House Painters: If you’re considering putting on a painter’s hat and getting started with a DIY paint project, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you just want to paint one wall or your entire home, whether you’re an amateur or a professional, we got some tips for you!

Of the 4 main renovations that create the biggest impact on your home (switches and plugs, door handles, painting and flooring), painting is the quickest, easiest and less expensive. Other renovation projects such as Basements, Kitchens and Bathrooms are high cost and also more difficult to tackle for a Do It Yourselfer. However, painting can be relatively easy to do as a DIY project, and will create a huge impact on the look of the home.

Painting a house can be fun but also tiring and challenging to complete. House painters who want to paint their houses are always looking for effective recommendations to simplify this task.

In this guide, we’ll list some of the most helpful tips for painting, so you can paint your house like a professional. And even if you plan to hire a professional painter, these tips and tricks can aid you in directing the pro to get the job done correctly.

Essential Painting Tips for House Painters

1. Invest in good-quality paint and materials

What can make a paint job look effortless, flawless and get you that result you can be proud of? Well, according to experienced house painters, it’s the use of quality materials, such as top-quality paints, brushes, and roller covers.

An excellent quality paint achieves a number of results. First, and most important, it saves you money! Quality paint achieves the same result as cheap paint, but in less applications.

The difference between having to apply 2 coats to 3 or more coats over a 2500 square foot home can equate to many gallons of paint. Quality paint provides excellent coverage, saving time and paint on reapplication. So, if you want to paint your house like the best house painters, you must invest in the best materials!

When I started painting, I bought the cheap brushes at the corner store, and boy did I learn the hard way what a quality brush can mean in the long run. You might not think so, but there is a huge difference in final paint quality between one brush to another.

Don’t buy your brushes at the dollar store. Go to a professional paint store and invest in good quality ones. Choose an angled synthetic bristled brush if you’re using paint that can be cleaned with water. If you’re applying an oil-based varnish or paint, use a natural bristled paint brush. (Check our blog “How to choose the right paint brush” for a more detailed explanation on this.)

2. Do an in-depth visual inspection and prepare the surface

Before you clean the walls, look for any signs of scratches, gouges, cracks, large holes, or peeling. It is essential to patch them properly before you start painting them.

Use a fine-grit sandpaper to smooth over the imperfections and minor scratches or cracks. Also, it’s best to scrape off the old, peeling paint on the walls with the help of a paint scraper.

Feather and smoothen the edges of scraped paint with fine-grit sandpaper. This will give you a professional and smooth-looking paint finish.

Any peeling, flaking, or cracked spots should be lightly scraped or sanded and then properly rinsed before applying new primer and paint. Sometimes, the fresh coat might pull the old paint loose. Try to avoid this by light scraping or sanding.

Also, look for greasy spots on the wall, wash them with soap and rinse with clean water. Use a damp cloth and wipe the walls so that the new paint has a dust-free and clean surface to stick to.

3. Choose the correct roller nap

The length of fibers on a paint roller is known as “nap.” Different surfaces call for different roller naps.

If you have very smooth and seamless walls with no texture, a very short roller nap will be suitable. To obtain the best results, you might want to stick with an 8-10mm length.

Since interior walls mostly have light to moderate texturing, they can benefit from a 12mm roller nap. For walls with greater textured surfaces, you should go with a 10-16mm roller nap.

Do not opt for an 18-25mm roller naps for interior walls as they are mainly reserved for things such as outside stucco.

4. Box your paint

Choose the right paint salesperson who can guide you and give you an accurate estimate of how much paint is needed.

Rather than using one gallon at a time, combine all the paint in a container and mix it well. This is called boxing your paint, as it maintains the consistency of color from start to finish.

You can also buy paint in pails, which are typically 5 gallons.

5. Choose a dry day to paint

In general, house painters should choose to paint their houses on a dry, sunny day. If there has been rain, wait a couple days to start painting so you are working on a dry surface. If the forecast announces rain any time soon, it’s best to schedule your paint job for later.

