painting, if you have
a steady hand, you can keep paint on the frame and off the glass
by using the cutting-in brush. But be sure to overlap the paint
onto the glass slightly to help seal off moisture and drafts.
There are two other techniques for keeping paint off of the window
panes: holding up a paint shield as you work or applying masking
tape to the glass.
When using tape, press it firmly to the glass to keep excess paint
from creeping beneath it. (If stray specks of paint get onto the
glass, simply remove them with a razor blade.) Remove the tape before
the paint dries to a hard film.
Some final tips from the experts at the Paint Quality Institute:
Before starting to paint, repair any damage to the window and properly
prepare the surface. This can be done by scraping off old paint,
then sanding, and priming any spots where bare wood shows. (Get
more advice on surface preparation at your local paint retailer,
hardware store or decorating center.)
- Paint windows
early in the day so that they have enough time to dry before you
close them in the evening.
- Finish painting
each piece in the direction of the wood grain.
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