How to Paint Interior Rooms

Here is a general guide to help you paint. However, you should always refer to your specific product’s Painting & Finishing instructions before beginning any painting project.

Preparation

Step 1: Clear the room of all movable items. Move the remaining furniture you can’t or don’t move to the center of the room and cover with a drop cloth.

Step 2: Cover floors and hardware. Use removable masking tape around any moldings, doors and windows.  Use drop cloths to protect the floors.

Step 3: Make the walls flat by scraping and sanding any loose or flaking paint using sandpaper or a paint scraper.  Scrape down to the bare surface if needed. Use a putty knife to fill any nail or screw holes with a good quality spackling compound. Fill cracks with caulking.

Step 4: Wash and Rinse all surfaces thoroughly to remove any remaining dirt or grease. Allow surfaces to dry completely before proceeding.

Step 5: Turn off power to the room to be painted, and remove cover plates from all the electrical fixtures, outlets and switches in the room. Put a small piece of masking tape over the outlets and switch handles to keep paint from sticking to them.

Step 6: Loosen and remove the cover plates from any remaining light fixtures and vent covers. Cover any fixtures that cannot be removed.

Painting

Step 1: Prime. Priming is mandatory if you are painting over any non-paint surface, like drywall, unpainted wood, metal, spackle, wood putty, ink, crayon, mold stains, or even oil paint. It water-seals the surface and also provides a layer that paint can stick to. Water-based paint will not stick to an unprimed layer of oil-based paint. Putting down white primer is a good idea when painting a light color over a dark one. Using primer is not necessary when repainting or if the older paint is of the same type and not too old. When in doubt – use primer. Some specialty paints are self-priming.

Step 2: Mix paint by shaking vigorously for 2-3 minutes before opening the can or use a paint stirrer after opening the can.

Step 3: Begin applying paint to the walls. Work from the top down starting with the ceiling, then upper woodwork, then walls, then lower woodwork. This allows you to clean up drips from previous stages. If you have a paint roller, do the bulk of a large area before doing the edges. This way you will minimize the area you need to do with the slower paint brush.

How to apply paint with a roller

• Dump paint into the roller tray until it is almost full (less if you have a relatively small area to do).
• Roll the roller to cover all sides. Use the bottom of the tray to force it to rotate if necessary. Try not to submerge the roller enough to get paint on the insider or on the handle.
• Move the roller to the surface to be painted without hesitation, to prevent drips. Slowly spinning the roller by turning the handle will also help prevent drips.
• Spread the paint around. Don't go too quickly, or centrifugal force will cause the paint to splatter.
• Adjust the handle to avoid conflicts with nearby surfaces.
• Pressing hard while rolling can release paint trapped in the roller, which is useful when you are coming to the end of the job. Avoid letting the roller get too dry; this produces poor coverage.
• Don't necessarily worry about getting all the way into corners; this can be done with a brush. But getting as close as you easily can will save time.
• To ensure an even coat, after covering a given area with wet paint (say an 8 foot portion), go back over it in a strictly up-and-down motion, with each stroke covering 50% of the area of the previous stroke. This is known as "laying off" the paint.

How to apply paint with a brush

1. Dip the brush into the paint can, roller tray, or paper cup. (You can use leftover paint in a tray from a previous rolling step, or you can use a tray or cup as an easier way to carry around a small amount of paint while leaving the paint can safely sealed.) Don't dip more than an inch or so; if you go farther than that, you'll just be wasting paint and making it harder to clean your brush later.
2. Shake your brush off or gently scrape it off against the inside of the rim, to prevent drips.
3. Move the paint brush to the surface to be painted without hesitation, to prevent drips. Slowly spinning the brush will also help prevent drips.
4. Start at the top and drag downward.
5. It's best if you avoid holding your brush such that the bristles are above the handle. Paint will drip off the bristles and onto the handle, and make a mess. This will be unavoidable if you are painting a ceiling, so avoid putting a large amount of paint on your brush at any one time.

Step 4: Clean baseboards and other surfaces immediately if paint splatters or runs onto them. Use a wet sponge or cloth. Paint thinner is needed to clean up oil-based paints. Water will clean up latex paints. Do not let the drip dry.

Step 5: Before moving on to the next area, inspect for drips and wipe up with the brush or roller. Once dried, drips will produce a bump that is difficult to remove.

Step 6: When finished with your painting session, do not leave your painting tools lying around. They will dry out and become useless. After using up as much retained paint as possible, clean your paint applicator (brush, roller, etc.). If you are using water-based paint, put the item under water, squeeze, and shake around. Repeat with clean water and alternate with running under the faucet until the water runs clear. Let the item dry thoroughly before using again. A thorough cleaning and drying cycle prevents older paint colors or water from mixing with your new paint, which will ruin the color or texture. To keep your tools from drying out for short periods, wrap in plastic or keep submerged in the paint. If you are painting with the same color the next day, you can also put your tools in a plastic bag, freeze overnight, and thaw when ready to use. If you cannot clean up properly right away, at least immerse your tools in water so they can be cleaned up later. (Assuming you are using water-based paint.) If you are using oil-based paint, water will not be helpful, and you must use paint thinner to clean your tools and your hands. Several different chemicals can act as paint thinner, but in general it is more annoying to use, produces noxious odors, and is not as nice for the environment.