Painting the walls in your house can be an exciting process, whether you have just moved into your first house and want to decorate, or you are switching your old color to something fresh. It can be a lengthy process, but the paint job will last for years. Preparing properly will help make sure your paint job looks the best it can.
Instructions
1. Wearing the gloves, lay down plastic sheeting or canvas on the floor and on top of any furniture. Mix a few drops of mild dishwashing liquid in a bucket with some water. Soak a sponge in it and then rub firmly over the walls. This will help remove dust, oils and dirt. Wipe dry with a clean towel.
2. Protect all the areas you do not want painted with blue painter's tape. This includes all of the trim along the walls, the molding, electrical outlets, the corners of the ceiling where it meets the wall, and window frames. Line the tape along these edges so when you are painting the walls, if the brush hits these areas, the paint will go on the tape. This step will take some time, but make sure to do it carefully because it will make the difference between a professional-looking paint job and a sloppy one.
3. Empty 1/3 of the primer can into the tray so it is deep enough to soak a roller, but will not overflow on the sides. Next, place the roller into the primer and roll it around to soak it. Make sure the roller is evenly coated, but not dripping wet.
4. Carefully and firmly run the paint roller full of primer up and down the wall, evenly coating the wall with primer. Roll the paint roller into the primer tray whenever needed.
5. Dip a medium sized paint brush into the primer, and now attend to the areas the roller was too big and wide to reach. The areas covered with blue tape need to be touched up with the primer paint brush to get into each angle and edge, such as around doorways and the ceiling and floor. Run the brush firmly across the paint (on the wall side) so once you do remove the blue tape, there will be no unpainted areas. Let the primer dry at least half a day.
6. Fill a new paint tray with paint. Using a new roller, dip the paint in the tray and make sure there is no paint dripping off of it. Roll the roller up and down the wall, doing your best to make sure the paint evenly coats over the primer. Get the edges of the roller as close to the blue tape as possible, adding more paint to the roller when needed. You may have to do two to three coats of paint, depending on the darkness of the shade (the darker the paint, the fewer coats you will need).
7. Carefully peel off the blue painter's tape immediately after you are done painting, while it is still wet (this will help make the tape removal easier). Let the walls dry, which can take up to a day or two.
