What are some painting hacks you can try at home?
- M Pattern For Maximum Coverage
- Use Q-tips For Paint Smudges
- Prime Wall Patches
- Paint Trim First, Then Ceilings and Walls
There are many hacks to make working with paint much easier. However, not all hacks are effective. So, which hack works best? To find out the answer, experimentation is the best way to go about it. Try these painting hacks at home to find a sure-fire way to make any paint job easy and beginner-friendly.
Take note that painting hacks are not cheating. They will help you save a lot of money in the long run. Here are some awesome hacks you should try out at home.
M Pattern For Maximum Coverage
Everyone wants to make the most of their paint products. Repeatedly purchasing buckets of it to fully cover your walls can be very expensive. What you need is a good technique. Thankfully, achieving maximum coverage on your walls is as easy as making an M pattern with your fully-loaded paint roller. The M pattern is primarily for rollers. Brushing is a more freestyle stroke.
To apply the technique, start by loading the roller with paint. The proper way to work the paint into the roller is to roll it down the slope of the pan at least two to three times. Make sure there is no paint dripping. Begin at one corner of the wall and make an M shape in a 3-foot section without lifting the roller from the surface. Once you have made the M pattern, carefully lift the roller and repeat the process on unpainted areas, overlapping with just a small section of the previously painted surface so as to blend the paint.
Use Q-tips For Paint Smudges
There are plenty of household applications and uses for Q-tips, but did you know that you can use it to fix wall paint scuffs? However, take note that the Q-tip technique can only be used for touching up small areas. For instance, use a Q-tip if you want to touch up an old and unused nail hole. This technique is a good solution if you would rather not retouch the entire section.
The size and the figure of Q-tips make it one of the best items hacks for removing paint scuffs. With the same paint color, lightly touch up that small damaged area with you wish to cover to prevent having an entire spot stand out.
Of course, the best way if you had time and money is to fill a nail hole or other small imperfections with putty. Read Know Your Boysen Putty for the correct way to touch up your surfaces.
Prime Wall Patches
Old houses usually have holes and cracks on the walls. The proper process is to patch these up with a filler or a drywall compound before covering them with fresh paint. But sometimes you may notice that the paint you apply is blotchy. Is the sheen inconsistent even if you used the same paint shade? The problem may definitely be the putty you used to fill in the cracks.
The reason for this uneven color is because paint can be absorbed by fillers. This can make the surface of your wall look dull on the areas you touched up. The light striking these dull spots may make the texture of the rest of the wall look bumpy.
Do you think only a handyman can fix this? You can also solve a minor problem if you know the right process which is Prime→Putty→Paint. The primer seals the surface and prevents the paint from getting absorbed by your surface material.
If you want a quick fix, simply prime the imperfections with a roller, feather out the edge, and let it dry. Fill holes or tiny cracks with putty. Then end by painting over the spot with the same paint color. Make sure to use ½ inch nap rollers to ensure full coverage.
However, if you want an excellent paint job, read this.
Paint Trims First, Then Ceilings and Walls
There is an order to everything, and yes, this includes the process of painting rooms. Professionals believe in the three-step rule when it comes to painting rooms: trim first, followed by the ceiling, and finally the walls. The rule is related to the tape technique used to prevent people from painting on the wrong surface.
Apart from that, painting the trims first is more efficient than starting with the walls. Take note, it is easier to cover the edges of trims and crown moldings with painter’s tape once completely dry. This is more efficient compared to covering a portion of the wall near the unpainted trims with tape or newspaper.
Key Takeaway
Each of these hacks allows you to use what you have efficiently without spending extra money on fancy painting tools. The next time you spot an unused nail hole in the wall, grab your Q-tips, try the technique, and see the results for yourself!
Warning: Painting experts would definitely not suggest these hacks. Use these only as quick fixes. For a beautiful paint finish, surface preparation is critical. The right way to do it would require the use of proper tools, processes and materials.
