Any amazing painters out there?

wandajune6

I'm painting our spare bedroom this weekend, as soon as FI is done redoing the floors. This will include walls and ceiling. To avoid an untimely death or the canceling of our wedding, I will be handling painting on my own. (We love each other but want to murder each other when working on house projects.)

I loathe painting. I can handle walls decently (though he disagrees) but ceilings are difficult for me.

FI believes that the only way to paint a wall properly is to attach a roller to a very long stick and go from top to bottom in one movement. As I lack the upper body strength for this (and the room is pretty small) this is not a possibility for me.

The room will be solid color with white ceilings. While I haven't decided on a color (again, something I'm stuck with alone), it will be a light color. I'll be taping everything in advance and using lots of drop-clothes. I'll buy ceiling paint and the paint with the built in primer (which worked well in our kitchen).

Beyond that, does anyone have any suggestions on technique? I'd prefer not to do a crappy job though, at this point, I'll just be happy to get it done!

theartistformerlyknownas

I have painted every place I've ever lived and never used an extension pole for the roller. The best technique is to paint a big "N" on the wall and then fill in the spaces with straight, even strokes. I do half the wall (height-wise) at a time, in a couple-foot wide swath, doing the half above or below it right after before the edges dry.

The key to a good finish are the quality of the paint and the roller cover. No matter what technique you use, you'll get roller marks with a crappy or ill-suited roller cover or cheap paint. Flat and high gloss paint are also more prone to roller marks. Get the best paint you can reasonably afford and roller covers suited to the surface of the wall, and paint in a satin or eggshell finish. Honestly though, if you're painting one light color over another the primer is overkill. That's only really necessary painting light over dark or dark over light. 

mschristie123

I've painted like exactly one room ever, so I am absolutely no expert, but I used this edger things from Sherwin Williams a few years ago. They are little hand held things that edge the top of the walls and other edges for you so you don't have to use painters tape. They worked really well for me, I didn't have any paint on the ceiling. Good luck though, you're a better woman than I.

theartistformerlyknownas

mschristie123 said:

I've painted like exactly one room ever, so I am absolutely no expert, but I used this edger things from Sherwin Williams a few years ago. They are little hand held things that edge the top of the walls and other edges for you so you don't have to use painters tape. They worked really well for me, I didn't have any paint on the ceiling. Good luck though, you're a better woman than I.

Oh yeah I swear by that edger. I get way cleaner lines with that than with tape. Just make sure you apply the paint to it with a brush rather than dipping it in the tray. I only use tape for the baseboards because then I can get closer with the brush than I can with the edger.

wandajune6

lolo883 said:

I have painted every place I've ever lived and never used an extension pole for the roller. The best technique is to paint a big "N" on the wall and then fill in the spaces with straight, even strokes. I do half the wall (height-wise) at a time, in a couple-foot wide swath, doing the half above or below it right after before the edges dry.

The key to a good finish are the quality of the paint and the roller cover. No matter what technique you use, you'll get roller marks with a crappy or ill-suited roller cover or cheap paint. Flat and high gloss paint are also more prone to roller marks. Get the best paint you can reasonably afford and roller covers suited to the surface of the wall, and paint in a satin or eggshell finish. Honestly though, if you're painting one light color over another the primer is overkill. That's only really necessary painting light over dark or dark over light. 

Thank you! My dad taught me the "N" method and he's a decent painter. FI thinks that the approach is a half-step from finger-painting.

I'm feeling much better. And like I need an edger.

I'll actually probably need 2 coats of paint because the room currently has purple sponge painting all over it. I've already removed the mismatched wallpaper trim. Hideous. FI's had the house for 8 years and has only removed the awfulness from 2 rooms. It drives me crazy. I've already scrubbed the walls multiple times, scraping away some of the crap along the way. It's mostly patched too.

JCbride2015

I have never heard of the N method, but my mom (pro home stager who has painted more walls than most people in five lifetimes) uses a W shape.  It's probably the same principal.  Keep making W shapes and you avoid having exactly one long roller mark.

And that edger thing is awesome.  Get one.

As for covering the purple-- can you use primer before you paint?  Two coats of regular paint may not be enough to cover that.  I'd think primer + two coats.

emmaaa

I agree with Lol. Making diagonal rolls actually covers the wall better and limits any lines you may see. But I will disagree, I hated the edger. I much rather use a brush. You have to be careful to not overload the edger with paint or it seeps out.

theartistformerlyknownas

Ewwwwww at sponge paint! I would lightly sand over that with a foam sanding block before you do anything. Then wash the walls (preferably with diluted TSP) to get off any dust and residue.

mysticl

JCbride2015 said:

I have never heard of the N method, but my mom (pro home stager who has painted more walls than most people in five lifetimes) uses a W shape.  It's probably the same principal.  Keep making W shapes and you avoid having exactly one long roller mark.

