Painting is easy, right? You just go to the store, pick up paint and roll it on the wall. Well, that’s the idea anyway. The problem is, a lot of paint jobs end up looking like DIY projects, which isn’t good. If you can avoid these three common painting mistakes, your paint jobs will look like a pro completed the work, and the best part, you’ll be able to finish the project much more quickly than the average DIY project.
Not Patching Holes Properly
Most people slap some putty over top of any holes, let it dry, maybe sand it a bit, and then start painting. But, here’s what you should do instead: get some premixed drywall mud, put some in a container, add a bit of water at a time and mix thoroughly until the mud has a whip cream type consistency (not the consistency of the stuff out of the can, real whip cream).
Then, use a 5-6” putty knife and put a thin coat over the hole. Let that dry, then do 1 more thin coat. (*Note: your patch for these little holes should be as wide as the 6” putty knife).
Let the second coat dry, and then lightly sand with a fine-grit sanding sponge until it’s smooth like the wall. Don’t over sand, do just enough to make it smooth and that it blends into the wall. When you paint over that patch it’ll appear as though it was never there in the first place.
Buy your putty knife and drywall mud here.
Not Sanding After Priming
What? You’re supposed to sand after you prime? Yep. At least that’s what the pros do. By giving the walls a very light sanding after you prime, it gets rid of any fuzz and imperfections on the surface, leaving you with a nice smooth finish.
The fastest way to do this is to get a painting pole that you can screw a sanding pad to the end of and lightly sand out the walls after the primer is dry.
With the pole, this will only take a couple of minutes per wall and it will really make a difference on the finished product.
Not Getting The Proper Tools For The Job
There is a ton of expertise and experience that goes into being a pro at anything in construction. But, the other thing that the pros have that the rest of us don’t have, is the right homeowner tools. This makes a huge difference in the amount of time a project takes and the quality you end up with.
Below is a list of tools that will help speed up your painting and ensure you do a professional-looking job every time.
✓Sandpaper for pole attachment<
✓Titan Airless Sprayer: this is for priming or painting large areas quickly. This is what pros use to prime houses and paint ceilings. You can spray the paint on and then roll it out with a paint roller right after for a nice smooth finish. This is also great for spraying unfinished basement ceilings as we talked about in this post. It gives the basement a finished look without the extra cost of installing a ceiling.
If you are ready to tackle a paint job or something bigger, get our free home renovation budget template here.
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