The perfect level of humidity for painting is between 40 to 50%. Any higher, you will end up with unwanted spots or streaks in your paint.

If you paint on colder and humid days, the paint will develop condensation. On the other hand, if you paint on an extremely dry day, the paint will dry too fast and from bumps, cracks, or blisters.

6. Cover your furniture and floors before starting

It’s important to cover all your belongings before they start painting. Use drop sheets for covering your floors. Use plastic wrap for furniture and cardboard paper if you are painting around new floors or tiles.

House painters shouldn’t leave anything uncovered, as paint spills will happen… sort of like death and taxes! Don’t get stuck with paint spilling on valuable furniture and belongings.

Don’t skip this step, it’s quick and easy, and incredibly important. Believe me, as there is nothing worse than having to replace your carpet or bed frame because the paint on it can’t be cleaned.

7. Choose self-priming paint (if possible)

Most house painters prefer using a primer before applying a coat of paint. For starters, primer serves two essential purposes:

– It seals the surface of the wall.

– It provides better and smoother adhesion for the paint color. (It’s like using a foundation for prepping the skin and face before applying makeup.)

Still, not everyone who takes up this DIY painting project need to invest in a primer. Instead, you can go for self-priming paint, which seals the wall as you apply the color. Eliminating the process of getting primer and priming the walls can save house painters time and money.

A separate primer is optional, however, if you paint over existing paint, not drywall

8. Work with a wet edge and paint from top to bottom.

Once you start rolling, make sure to use a technique to give the walls consistent coverage. The key to maintaining a consistent and seamless paint coverage is keeping a wet edge. This means that every stroke of the paint roller must overlap with the former one.

Start in one corner and work your way on the wall from top to bottom, gently moving your roller in slow increments. You may need to frequently refill your paint roller and roll it in paint again before it fully dries.

Backtrack to reapply the paint over a visibly thin area, a streak, or a bubble.

9. The cut-in technique

An indispensable technique for painting walls is the cut in technique. Cutting-in refers to applying the paint right up to the borders of the surface of the wall that won’t be painted and filling in spots where the paint rollers cannot reach.

Professional painters always prefer to cut in the edges instead of masking tape. This is because this technique is more affordable, convenient, cleaner and less wasteful than using tape.

For this, you will need to dip a paint edger tool or an angled brush into the top of the paint. Lightly draw the paintbrush along the wall and up to the surface that won’t be painted. Use caution while doing this step, and don’t rush. Also, always keep a cloth rag handy to instantly clean up in case of a mistake.

10. Prepare for the next day

Thoughtful, professional house painters see their tools as an investment and take good care of them. After each day of painting, make sure to clean your brushes and if you’re super budget conscious, your rollers.

Clean your brush in cold water and spin it every couple of seconds to wring out the paint. You can also buy a paint cleaning wire brush to scrape out any paint caught between the bristles.

On occasion, you won’t have time to clean the brush. If this happens, grab a plastic bag and wrap up your brush until you can get to cleaning it.

Cleaning your roller is generally done in the same way. You can use the curved edge of your scraper to push down on the roller and squeeze out the paint. Rollers hold lots of paint, so before using water, squeeze out the paint into your paint can.

11. Wear appropriate clothing

Professional house painters also dress the part! House painters wear white and look good at it!

All joking aside, wearing white serves several purposes. White is a symbol of cleanliness and gives the impression that the painter will do a nice and neat job without getting paint all over himself and everything else.

Also, painting can be hard, sweaty work, especially outdoors during hot, sunny weather. While dark clothing absorbs heat, white reflects it, much the way white paint keeps a home cooler.

Shirts should be long-sleeved to protect arms from drips. Choose a lightweight, breathable material such as cotton and avoid anything too loose that could brush up against wet paint.

Opt for old pants with a relaxed fit; a tight pair will restrict your movement. Overalls, as well as carpenter’s pants, are ideal because they’re roomy and have multiple pockets for tools.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips and they help you get closer to becoming the house painter you’ve wanted to become.

Remember, practice is the best way to get better, so pick up that brush, get your overalls and get painting!