6 Pro Painting Tips That Will Make Your Paint Job Look Professional

Painting is one of those activities that a lot of homeowners like to do themselves, both to cut costs and to have a fun DIY project that the whole family can participate in and enjoy. But if you don’t use the correct methods and good techniques, your home’s interior paint job can look more like an art project gone wrong.

Here’s how to make your DIY paint job look as professional as possible:

1. Tape Floor Edges.

The quickest and easiest way for a paint job to look amateurish is to have paint drippings and splotches on the floor around the walls, especially when it’s so easy to avoid these types of spills and accidents. Always lay plastic or a covering on the floor before starting and tape the edges down. Also, use painter’s tape around the perimeter of the floor to keep from dribbling on the molding or the floor when you get down to the bottom of the wall.

2. Always Prime.

A lot of people will forgo using primer if they’re painting their walls a light color, but primer has more than one function. A good coat of primer will hold paint on your walls for longer and it will help make the paint application even across walls and doors.

3. Use an Extension Roller and Roll from Top to Bottom, Left to Right.

This is key in making sure your walls aren’t left with streaks or weird paint lines. Apply more pressure to the unsupported side of the paint roller, and keep that side tilted slightly to the left. This trick will also help avoid roller tracks.

4. Choose the Right Tools.

Paint trays and small rollers are for the amateurs. To make your paint job look like it was handled by a pro, opt instead for a large (5 gallon or more) bucket and a metal bucket grid. The grid snaps onto the bucket and allows you to easily roll paint onto your roller, without getting excess and helps to avoid spills that happen easily when your paint tray is on the floor.

5. Paint on Dry Days, Rather Than Humid Ones.

Paint dries much quicker in dry weather, while days when there is a lot of moisture in the air hinder drying times. Save yourself the headache and try to paint when the weather is dry so that you can quickly paint a few coats without having to wait so long between applications.

6. Cover Doorknobs with Plastic.

If you’ve ever tried to scrape dried paint off of doorknobs and handles, you know it isn’t an easy job. Avoid this by using plastic sandwich bags to cover your door knobs, and use painter’s tape to secure the edges.

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