Three Interior Painting Mistakes Not to Make
It is important to learn from mistakes. It’s even better to learn from other people’s mistakes, so you don’t need to experience them first hand! When it comes to interior painting, there are a number of different ways you can go wrong. We’d like to give you a heads-up, so that you can avoid these problems if you are heading into a do-it-yourself painting project.
Mistake #1 - Don’t Let Your Painting Edge Dry
As you paint across a wall or ceiling, the strip that you most recently painted is often referred to by painters as the “edge.” You will want to keep that edge wet. In other words, don’t paint a strip of a wall, and then move to another area or take a break from painting, and then come back when that strip is dry and continue painting the wall.
When you are doing interior painting, you want to avoid having a line where wet paint and dry paint meet. Even when all your paint is dry, this line may continue to be visible. Instead, you will want to continue painting all the way across the wall until you reach a corner, or some other natural break in the wall’s surface, before you stop and allow the wall to dry.
It can require planning to keep a wet edge, so that you move methodically across a whole wall, rather than painting across the top, for example, and then coming back to paint across the bottom.
Mistake #2 - Don’t Use Bad Brushes or Rollers
An easy mistake to avoid is using bad brushes or rollers. Sometimes it is tempting to re-use an old brush that has some dry paint stuck in the bristles, or to keep costs down by grabbing the cheapest brush or roller in the paint aisle. This is a mistake that could end up costing you time, money and frustration. Old dry paint in your brush will almost certainly end up coming loose when it is exposed to the fresh wet paint.
Low-quality brushes and rollers will sometimes do the job, but they often turn out to be a disappointment. A high-quality brush or roller will apply your paint smoothly and evenly, making your newly-painted surface beautiful. Cheap brushes and rollers are likely to leave streaks and patches. Or worse, they may lose bristles or shed lint. It is definitely worth the extra effort and expense to have clean, excellent painting tools. Picking clumps of old paint, lint, or bristles off you newly painted wall is no fun!
Mistake #3 - Don’t Rush
You don’t want to be in a hurry while painting. If you are trying to rush through the job, you are likely to end up with unhappy results, such as wavy lines along edges and missed or patchy areas. Not only can rushing lead to a poor-quality final product, it can also make the project take longer!
One common result of being in a hurry while painting is spills, drips, and splatters. Getting paint where you don’t want it will cost you a lot of time as you deal with the clean-up. While it may feel tedious, the best painters are not in a rush, taking time to carefully prepare the surface and pay attention to detail as they work.
MB Jessee, a Bay Area Professional Painting Contractor
MB Jessee is a reputable and well-established Bay Area painting contractor. With many years of experience and excellence, you can trust MB Jessee to provide exceptional results. If you would rather pass the brush over to someone else, contact us today to see how we can meet your interior painting needs.
We serve Hillsborough, Oakland Hills, Pacific Heights, Piedmont, and the greater San Francisco Bay Area!