Giving your home a fresh coat of paint can give it an instant facelift.
But let’s face it, it’s not exactly an easy task. With prep, painting and cleaning up – not to mention time-consuming, some extra tips and tricks can make it less painful.
Here are our house painting hacks to help you refresh your home:
1. Plan
As much as we wish it was as easy to pick a weekend, go to Bunnings, pick up some paint and it’s all done by the Sunday night… it’s often not as easy as that. But if you properly plan, you can get pretty close to it.
You need to plan:
- What and how to cover furniture
- When are you going to paint – a long weekend will give you an extra day
- What tools you need e.g. spray gun, brushes, rollers, sandpaper
- Who’s going to help you? If you need an extra hand, get there are plenty of painting experts who can help.
2. Paint
What colour you choose is a big decision to make so it’s important to do your research, talk to your local paint shop and also get as many samples as you can.
Paint the samples on the wall in big swatches and also some closer to the carpet line, if you need it to match. Then leave it for a few days and see which one works for you.
3. Rollers
If you’re using a roller that you already have, make sure you wash it thoroughly. If it’s brand-new roll a lint roller over it before you start to get rid of all the fluff, which you don’t want in your paint.
4. Primers
If you are painting over previously painted walls, run a swab with some rubbing alcohol over your old-painted walls. If paint comes off, the surface is latex-based paint and if it doesn’t, it’s oil-based paint. This is important as oil-based paint needs a primer.
Speaking of primer, use one. It will make your paintwork look cleaner and last a lot longer.
5. Prepare
Hate cleaning up after painting? Then don’t. Line your paint tray with a glad wrap so you don’t have to wash it up after the painting is done.
You can buy drop sheets but save your money and use some old bed sheets that are taking up cupboard space.
6. Painting furniture
If you are painting chairs, lightly tap some nails into the legs of the chairs. Voila, you can now paint all over without leaving paint marks on the floor.
Same goes with bigger items; prop them up on blocks of wood to get optimum access with your paint brush.
Painting tips
When painting, run your roller in a ‘w’ shape like a zig-zag. This will give the best finish when dry. It will also help you to space out the paint by using long lines so that you don’t get any bubbles or dripping.
If you are painting on concrete, all you have to do it coat it with white vinegar and let that dry before painting over the top. This will prevent the paint from cracking.
External painting
If you are painting outside, consider hiring a spray-painting system. It will save you a lot of time and will give you an excellent finish. All you need to do is cross your fingers for great weather.
Painting hacks
Put Vaseline over screws, hinges, and windows so that paint won’t stick to it if you go over with your paintbrush.
Are the paint fumes a bit too much? Apparently, you can cut up some onions and leave them around the room to neutralise the smell. For a more pleasant smell, add an extract to your paint, such as peppermint or vanilla, and mix in as much as possible. This counteracts fumes and will leave your house smelling beautiful.
This article was written by Airtasker – Zoe T.
Got any other painting tips? Let us know in the comments below!
Put paintbrushes in an air tight container in the fridge to save washing them up all the time
Again some good tips. Just a note on fumes. Sometimes acrylic (water based Paint) can be just as smelly as the enamels. Onions around the room are good although I use lemons cut into quarters in bowls of cold water.
However some people will never have their houses painted due to the fumes and the fact that they are highly sensitive to chemicals.
There are organic paints on the market that contain only natural products and give off a citrus smell. These have been round for some time and although more expensive certainly are worth considering.
Happy Painting. Cheers Chris d
select color which helpful to change your mood
for house must choose ECO-friendly paint and must have pre plan for it.
painting in a “w” motion is something i had never thought of. thanks for sharing that tip!
I agree, I have never thought about painting in a W motion. I am going to have to try that next time that I paint my house. I could definitely agree that hiring a spray painting system makes outdoor painting a lot easier. You can get it very smooth depending on the kind of sprayer that you use. http
I recently started a painting project but noticed the roller would leave little hairs in the paint. Your suggestion to run the brush over a lint roller first is a great idea. This should help my problem and improve quality of the paint job.
Your tips just got me motivated enough to silent that voice within me saying “I couldn’t paint”….thanks mate!
I agree that a plan is essential if this type of thing is ever going to get done. For whatever reason, I am more motivated to purchase and arrange decor than to paint a room, and it recently created a problem when I redid my room. The whole thing was decorated exactly how I wanted but the paint was still a neon blue that clashed with virtually everything. Painting a room is easy and you’d be surprised how enjoyable it is if you can convince yourself that you do in fact have the time. Thank you for the detailed information on how to properly paint inside a house like this!
I have been trying to find a way to make the process of having the house painted a lot easier. I like what this article said about putting nails on the feet of furniture. That is a god way to get it off the ground without having to turn it upside down. Thanks for the tips!
I never thought of running my roller over a lint roller before starting. I’ve definitely had fuzzy bits in my paint in the past and never really figured out why! I’ll try that this time and hopefully it will eliminate those little pieces of debris.
Thanks for the great information. useful information about house painting. Especially about the colours!
I read your blog and it was nice you are describe briefly about house painting so it was awesome…..and I agree with you
My wife and I have been looking at different colors for our house for a while now. I had no idea that you should run a lint roller over your rollers before you use them. I think that it’s a great idea to minimize the error room. Thanks for the tips.
I didn’t realize that when painting it was best to run the roller in a “w” shape. It makes sense that this would help your paint job look better when it is dry as well as help you not get tired as fast. I will give this a try and see how it goes. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the tips guys.
Thanks guys for the tips.
Excellant
Hi I have a little place in M River that was in need of a paint few years back. 3 bedroom with one side of the home reached only by a lader. The paintwork has shredded from being in a full sun and windy position and no TLC ???? MDF look a like wood panels the external I have NEVER believed I could do it mysel however reading the above and hearing about positive people giving it ago . gee to be guided can through the process from hiring the most suitable paint gun ???? to hire a painter mm a costing not available