How to Paint a Room

When it comes to painting, you want to do the job methodically or it may take you "a week and a day" to paint a room. There is a logical sequencing to interior painting that you should follow if you want to execute the work quickly and efficiently. Familiarize yourself with Roller and Brush Painting Technique if you are new to interior painting.

Clear the room

The first thing you will do is clear out the room of the smaller furniture items. Small end tables, chairs, footstools (ottoman) etc... should be moved out of the room. Pictures and nick knacks need to come off the wall along with the curtains and the clock on the wall. Everything comes off the walls.

Use a universal primer

Universal Primers have good adhesion, will seal patching compounds and act as a first coat and they dry quickly so you can move along to the finish paint sooner rather than later.

Begin Painting - Ceiling First

Once the primer is dry begin with the finish paint. Start with the top and work down. The first thing that gets painted is the ceiling. Painting a Ceiling

Next you will need to move the bigger furniture to the center of the room. One person can easily move just about any piece of furniture with the furniture "sliders". See Moving Furniture.

Cover up

There are two main types of drop cloths that you will use: 1. Clear plastic and 2. Canvas or cloth drop cloths. I usually use canvas drops for walking on (i.e. on the floor), and plastic for covering up everything else (like the corralled furniture in the center of the room). A few points about drop cloths: They are not paint proof. Canvas drops are good for spatter and light drips but if you get a big drip on them wipe it up or it will slowly bleed through the drop. Plastic drops do not work on the floor. The plastic will cling to your feet and move around with every wind current. Use canvas or cloth drops on the floor.

Prepare the surface

Once everything is covered begin on the surface preparation. Surface preparation consists of cleaning, patching and priming. Prime first (even before patching) if you need to prime. See "Interior Paint Primers - when do you need to use them?" Once the primer is dry proceed on to Spackling and Drywall Repair. If you house was built before 1978 you need to familiarize yourself with lead paint and the hazards of lead paint. Do not sand or disturb the painted surface if the house was built before 1978 - the year lead paint was banned.

The first coat of "paint" should be a primer coat instead of doing two coats of paint. Primer will seal the underlying surface, will stick to clean but glossy surfaces and can be tinted to match the finish paint color.

requires a paint extension pole, a roller pan or 5 gallon bucket and flat ceiling paint. You don't need to "cut in" the ceiling carefully if you will be painting the walls. You can go ahead and bump the walls with the ceiling paint. You will be cutting in the ceiling / wall joint cleanly when you paint the walls.

Painting the Walls

Let the ceiling dry, then proceed on to the walls. If you are using a deep tone paint color for the walls see "Painting With Deep Tone Colors" for special instruction when using deep or clean colors. Also take a look at "Painting With Sheen Paints" for the special instruction concerning glossy paints.

The method used for painting walls with a roller is called "cut and roll". You will cut in the ceiling / wall joint first then roll out the wall. Keep a wet edge on the cut in portion and roll out the wall before the cut in sets up or starts to dry. Only paint one wall at a time. Don't cut in the whole room and then return to the starting point and start rolling. Cut in the first wall and roll it out, then move on to the next etc...... If you are working with a sheen paint, you will probably need to double coat for good sheen uniformity. Cutting in a straight line at the ceiling will be the greatest challenge for most painters. Tip: Cut the wall in slowly and carefully with a good quality, chiseled brush. Good brushes are expensive, but they come to a clean "point" which helps in drawing in a straight line. Once the walls are dry, go back up the ladder and "fine tune" your line and clean it up.

Enamel the Trim

The last thing to paint will be the trim and doors which will be painted with either a waterborne or oil enamel. Enamels flow out better than wall paints and are more washable. See Painting With Enamel. You will need to clean the old trim paint and prime if it is glossy or if you are converting from oil to latex. Use a cleaner like "Krud Kutter" to clean the old trim paint. Use a glossy surface primer if it is painted with a sheen paint (most likely it is). See Painting Glossy Surfaces. You can mask the wall off where the trim meets the wall with brown paper tape. This will give you good clean straight lines on the trim / wall joint. The brown paper tape (Easy Mask etc..) is also an easy release tape like the blue tape but the adhesive is not as strong and the paper is smooth giving better lines.

Clean up

Once the trim is dry, you're done - clean up. See "How to Clean a Roller and Brush". Clean up your tools, and pick up the drops and vacuum the floor. The plastic drops can be "pitched" and the canvas or cloth drops can be washed if need be.

It wasn't easy - it never is, but with good planning, technique and good paint, you should have a paint job that you can be proud of. Well done.

Please read lead paint warning if your house was built before 1978,

How to Paint an Interior Room

How to Paint a Room -Step by Step

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