DIY Tesha’s painting guide PART 1: prep work

Why spend money paying someone else for something you can do?

There are things I will pay for: a high-quality varnish on trimwork, cabinets and doors (learned the hard way); taping and muding (except in the basement); and window installation. But I won’t pay for paint. I can do that myself.

I have to confess that towards the end of my latest remodel project, I nearly caved and paid someone to paint my stinking windows. Four coats (2 primer, 2 final color) on 17 windows had me so tired of painting. It’s not like painting a wall. It’s putsy, careful work. Not the kind I can do for 68 hours. Yeah. It took about 1 hour for a coat on each window. I wanted to pull my hair out. And even when I took an hour to do each window, I slopped on the handles, locks and whatever-you-call-that-stuff-on-the-sides-between-pieces-of-wood-and-glass. What a bother.

Anyway, I digress.

I love painting walls. It’s such satisfying work. One minute the wall is ugly. A few later, the wall is beautiful. There’s little else with such instant results.

PREP WORK

Prep work takes nearly as long as the actual paint job, but without it your gorgeous new paint will look just plain terrible.

Be sure to fill in knicks and nail holes with spackle. It goes on well if you use one of those taping knives that sheetrockers use to put a layer on mud on the walls. Be careful to avoid leaving a ridge on any of the sides. You’ll want to go back before painting and sand it lightly (200 grit) to be sure to knock down any bumps. It’s crazy how you could swear that the wall was smooth until you put some color down. Places where you’ll always be sure to find dents are corners and high-traffic areas. I was flabbergasted by all the knicks in my entry way, stairwell and a little wall between the bathroom, kitchen and dining room.

Take a tip from the professionals: Circle any rough spots when you notice them with a pencil so you don’t forget about them. Don’t worry; the primer will cover it over later.

Painting tape comes in a few colors signifying less to more adhesion. Use tape carefully, because if you’re not careful it will tear your new paint right off. Again, I learned the hard way: don’t paint one coat in the evening and leave the tape on until you paint the second coat the next morning. My paint peeled right off. Apparently, you need to be very careful with paint for about a month; it takes that long to fully dry. One tool I really like is an tape edger. But my brother swears by the same tool he uses to putty: that sheetrocking putty knife. Drag it down the tape line to make sure it is tight to the wall and you’ll avoid seepage beneath the tape.

PICK YOUR PAINT

Paint comes in several types ranging from flat to super shiny. Get the flat stuff. I repeat: Get the flat stuff. I’ve heard that professional painters won’t use anything shinier than eggshell. It covers a multitude of sins on a wall. The shinier you get, the easier it will wash but the more it will show. There are lines you would never see on a wall until you put shiny paint there. Suddenly you can’t focus on your TV because all you see is that tape line that runs from floor to ceiling. The professional painter I know told me that the difference in washability is a mere 10% between eggshell and semi-gloss.

I have to make a confession here. I opted for semi-gloss because the Hirschfield’s man told me it would be easier to clean with my toddler. And I already hate it after just a few weeks. Yeah, it cleans up nice but it shows every bump on my not-so-new walls. I’ll never use semi-gloss again.

I opted to use the low VOC option from Benjamin Moore because of my toddler. While the VOC level goes up when you add tint to the basic white, it was a lot less odor than my primer was. (No one was feeling loony when I painted the main color like they were around that primer.) If a sales person tries to tell you that you don’t need primer with this paint, let his words roll off without affecting your decision. My brother tried that and is now having to clean up a huge mess. Of course, the paint peeled.

Part II coming Saturday.