6 Easy Steps To Paint Any Room

6 Easy steps to paint any room and not drive yourself crazy in the process.

Painting any wall in your house brightens any room and really doesn't take that long especially if you have some friends help you.

1. The first and the most time consuming step is prepping the walls. This is exactly what you think is the first step. fill all nail, screw, cracks and dents that have appeared now that you have all the pictures, mirrors or anything else that you have hung on your walls. After you use joint compound to fill all this holes let the joint compound dry. Once dry you can sand all fill marks until smooth. When you take all switch plates off the wall make sure you screw the small screw from the switch plate back into the plug or wall switch That way you won't lose any screws in the process.

2. You will find that most paints today have a primer built into the paint. This makes it very easy to just stir the paint so it is mixed well and then off you go. If your paint doesn't have a built in primer you will need to tint your primer with a color close to the finish color, especially if the finish color is dark or you are painting fresh drywall.

3. Try not to use plastic drop cloths as they will create a giant mess if you spill any paint. Also, it's almost impossible to get them to stay flat on the floor. If you can afford you should invest in some good drop cloths, they will last a lifetime and are much easier to work with.

4. If you don't have a step ladder not to worry, don't buy one just purchase an extension pole.You'll notice your roller has a hole in the handle so you can screw the handle into the extension pole. By the way you only need a pole that is 18 to 36 inches to reach any area in your room that is being painted.

5. Unless you are painting several rooms the same color or you have a left over 5 gallon bucket to use you will use a regular roller tray. However if you do have a 5 gallon bucket you will find a paint grid will be the way to go. Your local paint store can help you find what you need.

6. One of those little things that no on tells you. After a day of painting and you know that you will be painting the next day don't bother cleaning brushes. Simply wrap them in plastic and then put them in a zip lock bag to keep them fresh and bingo you'll be ready to go the next day. This of course only works you plan to paint the same color the next day, otherwise clean the brushes.

Happy painting.

[Popular Mechanics]

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