2009-02-13T19:19:00.001-08:00

Come on. Basically anyone can paint! ..... Right?

Well, yes, and no. It is true anyone can open a can of latex and start throwing paint. When presented with this argument, our favorite response is: "Yeah, well, anyone can cook. Out of all the people you know, how many of them do you want making your next meal?" Once the hemming and hawing subsides, we also remind that a bad meal lasts only as long as it takes for the recipient to reject it. Conversely, the remnants of a bad paint job tend tolast... for a very long time. With that said, it is not impossible for the average person to tackle the task and achieve satisfactory results. When accompanied with a measure of practical guidance, all it really takes is some time, the willingness to learn, and a little hard work.

A brief forward

What you are about to read, based on our research, is the single most comprehensive painting tutorial currently available online. The impetus for this how-to tutorial first came from our customers, many of whom expressed an interest in painting their own properties but lacked the knowledge and skills needed to complete the task. As professsional painters, we were also motivated by the general lack of online knowledge sharing (outside the trades) currently taking place. As a company, we are of the mindset that anytime a dialogue can be started, on any subject, that's usually a good thing. If the topic happens to be painting, so much the better. Our tutorial employs a casual, conversational tone. It is meant to be both informative, and fun. We provide motivation when we think motivation may be helpful. We provide guidance when the next step in the painting process may not be absolutely clear. In the future, each of the following skills sections will be accompanied by their own videos. For now, if you want to cop some free knowledge, you're forced to hunker down and do some good old fashioned reading.

DISCLAIMER: Riverside Painting cannot and will not be held responsible for any personal injury or property damage that results from readers or anyone else who attempts to complete the tasks outlined in this tutorial. Painting isn't like walking steel girders 60 stories in the air. That doesn't mean there aren't any risks involved. There clearly are. The long and the short of it:

USE EVERYTHING YOU READ HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Last thing... Riverside Painting does not shill for any paint or product manufacturers. Our recommendations are solely based on past experience. If we recommend a specific paint or production tool, it means we've used it and have no complaints. If you choose to purchase tools through the links that appear in this tutorial, we make nothing from those sales. The links were chosen at random and are simply meant to serve as visual points of reference for our readers.

PART I: Where to begin, picking paint color(s)

Start by creating a materials check list. At the very top of the list should be paint color. While this may seem arbitrary, realize this is the one factor most likely to change multiple times before any actual production work begins. Until you have colors picked out, forget about everything else. Another reason why color selection is important is because it will ultimately determine your specific project's (in quarts and/or gallons) material requirements. Think of it this way: say you're faced with the task of painting a 12ft x 12ft bedroom. Say the walls are currently white but you are thinking about painting them a bright color, like red or green. In order to achieve adequate coverage using bright and/or dark colors, chances are all of the painted surfaces will require multiple coats of paint. Where you might get by with two gallons if you used a standard color like linen white, you may need three gallons gallons to cover the same area using a brighter or dark color. If you are only painting one room, this may not be a huge issue. But if you are using a custom color palette throughout your home or business, be prepared to spend more money on materials.

Differences between finishes

After a color has been selected, it's time to select the proper finish for each application. Latex paints comein a variety of finishes. Some finishes have a bright "sheen" (which means they tend to shine and dramatically reflect light).Some paint finishes have little or no sheen. As a matter of preference, we always recommend using paint that offers a low sheen when covering walls. Trim, which includes baseboards, doors and door frames, window frames and sills, chair rails, crown moulding and painted ornamental woodwork, usually is painted to achieve a medium sheen. Every manufacturer offers a range of paint finishes. Popular trim finishes include gloss, semi-gloss and satin. Gloss offers the highest sheen, satin offers the lowest sheen. Popular wall paint finishes include eggshell, matte and flat. Eggshell offers the highest sheen, flat has no sheen. Ceilings are generally covered with flat finish paint. We always recommend using matte finish on all wall space. Matte finish is essentially a washable flat wall paint witha very, very slight sheen. Unlike traditional flat paint, matte is durable and can withstand repeated cleanings. We even recommend using matte finish is bathrooms and kitchens. Other contractors may prefer, and readers may have heard, using paint with higher sheens in these areas is the way to go. But we have found premium matte finish paints perform at least as well as eggshell without producing the texturing effect found in the eggshell finish.

