Pro Tips For Interior House Painting

By Sabrina Biehl Published Jul 14, 2015 01:54 am Updated Jul 1, 2015 10:00 am

If you’re interested in painting your interior walls but don’t want to hire a professional, it’s helpful to know how they do it. Knowing something about the process could save you time and money — and help you avoid having to repaint your walls after you make a mistake. Here are some tips for painting your walls like a pro:

1. Inspect your walls.

Check for cracks, flaking, peeling or scrapes. Then, sand those areas down or scrape them away before applying new paint or primer. You might need to wash away spots with soap and then rinse. Otherwise use a damp cloth to wipe away any dust or debris.

2. Invest in high quality supplies.

Don’t use cheap supplies to paint your interior walls. Use the best brushes, rollers, covers, painter’s tape and other painting utensils. Otherwise, you might have to apply multiple coats of paint before your walls look good.

3. Prep the area.

When preparing to paint your interior walls, remove all light outlet covers and switch plates. You should also see about putting painter’s tape around your ceiling trim and baseboards so paint doesn’t drip onto them and ruin their coloring.

4. Use paint primer.

Primer is essential to having a clean and smooth paint job. If you want to invest in a paint-and-primer combination, make sure it’s been less than 8 years since your wall was last painted. Otherwise you will need to get a separate primer to coat your walls with. You might have to apply a few coats of primer before you do your first coat of paint.
Photo courtesy of Bill Hitchcock Construction in Sausalito, CA

5. Rely on the roller.

Don’t use paint brushes when painting interior walls. Rollers are great for getting premium paint onto your walls, so make sure you have the right kind of paint. Just don’t apply too much pressure when moving the roller. You also want to use an extension pole so you reach the entirety of the wall. Otherwise you won’t have an even paint job.
Photo courtesy of Thomas D. Painting, Inc. in Hoffman Estates, IL

6. Stay organized.

It’s important to follow an organized set of steps when painting your walls like a pro. Those include:

Going from top to bottom at all times when using a roller
Painting the edges around your ceilings and baseboards with a brush, not the roller
Allowing time in between layers so paint dries streak-free

If you try to rush through a paint job or speed through a portion of your painting, you could end up with streaking, uneven layers or other issues that you can’t easily fix. The important thing is to stay calm and patient.

Conclusion

Painting like a pro is possible — you just have to know what to do and where to invest your money. It’s not for everyone, though. If you don’t have the time to spend repainting your interior walls, you can always spend about $400 to $800 per room to have them painted professionally.