Tips for interior painting

One summer during college I worked as a house painter. I'm not sure that qualifies me as an expert but, between that and painting the interior of every place I've ever lived in I have learned a few things the hard way.  Here are some of my tips.

For most people I know, they realize painting is an easy way to freshen up their home but get paralyzed by the myriad color choices.  My advice (and it doesn't always work) is to just take the plunge, buy something that looks good on the paint chip and get it up on the walls.  If you don't love it, you can live with it for a few weeks and see if it grows on you or you can repaint but at least you've gotten past the boring white wall stage.  I do find that most paints feel darker on the wall so I choose one shade lighter than the vivid hue I'm aiming for on the paint chip.

It's worth paying the higher price and buying a very nice brush (you only need one). I use a 3" Purdy brand synthetic bristle angled "cutting in" brush for everything. How you load a brush with paint is important, here's a video on how to do it.

Since you've invested in a nice brush, wrap it in saran wrap to keep it wet if you're pausing painting for a few hours. If you've stopped for the day, wash your brush very thoroughly pulling the bristles apart and running it in water until the water is clear.  Use a stiff wire brush to brush off any dried on paint bits. Shake the brush to flick the water out and store your nice brush in the cardboard case it came it.

Using a dedicated primer is critical especially if you are covering stains, a darker paint or a gloss paint.  Don't use another coat of your finish paint instead of a primer.

The blue masking tape is worth the price and far better than the old yellow stuff.  But still peel off your tape before the paint is entirely dry or you risk peeling paint off the wall or trim.

Paint the ceiling first (so you don't have to touch up splatters on the walls). Oh and ceiling paint=crappy paint so pay an extra few dollars per gallon and get regular white wall paint (or paint the ceiling the wall color)

Use a roller for as much of the walls as you can. Then switch to your cutting in brush around trim. Don't worry too much about getting wall paint on the edges of the trim (if the trim will be painted). After the walls are dry, paint the trim and cut in carefully at the wall.

When painting trim, do the tops of windows/door frames first and work your way down so you take out drips/runs as you go.

If you're a messy painter like me, wear a cheap shower cap stolen from a hotel stay.

Those are my highlights. What are your painting tips?  Be sure to leave a comment!