It’s painting weather! At long last, you can open those windows so as to avoid inhaling all of those fumes. How wonderful—unless the fumes are what you like. In which case, how do you still have enough brain cells to find this website? We should study your brain for science!
Many a summer vacation, I’ve found myself “relaxing at home” by painting the bathroom, my childhood bedroom, or—one very, very hot summer—all three front rooms and all of the crown molding at my parents’ house. Fun! I also spent ten years working on-and-off in a hardware store, so I consider myself to be something of a paint expert. Here are my tips for completing an awesome paint job for the lowest possible price.
Prep
Before you begin painting, you’ll want to make sure that the paint will stick to the surface and leave a smooth finish. Sand down any rough spots with fine-grit sandpaper and fill in any small holes and cracks with spackle. If you have bigger holes—anything bigger than, say, a nickel—you’re going to need to use plaster of Paris to fill in the gap. Spackle isn’t meant to fill larger gaps, and it won’t dry properly if you try. If you’re painting a surface that already has a high-gloss or semi-gloss paint on it (hint: bathrooms are almost always semi-gloss), then you’ll want to scuff the surface with sandpaper. This will help the paint stick to the surface. When you’re done prepping the surface, use a sponge to wash it down with water and a mild detergent. Allow it to dry completely. Latex paint is water-based, so using it on a wet surface will make it runny. Not good.
Prime?
This is perhaps my most controversial point. It was always the consensus among old and grizzled hardware store employees that if the surface is already painted, there’s no need to use a primer. If you are painting a raw surface (say, unfinished wood) then yes, you’ll need a primer to act as a sealant. But otherwise, there’s no reason to prime. People seem to think that if you’re painting over a dark color, then primer will help in your seemingly-fruitless quest to conceal dark color in as few coats of paint as possible. This is not necessarily true: primer often covers worse than a high-quality paint, which means that you won’t save yourself any coats of paint. You’ll just end up with a half-used gallon of primer in your garage. And if our quest is to save money, then you might as well just use up the nice tinted paint that you have to buy anyway.
Paint!
When picking a color, keep in mind that the fluorescent lighting in hardware stores and paint shops is often brighter than your home. So any color that you choose is going to look darker when you put it up on the wall. A good rule is to pick a color you like, then go one shade lighter. You might not think that buttercup yellow is dark enough for your bathroom, but you risk ending up with a wall color that looks like pee if you’re not careful. Some paint stores allow you to buy a mini-can of the paint so you can take it home and try it. Not every store will have this service (and they often can’t provide small samples of very, very light colors), but it’s worth a shot if they do, especially if you’re considering going with something bold. Almost all stores that sell paint now have color-matching services, which is great if you have something in a shade that you absolutely love. If all else fails, take home as many of those paint color strips as you can stuff in your purse while none of the employees are looking. And remember: once you pick your color, go at least one shade lighter. Just trust me on this one.
For finishes, consider something that is either an eggshell or satin for bedrooms and living rooms. Go with semi-gloss for bathrooms. The glossier a paint finish is, the easier it is to clean. For this reason, I do not recommend painting with flat paint. It is a pain in the ass to wash flat surfaces.
Get one or two smaller, angled brushes for edges, and you can often buy a paint kit that comes with a sturdy plastic dish, a roller handle, and two or three roller brushes. Rollers give the best and most even coverage. You can rinse out and reuse roller brushes, but you have to let them dry completely before reusing them. If you’re planning to finish your paint job in a day or so, then you might want to just invest in two or three rollers and use them once. You can always wash, dry and save them for next time. And oh, there will be a next time.
If you’re painting something that won’t take many coats and you’re not particularly set on the color, ask your friendly hardware store employee about discounted mis-mixed paints. Even hardware store employees (gasp!) make mistakes when mixing pigments into paint, and those gallons of paint are usually available to be purchased at a discounted price. You won’t have a huge selection, but this is a handy way to save some bucks when you’re repainting, say, an old piece of furniture that your kids are going to wreck anyway.
Make sure the employee mixes your paint for at least two or three minutes. If you’re using a can of paint that you’ve had in your home for a while, take it to a hardware or paint store, and they’ll be happy to stick it in the shaker for you. While you’re in the hardware store, grab some paint sticks on your way out so that you can give the paint a few stirs before you start. And stock up on those Ace Hardware paint openers—they double as bottle-openers! Handy!
Some people insist on taping up every edge with blue painter’s tape, but to me, this is excessively time-consuming. I have a steady hand, so I always use a smaller angled brush to freehand the edges. So risky, I know! If you’re nervous about ending up with messy edges or you are withdrawing from some substance and have the shakes, then by all means go ahead and tape it all up. Just be careful when removing the tape: if you get too much paint on the tape and it dries quickly, you can actually tear latex paint when you remove it.
Use a roller for big spaces, and invest in plenty of big plastic drop cloths to protect your floors. Give each coat of paint several hours to dry (four is a good number), and try not to have too many beers between reapplications. That will totally fuck up your edges.
Send any paint-related questions my way, and I’ll call my dad and ask him respond right away!
Happy painting!
Photo credits: Visual Photos and Home Innovations.
