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Not All Paint Jobs Should Be Bodgy

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March 2, 2012
Be Organized
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Are you thinking of painting this weekend? Well, stop right now and give this a read before you head off with your paint swab to the local Bunnings.

We’ve all been there, tried painting a room only to get a few strokes in and realise you’re doing a bodgy job of it!

My husband and I have done a lot of renovating. Code for a lot of painting. One thing I’ve discovered is you need to be organised. Trying to do something quickly, without good planning and preparation, always ends up making more work for you in the long-run. Trust me, we’ve been on the other end of trying to fix hideous renovation mistakes. Think bright yellow gloss paint, on the walls of nearly an entire house, painted with a small brush. It was a nightmare for us to remove. It put me off yellow for five years.

Before you slap paint on the walls have a think about what colour will suit the style you’re after. Get paint samples. And then before you commit to one colour try them out on various walls in the room, testing out the colours in different light. It’s amazing how varied the colours are at different times of the day.

So many to pick from. Photo: Modern Parents Messy Kids

Once settled on a colour, measure out the space and ask your local paint supplier to provide you with the amount needed. There’s nothing worse than running out mid-wall! If you plan on doing more than one room in the same colour, get extra so the paint colour remains consitent.

Before painting, prepare your surface. Fill in the cracks and sand. Clean the walls with sugar soap if needed. Remove cobwebs, they always get stuck in your brush! Tape up the skirting boards, cover windows and floors. And don’t forget to put an undercoat or primer on first. Good prep is EVERYTHING.

Then the fun part (for about 10 minutes) – painting. If you have the right tools – a roller, extension pole if needed, paint tray, edger, flat butter knife or spatula (to scrap off any rogue paint) and paint brush – it will make it a lot easier. Remember to mix the paint thoroughly. And start from the top of the wall.

When using a roller, ensure the paint is evenly distributed before rolling the paint on to the wall. When using a paint brush, just dip the brush into the paint tin up to half way on the bristles, it saves on paint and makes it easier to clean you brush later. Don’t push too hard on the brush, the bristles should only lightly flex. If you are using a roller and a brush, paint sections of the “cutting-in” around the edges with the brush first and then use the roller to fill in the gaps. Don’t do all your cutting-in first and then roll or else you may be left with a “picture-frame” effect!

When you’ve finished painting clean your stuff thoroughly or it will make for a tricky time when you do your second coat.

Painting gives you great arm muscles, fabulous new highlights (paint flecks) in your hair and most importantly can change the entire space for little money.

How cool are these neat tips?

Who'd have thought alfoil would be this handy when painting? Photo: Pinterest

More handy uses for alfoil. Easy clean tray. Photo: Pinterest

No more drips with this easy solution. Photo: Pinterest

And then when you’re done painting. Invite friends around and have a fab lunch.

Have you ever painted before? Did you make a mess of it or was it fabulous? Do you have any DIY painting tips you can share?

Have a fab weekend,

Bianca x

Main photo: This Old House

  • kateling

    I have painted our house a lot – all 11 rooms, many a few times over, and I couldn’t agree more. Prepare everything well and it will repay you 10 fold. The painting is the easy part.   Your suggestions are brilliant…we use them all.

    We recently repainted the outside and i bought some Masonite boards and painted the samples on and moved them about to see the effect in different spots at different light opportunities (as the new paint was darker didn’t want to do walls too much in case we didn’t go that dark).

    I now even get drinks/lunch ready so that when you are tired/messy you can take a break with ease (and without getting paint on lovely kitchen). I get the water bucket ready for when I am cleaning up – again so i don’t need to trash laundry with messy paint while i find things and have glad wrap at ready for wrapping brushes while on lunch. I find a thin piece of cardboard also really useful if I am doing skirting boards especially if you have old house/wood floors as it allows you to paint skirting boards more effectively.  I pop off the covers on light switchs and power points so they don’t get paint on them and them snap them back on after. Some will have screws and might not be easily removed but most will snap off with ease.
    Also get one of those awesome scraper blades for cleaning windows afterwards.

    I also keep all the paint swatches and use them as colourful swing tags on presents (especially if name is relevant – eg Dawn Whisper, Rose Day… for those with names Dawn or Rose… and some of them are just great for newborns “Angel blue” or friends “feisty tango”etc)
    Store left over paint well sealed somewhere dark and write on it everywhere what room/strength/date/colour name – so helpful if you need to touch up etc. I also try and turn tin every so often just to keep it from settling…6 or 12 months. But it doesn’t last forever. I also use left over paint to paint walls inside cupboards (built ins and others) which helps the sorting of things (e.g. will yell at other half “look in blue bit, all the wrapping is in there).

    Really for $60-$100 for a new colour of paint the transformation is amazing.

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

      This is brilliant. Thanks so much for the amazing tips! I LOVE the tag idea for presents too. Thanks x

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1599503946 Sylvia Davey

    do a spot test first! just because the colour looks nice on swatch or in the tin doesn’t mean it’ll be nice on the wall.

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

      So true. I’ve been stung with that before! x

  • http://tillyjak.blogspot.com.au/ Julie

    In the midst of repainting (and have been for some time – oops!). Unfortunately (or fortunately depending upon how you view it!) I don’t have nice flat lovely walls but 120year old horsehair walls -the more you prep the worse it gets! The walls just get hairier the more you prep. So no prep….but no magazine style walls either :(

    None of the walls have a nice straight flat line to the cornices either – so I have learnt over the years to paint the underside edge of the cornice the same colour as the wall – makes for a far more pleasing line! Also on the plus side the walls are all divided into about 6 sections – this can be a blessing and a curse. Paint one at a time but once the boredom sets in it is much easier to walk away leaving a panel until….ummmm…later. ;)

    Before this last paint the kiddo’s and I actually picked up our grey leads and drew pics all over the walls. I took snaps before painting over them….but how often do we get the freedom to draw on the walls. Sometimes I just place my hand on the wall to “feel” their artworks :)

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

      I love the notion of your children drawing on the now painted walls and you putting your own on them to “feel” the artwork. Gorgeous x