Decorating your home is a right of passage. While it may be looked on by some as a boring, thankless task, it actually connects you to your home. By decorating yourself you are bringing your own space to life.
When painting, you want the job to be as good as a professional would have done it. To help, we have listed 8 interior painting mistakes you need to avoid when painting a room.
1. Getting the Color Wrong
When choosing colors, the color on the can, or the sample from the store sample, is never the same as the color on your wall. Light is one of the main factors that will impact your color, but also the choice of primer, with furniture and fittings can all impact the overall look and feel of the shade you choose.
Ask the store if you can buy a tester pot and take it home. Paint a square on the wall and see how it looks. You can also contact a professional, who will advise you on the type of paint you need for the wall.
2. Letting the Roller Touch the Floor or Ceiling
Trying to speed up the process is a false economy, and once you try this when decorating you will inevitably make more problems. One of these is getting spots on the floor or ceiling from the roller.
To avoid this, roll a horizontal strip around the top and bottom of your wall. Then you have a buffer zone. You can now paint vertically to the zones without bumping the floor or ceiling.
If you have skirting boards or rails, mask them off. Of course, this preparation will take a lot of time and effort. If time is tight, you may need to hire a professional interior painting company instead of skipping the preparation.
3. Skipping Preparation
Not taking time to prepare correctly will only make jobs further along the line, or make your paint look dirty and unfinished. Taking a short period of time to prepare properly will actually save time on the decorating job.
An expert would make sure the room was clean before they start. Dust is the enemy of an excellent paint job, so a professional will clean the baseboards, door panels and jams, and sometimes the walls will have dust biuld up that needs to be cleaned off. Sanding the walls down because they are not smooth is a mark of a professional painter and how they clean off the sanded walls with a damp cloth. They would put down groundsheets to collect paint splashes. They would also have the tools and equipment to sand and primer any areas to be painted and use masking tape to cover any finer parts.
You can do this yourself. But the preparation itself will take as long as the painting. You will also need to buy the preparation equipment. A professional painting company will already have this.
4. Painting in Low Light
Not having the correct lighting conditions can cause lots of problems. You may think the room is evenly painted, pack away your equipment only to wake the next morning and see patches. Painting requires full daylight to observe the wet and dry paint properly.
Using lamps and ceiling lights can also cast shadows that may look like spots that need more paint. To avoid any confusion, make sure that you are always painting in full daylight.
If you are forced to paint in low light, contact a company. They will have industrial lamps that illuminate the surface they are painting evenly, giving a much better finish.
5. Spray Painting Without Adequate Preparation
Spray painting is a little different from a normal brush and roller painting. This is because the high pressure from the sprayer and compresser pushes paint not just in the direction you are aiming, but out into the atmosphere. This can cause problems that you may not even be able to see until later.
Unless you want a fine layer of paint over your whole room, make sure you cover everything when you spray paint. Keep the room well ventilated, but also remember that any breeze or wind will blow the paint along with it. Finally, keep pets and children a long way off until the fumes and paint have vanished from the air.
6. Skipping the Primer
Primer is important if you are applying any shade of white or a color that is not dark. It will even out your wall, making it look smooth and even when you apply your upper coat. It can also make colors brighter and will mean you have to do fewer coats, saving time in the long run.
Preparing for the primer is not a quick task. You must start by filling any cracks or gaps, then sanding down the wall surface. Clean off any dust, and apply the primer as you would a coat of paint.
7. Interior Painting Mistakes With Extreme Temperatures
Paint does not like being applied in extreme temperatures. Trying it will cause you a multitude of problems in the long and short term.
In freezing weather, the paint will not set. It will not dry and will not adhere to the wall. This will result in it flaking when touched, ruining your hard work.
In the heat, you may find the paint drying before you even begin to apply it. This will result in a thick paint that does not spread on the surface. It may also bubble due to the volatile chemical compounds in its make up as they react with the temperature.
If you are forced to ain’t in these temperatures then consult a professional. They may have advice on better types of paint and techniques.
8. Overpainting
There are two ways to overpaint. The first involves overloading the brush with paint, usually by dipping it too far into the can. You only need to dip the brush a third of the way in, as overloading it will cause dripping, streaking, and waste paint.
The second is to apply too much paint to a surface. If you add too many layers with a brush, you will soon see uneven streaks and surfaces that are not level. Try to apply a coat then even it out with one or two brush strokes.
Getting Started
Once you know these interior painting mistakes, you can begin to color your home to a professional standard. Always remember to prepare and make sure you use good quality brushes and equipment.
If the preparation and painting sound like too much effort, then consider Ulta Home Improvements. We have a team of experienced staff who will have your room painted professionally in no time. Message us for a quote today!