The importance of priming prior to painting

Before we move forward on the checklist, we also need to consider primer. Simply put: to achieve a professional finish,most surfaces need to be primed before they are painted. Possible exceptions include (relatively) new construction or recently painted surfaces that just need some freshening up. Any time you are using what is commonly referred to as a "deep base" color,you should prime before painting. In layman's terms, deep base colors are generally defined as such because they are either very dark orvery bright compared to colors that reflect more neutral or earthy tones. A tip when priming before using deep base colors:when using deep base colors, the primer should be tinted a shade or two darker than the finish paint. (Note: any latex primercan be tinted to match any color.) Using white or any variation of gray under a deep base color is not something Riverside Painting recommends. The main reason we don't recommend using an untinted or lightly tinted primer prior to applying deep base colors is because doing so does not preserve color continuity. If damage occurs to a red wall, we would prefer the surface shows red primer underneath the paint instead of white. White primer showing through damaged paint will be glaringly obvious as where red primer showing through the same area will be barely noticeable. Is it worth the time, effort and expense to use tinted primer? We think it is. In painting, as with anything else, an ounce of common sense goes a long way.

Estimating a project

Now that you've selected your colors and your finishes and determined whether or not you need to prime, the estimatingprocess begins. One gallon of paint generally provides between 350 and 400 square feet of coverage. Measuring surfaceareas to be painted is a fairly straight forward process. For example, if you have 12ft x 12 ft room with 10ft ceilings,you can be fairly certain each of the room's four walls is going to equal 120 square feet (12ft length X 10ft height).Multiply that figure by four and you have 480 square feet of wall space. Based on this simple example, and because weknow a gallon of paint covers between 350 and 400 square feet, it should be easy enough to figure out how much paintis needed to cover all four walls. Reminder: to achieve professional results, in most cases, all painted walls willrequire a minimum of two (2) coats of paint. Simply doubling the original materials estimate is the best way to determinehow much paint will be needed for two coats of paint.

Estimating trim paint needs can be a tricky. Assuming the dimensions of the previous 12ft X 12ft bedroom, assumingthe room has at least one window and at least three doors (one entry and two closet), it is rare for us to encounter anysingle room that cannot be covered by a single quart of trim paint. Of course, there are exceptions. Multiple doors, ornatetrim, multiple or tall windows may sway the one quart rule. If you are painting a large room with heavy trim paint requirements,it's time to get out the tape measure and start measuring. There really is no simple way around this. It probably goeswithout saying, but even still, we remind that a quart of paint offers one quarter of the coverage of a typical gallon.

By now, you should easily be able to figure how much paint is needed to paint an entire ceiling.

Purchasing paint and supplies

Once you've calculated how much primer and paint you will need, head to your local paint store. Before you walk in, make sureyou have everything you need written down on a piece of paper. Be sure you have the names and codes of every paint you plan to order. Once you actually place your order, make sure the salesperson reads theorder back to you before you pay. Once custom colors are mixed, they are not returnable. Once the order has been paid for, matchthe paid receipt, line item by line item, to your list. This is important. Any errors can end up costing you a lot of money.

Remember most paint stores sell all of the tools you will need to complete any painting project. And always ask the paint store if they deliver. Many do, and the charge is usually very reasonable. Moving paint can be back breaking work. Avoid it if and when you can.

On to the production stuff...

What follows is a comprehensive checklist of everything you will need to start and complete the task of painting.

(Click on any of the following links for more information on that particular item.)

Brushes: RiversidePainting generally makes it a point not to promote one brand of products over any other, but, in the interest of helping everyone work as efficiently and professionally as possible, we are going to go ahead and recommend the Purdy XL Cub paint brush to our readers.In our opinion, the Purdy XL Cub is the best reasonably priced paint brush on the market today. In fact, the 2.5" Purdy XL Cub is the best brush we have found, at any price.