And that edger thing is awesome.  Get one.

As for covering the purple-- can you use primer before you paint?  Two coats of regular paint may not be enough to cover that.  I'd think primer + two coats.

I was taught the W too.  I agree with the primer for the purple.  

wandajune6

Yes- I think the W and N are the same premise.

I was hoping I could get away with 2 coats of paint with primer. You might be right- I might have to primer first. That sucks.

The edger is definitely happening!

southernbelle0915

Use the W. And frog tape. For the love - do not skimp on tape. You will regret it. Also, here's what I thought of when I read your post title:

 

theartistformerlyknownas

wandajune6 said:

Yes- I think the W and N are the same premise.

I was hoping I could get away with 2 coats of paint with primer. You might be right- I might have to primer first. That sucks.

The edger is definitely happening!

IDK, I painted over bright-ass cobalt blue with 2 coats of the paint+primer in Revere Pewter, which is a light grey-ish beige. I'd be more worried about the texture than the color.

cupcait927

southernbelle0915 said:

Use the W. And frog tape. For the love - do not skimp on tape. You will regret it. Also, here's what I thought of when I read your post title:

 

 

This! Do NOT skimp on tape. FI and I made that mistake when we painted our kitchen and living room. The paint bled through the tape edge and it was a bitch to peel off. We bought the good stuff last week to paint my bathroom. Such a difference.

wandajune6

lolo883 said:

Ewwwwww at sponge paint! I would lightly sand over that with a foam sanding block before you do anything. Then wash the walls (preferably with diluted TSP) to get off any dust and residue.

That's exactly what I've done! Though I probably used more TSP than anyone should ever use. I cleaned it off with fresh water though, just to be safe!

I love TSP. FI - the handiest guy anyone knows - had never heard of it and is now a convert. Great stuff.

ohannabelle

Absolutely use a tinted primer to cover dark colors. Gray is good. And another vote for the W technique.

wandajune6

You're all making me feel better. Thank you!

Now to tackle the ceiling. I hate ceilings....

JasperandOpal

Everyone has pretty much covered it: tape off edges, use the W (or N) method not the one straight role method, and buy a good quality paint, it will cover faster and better than a cheaper paint so in the end you come out even (both in paint coverage and financially). I have painted every wall I have ever owned. I love painting walls and redecorating. I even do it for/with friends when they are repainting.

wandajune6

@Jasperand - I need friends like you!

Thank you all for the suggestions! Much appreciated!

goldchocobo.defunct635829490514903826

I too support the "Do not skimp out on tape" suggestion. 

We have splotches on our ceiling because FI rolled too high up too fast.  Every night, for the past six years, I have stared at the splotches and sighed.  I do not care enough to fix them, but our land lady is going to roll her eyes so friggin hard at FI's shitty paint job I will hear her judgement halfway across the city.

Chipmunk415

I will admit, I like to paint for fun....I can't paint my walls because we don't want to deal with the repainting when we move out of this rental, so I go to paint and sip classes and have my own canvases and table top easel to make stuff to decorate the house with.......

I was halfway hoping OP would offer a floor spot to sleep and margaritas in exchange for painting services.....sigh, wishful thinking.

wandajune6

Chipmunk415 said:

I will admit, I like to paint for fun....I can't paint my walls because we don't want to deal with the repainting when we move out of this rental, so I go to paint and sip classes and have my own canvases and table top easel to make stuff to decorate the house with.......

I was halfway hoping OP would offer a floor spot to sleep and margaritas in exchange for painting services.....sigh, wishful thinking.

I totally offer that! I'll even offer up yummy food to go with!

beethery

Oh man I applied for a job at one of those paint and sip places. I would have LOVED IT if they hired me. I'm still pressed about it.

JoanE2012

Also, don't put pressure on the roller. If you're pressing hard to get more paint out of the roller, you're going to have the roller edge lines. You just need more paint.....don't skimp!

lkristenj

This is timely. We're priming our house tonight.

ETA: I think I've watched every Home Depot painting video, Sherwin-Williams How-To, and Benjamin Moore painting guide there is. There are resources to show you how to do it best. Most of those videos supported the W/N technique of using a zig zag sort of pattern to blend roller lines, and overlapping areas of "old" and new paint (cover a 3x3 section using the W method, reload roller, and cover another 3x3 section, slightly overlapping the part that you just did, to blend the wet paints together). They also recommend "cutting in" and painting by section to ensure that paint doesn't dry between laps.