Customize
Your Living Space with
These Simple and Easy
Instructions
Prior
experience is essential when tackling many
home improvement projects. But not so with
interior painting. Even first-time painters can get super
results when painting their house, condo or apartment…and
have a lot of fun in the process. Whether personalizing
an entire new living space or updating one room at a time,
paint is the do-it-yourselfer's best decorating tool.
 Go
into any paint store or home center on a Saturday afternoon
and you’re likely to see people huddled around the
color displays. This is where the inspiration for any paint
job begins.
Like building a wardrobe, selecting a
paint palette for your living space is a great form of
personal
expression.
But be aware that the shade of paint you see on a color
card — or even in the paint can —may look a
lot different when applied to an entire room. To avoid
surprises, follow these suggestions:
• Don’t make your
final color selection in the store; instead, take
color cards home so you can see them right in the
space that will be painted. Our color
wheel can be an effective tool in researching
the various color schemes and options available.
• Evaluate the paint colors
in daylight and under artificial light at night.
Colors can change quite dramatically in different
lighting conditions.
• Remember that colors tend
to intensify when applied to a large area. To compensate,
it is often wise to choose a lighter value of a color,
rather than a darker one.
• When you go to purchase
your paint, the counterperson will likely ask which “gloss
level” you’d prefer. Paints come in a
variety of sheen or gloss levels ranging from “high
gloss” (the shiniest) to “flat” (virtually
no shine). Those with higher gloss reflect more light,
so they can make a room look brighter. On the other
hand, higher gloss paints also tend to highlight
surface imperfections, so if your walls and other
surfaces are not in the best of shape, a flat paint
might be the better option. |
Color
and sheen aside, the most important decision you’ll
make in the paint store is the quality of paint you purchase.
Top quality paints provide superior adhesion, offer better
stain resistance, and resist yellowing. They also are tougher
and more durable than ordinary paints, so they’ll
keep a paint job looking great for a longer period of time.
Bottom line: Don’t skimp on quality; buy only top
quality paint.
Before you leave the paint store, make
sure that you have the right tools and brushes to do the
job.
Here again,
quality counts — high quality brushes and rollers
apply the paint more smoothly and evenly than economy-grade
equipment. In addition, quality tools apply a heavier coat
of paint that will help hide the color below, be more durable,
and stand up better to cleaning and scrubbing.
Once you
bring your purchases home, you’ll be tempted
to start painting right away, but most walls and woodwork
need to be cleaned first to help the paint adhere better.
You can remove dust, dirt and grime with a simple detergent
and water solution, after which you should rinse the surface
clean and allow it to dry. If nail holes are present, they
can be plugged with filling compound. Small cracks can
be filled with a quality acrylic latex caulk. Detailed
information can be found in our Prep,
Prime, and Paint section.
Applying paint
to interior walls is as simple as “framing” them
by painting the outside edges with a brush, then filling
in the center with your roller. An effective way to do
this is to roll on the paint in a large “W” or “M” pattern,
then fill it in, working in various directions.
When you’re
done painting, protect your investment in the brushes and
rollers by cleaning and storing them
properly. If you’ve used popular water-based latex
paint, brushes and rollers can be cleaned with plain soap
or detergent and water; cleanup of oil-based paints will
require the use of turpentine or paint thinner.
Remember
to always take safety precautions while painting. That
means not climbing a ladder any higher than the third
rung from the top, making sure all stepstools are sturdy
and locked into position before use, and wearing the
proper eye and skin protection while preparing the surface
and
painting.
For additional
information on paint, painting, and color selection,
visit our How to
Paint section on our website www.paintquality.com,
where a great paint job begins.
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