With any painting project, it's always best to have at least a couple of decent brushes on hand. How do wedefine a decent brush? Believe it or not, it really is as simple as looking for and buying brushes with wooden handles.If you're using a brush with a plastic handle, chances are you are asking for trouble. Cheap, plastic handled brushes may workif you're staining a piece of patio furniture. Otherwise, they tend to shed which means they leave their bristles on your walls and trim as they're being used. Loose bristles may end up in your cutting bucket, or they may end up on your floor. Any way you slice it, using cheap brushes is usually not a very good idea. A 2.5" Purdy XL Cub costs around $12-$13.

Roller handle: skimp here and pay later. The foundation of a perfect paint job begins and ends with this tool; buying a decent roller handle is that important. A decent 9" roller handle will run you anywhere from $10-$15. When picking a roller handle, make sure the cage part of the handle (the part the roller cover slides over) is strong and well made. Cheap roller handles generally are constructed using thin metal spines that look like bicycle wheel spokes. Squeeze the spines. If they collapse easily, you knowyou're dealing with junk.

To expedite trim work, you will also need a 3" roller handle. Cost: $2.

Roller cover: roller covers are the cottonous looking gizmos that are slipped over the roller frame. They come in a variety of fibers, textures and "naps". For painting walls and ceilings, a 9" roller cover with a 1/2 inch nap is recommended. You need at least one 9" inch roller coverfor every color you plan to paint. A 3" roller cover, 3/8" nap is also recommended. Make sure you have one for each color unless you are prepared to wash them out after each use. If you have access to a yard and a hose, or a large slop sink, cleaning roller covers isn't a bad idea. Otherwise, properly discard every cover after it's served its usefulness. Cost: $5 per.

Extension pole: about the easiest thing to buy. A good four (4) foot extension pole will suffice. Good for walls and ceilings.A decent pole will cost around $15. Make sure the extension pole you select has a decent locking mechanism to keep it fromsliding up and down while working. Wooden poles are not always a bad choice. They do tend to wooble and splinter, and youlose the extension functionality. The thinness of wooden poles becomes a pain in the hand too soon for our full on recommendation.If wood works for you, they usually cost like $5. Go for it.

Paint bucket: there are two varieties, the five (5) gallon bucket and the two and a half quart cutting bucket. You will need atleast one of each. Something you will never see ona Riverside Painting job site is a paint tray. Paint trays are accidents waiting to happen. They are unstable. If anyone everspots a paint tray on one of our job sites, they best stick their head out the nearest window and make sure the sun is still shining because something is seriously amiss! Have we made clear enough the importance of NOT using paint trays? Good! In place oftrays, professional painters use plastic five gallon buckets. These can be purchased at any hardware or paint store. You havethe choice of buying them with or without lids. Always buy the lids. After you're done using the "fiver" (<-- painter lingo), it can be cleaned outand used for other painting projects or any number of other purposes. No trays! A "cutting bucket" is anothermust have sundry. They are much smaller than a fiver and come in a variety of styles. Most are made of plastic or metal. You can buy paper inserts that fitright inside the cutting bucket. The inserts are time savers when working with multiple colors. A cutting bucket allows you to avoidhaving to work out of a full paint can and helps you avoid costly accidents. Drop a cutting bucket and you lose a few ouncesof paint, drop a gallon and things get expensive. And messy. Never work out of a full quart or gallon of paint. Always use a cutting bucket.

Paint grids: these fit inside the fiver and are used to take excess paint off the roller cover once it has been dipped in paint. Don't forget to buy grids when you buy fivers; the fivers are useless without them. Also make sure the widthof the grids match the length of your roller handle and covers. Cost: $5-$6 per. If you buy the 3" roller handle and cover, you'll need a 3" grid as well. Highly recommended, and cheap.

Caulk gun: you're going to need one of these. The difference between a good one and a cheap one is a few bucks. Buy a good one. Look for featureslike spout cutter and seal puncture tool attachments. Usually cost no more than $10.

