There are many reasons why you might want to paint the walls in your home, from wanting a simple change to needing to revitalize a long-neglected paint job. The nice thing about a room painting project is that, since it’s indoors, you can start during any time of the year, as long as you can crack the windows for ventilation. Luckily, painting walls is something anyone can do. After an assessment of the room and all the initial prep work, the actually painting part of the project is fairly easy.
Now that you’ve picked up all your painting supplies from your local paint store in Seattle, it’s time to get painting! Here are a few simple steps for painting any room in your home:
- Clean the walls: It’s important to remove scuffmarks, dirt, dust and grease from the walls you plan to paint. To clean, combine water and a few drops of a mild dishwashing soap to form a solution. Use a new, non-abrasive sponge to gently wipe away dirty spots, then rinse soap residue with a wrung-out, water-soaked cloth or a different sponge.
- Prep edges with tape: While you’re at your neighborhood paint store in Seattle, be sure to pick up blue painter’s tape to apply along baseboard trim, moldings, window frames and doorframes. This particular tape is made to keep freshly applied paint drippings from coloring your trim. Remove the blue tape immediately after painting and before the wall dries to avoid peeling off any of the paint.
- Fill in holes: Unless the walls are brand new, you need to inspect them from corner to corner and top to bottom for picture frame holes and other damage. Spackle or caulk where necessary, and smooth patches out before priming. Even the smallest nail hole requires spackling paste; otherwise, your newly painted walls will show dips and wells.
- Prime the walls: Often, a homeowner is using a new paint color, so they want to apply a coat of primer to keep the old color from showing through. But regardless of the wall’s existing color, all walls marked for painting can benefit from primer. It helps to maximize the new paint’s shine, provides better paint coverage and ensures the final coat has a uniform appearance.
- Use a brush for tight areas: A paint roller makes painting walls a breeze, but there are going to be areas that a roller cannot reach. Instead, use an appropriate size paintbrush for hard to reach areas—like around the trim and in tight corners.
- Paint the trim: Because you’ll be taping where the trim meets the wall, you must wait until the wall paint is completely dry before applying the painter’s tape. Now you can paint the trim, moldings, doorframes and window frames in your desired color. Remove the tape when the trim is completely dry.
Whether big or small, when planning a home painting project, look no further than Stewart Lumber & Hardware Co. for all your painting supplies. We are your go-to premier paint store in Seattle—visit us today to explore our selection!