You do not want to be electrically shocked when removing plates and screws.
With a small screwdriver, remove all the switch plates and outlet covers.
Place each plate and cover, with their screws, in a separate plastic sandwich bag.
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Put the bags in a safe place away from the paint.
Replace cracked or broken plates and covers.
Rosin paper works best on hardwood floors, as plastic sheeting can create a slippery surface.
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Rosin paper comes in rolls at the hardware store or you might purchase inexpensive builder’s paper.
Remove baseboards if possible.
Otherwise, run painter’s tape along the top edge of the baseboards to protect them from paint.
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Clean the top edge and surface of baseboards to help the tape stick.
Patching a wall well will create a smooth and professional paint finish.
Usefine-grit sandpaperto smooth over minor shallow scratches and imperfections.
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Scrape off any old peeling paint with a paint scraper for walls.
Smooth over and feather the edges of scraped paint with sandpaper.
Spackle and sand larger blemishes.
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Clean the Walls
Any mistakes visible before painting walls will be visible after painting.
Now is the time forcleaning the wallsand making stains disappear.
Fill the clean bucket with cool water.
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Pour in the manufacturer-specified amount of TSP and stir.
Soak a sponge in the TSP solution then sponge clean the walls.
Refill the bucket with clean water and sponge rinse the walls.
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Let the walls air-dry.
Warning
TSP is avery strong chemicaland may cause skin and eye irritation without proper safety precautions.
Always wear the following:
If TSP gets on your skin, wash the area with soap and water.
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If it gets in your eyes, flush with clean water for 15 minutes.
Then seek emergency medical care.
If your walls are in pristine and stain-free condition, considerself-priming paintto eliminate the step of priming.
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Primers are formulated for various uses.
Use a tinted primer if you are painting a light color on a dark wall.
Tinted primer lets you see missed spots before painting your finishing coat.
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Lightly dip an angled brush orpaint edger toolinto the top of the paint.
Go slowly when using an angled brush or paint edger tool.
Have a cloth rag handy to quickly clean up errant paint marks.
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If you have masked the trim with tape, use the tape as a guide.
Even the best painter’s tapes may allow some paint to sneak around the edge and onto your trim.
Avoid relying on the tape for complete protection.
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Instead, use the brush to paint up to the tape.
Try not to paint the tape itself.
Prepare Roller With Paint
Dip the rollerinto your paint bucket.
Don’t immerse it for too long; overloaded rollers cause major drips that are tough to roll out.
Pull the roller back up the screen several times until the roller is coated all around.
Keep rolling up and down until you hear a sticky sound.
Do this several times until you are confident that the roller cover is coated in paint.
Work quickly enough so the paint edges you are rolling over are still wet.
Flat and matte interior paints are forgiving when it comes to painting over drier edges.
Fill in and Complete
Continue rolling out blocks of paint using the W method.
Occasionally step back to view your work.
Work in a strong light to catch any missing spots.
While painting, stay as far away as possible from areas you don’t want to be painted.
Even better, cover them with tarps or drop cloths.
Rollers can accidentally splatter and spray paint off the roller and onto the surface.
If the walls are in bad shape, a professional painter may wash the walls for better results.
If the walls are in decent shape, they may not take the time to do a thorough cleaning.
If you’rehiring pros, ask what jot down of cleaning is included in the contract.
The correct order to paint a room is totackle the ceilingfirst and then paint the walls.
you’re free to touch up the ceiling at the end when you’re done with the walls.
There may be exceptions.