Painter's caulk: when buying caulk, make sure you buy PAINTER'S caulk. Most other types of caulk are not paintable. DAP is the most popular brand and canbe found at most popular hardware and paint stores for around $3 per tube.

Light weight spackle: needed for filling nail holes and making other minor wall repairs. Always buy a small container. The stuff dries out fast. Cost: $7.

Sanding sponges: long gone are the days of using sand paper and the resulting bloody knuckles. Sanding sponges work in place of sand paper andcome in varying degrees of coarseness. It's best to have a few medium grain sponges on hand. A fine grain sponge will also be needed.Lots of hardware stores now sell these at the checkout counter for $3-$4 each.

Blue tape: don't ever let anyone tell you Riverside Painting has to use blue tape to achieve a straight edge. Blue taping fora straight edge is a rank amatuer move! However, blue tape is useful for covering light switches and power outlets. It's alsohandy for protecting baseboards and holding painters plastic in place. One roll of 2 inch blue tape costs around $10.

5-in-1 tool: we debated about whether or not to include this but smarter heads prevailed. A 5-in-1 tool is exactly what itsname implies: five tools in one. It's great for opening paint cans, getting those last few drops out of an oversaturated rollercover, scraping walls, pulling nails, spreading spackle, cutting out old caulk. A decent 5-in-1 can be had for around $6-$10.

Drop clothes, floor covering: canvas is always the safest bet. If you are working around hardwood floors, a layer of rosin paper is alsoa good idea. Plastic on the floor is almost always a bad idea. Plastic is slick, causes falls, and doesn't naturally absorb fallen paint like canvas and paper do. DIYers no doubt will be contemplating whether or not to pull out andcover their floors with old bed sheets. In theory, it's not a bad idea. In practice, at least on hardwood flooring, cotton sheets tend to slide aroundwhich makes for an unsafe work environment, particularly when ladders are being used. Cotton sheets also do not provide anyreal barrier between themselves and the flooring they were meant to protect. If you want to play it safe, always use canvas. Canvas tarps run anywhere for $20-$40 per, depending on the size and material thickness.

Painter's plastic: comes in different lengths and weights: 100' x 4' roll , 9' x 12' sheets come in .5 mil thickness, 1 mil thickness, etc.We recommend using 2 mil plastic for covering anything you consider valuable. A roll costs around $20, sheets cost roughly $5 per.

Ladder: a decent six (6) foot step ladder will run around $100. Catch a sale to save a few bucks. Before purchasing, always check load capacity and make sureyou feel comfortable with a ladder's basic operation. Some ladders are sturdier than others. The fold out ladders thatpretend to be 50 ladders in one, we haven't had good luck with them. They are heavy and difficult for one person to move.

Miscellaneous: standard and philips screwdrivers, razor knife, claw hammer, cloth rags,small artists brush, dust broom, paint stir sticks.

General project comments, please read before proceeding

This tutorial assumes all surfaces being primed and painted are in good condition and not in need of any major repairs.

Separate tutorials thataddress how to repair cracks in plaster and drywall will be forthcoming, as will tutorials that show how to fix repairs caused by water or smoke damage. If you are unsure whether or not your project is paint-ready, contact a professional contractor before proceeding.

PART II: Preparing the work area

Before you begin priming or painting, every surface you plan to paint needs to be thoroughly cleaned. To clean, we do not recommendusing detergents or any other common household cleaners. A water-dampened sponge is all that is required. How to handle wall or trim sections that show heavy grime or stain build-up will be addressed in the following sections.

Preparing the work area also involves removing light switch covers and power outlet covers. Grab your standard screw driver and start removingthem. Be sure to store the covers and their screws in a safe place. We use blue tape to secure the screws to the back of their respective covers.Placing a small piece of blue tape over the tips of all on-off switches, and over the electrical outlets is a good way to ensure that thesefixtures stay clean during the priming and painting process.

To be continued ...

Tutorial provided by Riverside Painting In New York City.

Interior Painting Tutorial, Riverside Painting