More on Paint |
In this article, we'll take you all the way through the process of painting a room. From prepping to cleaning up, we have the job -- and your room -- covered. We'll start at square one, with how you should use your painting equipment.
Brushes
When you embark on an interior painting job, you'll soon discover how easy it is to use brushes and rollers competently. Even so, there are a few techniques that will help postpone fatigue and provide a neater job.
 ©2006 Publications International, Ltd. Grasp sash and trim brushes as you would a pencil (top). Hold a wall brush with your entire hand (bottom). See more painting images. |
The goal of loading a brush is to get as much paint on the wall as possible without dribbling it all over the floor and yourself in the process. It will take you only a few minutes to be able to gauge accurately how much paint your brush will hold along the way. Meanwhile, start the job by dampening the bristles of the brush (with water for latex or the appropriate thinner for other types of paint) to condition them and make them more efficient. Remove excess moisture by gently striking the metal band around the handle's base against the edge of your palm and into a sink or bucket.
 ©2006 Publications International, Ltd. Never dip a brush more than about one-third the length of the bristles into the paint. If you do, the brush will become next to impossible to clean. |
To neatly paint up to a line where two edges or colors meet, called "cutting in," use a trim brush with beveled bristles (the end of the brush resembles a chisel). Paint five or six strokes perpendicular to the edge of the ceiling or the wall. Next, smooth over these strokes with a single, long stroke, painting out from the corner first, then vertically. Where the wall and ceiling come together, use downward strokes on the wall first followed by smooth horizontal strokes.
On the ceiling itself, cut in strokes toward the center of the room, away from the wall. Then paint a smooth horizontal stroke on the ceiling that follows the direction of the wall. Even if you're using the same color of paint on adjoining surfaces, follow this method of cutting in with 2-inch-wide borders rather than just plopping a loaded brush directly into a corner. This will prevent drips, sags, and runs.
 ©2006 Publications International, Ltd. To cut in at a corner, paint out from the corner for five or six strokes, then smooth over them with a single, long, smooth stroke. |
Another cutting-in approach, beading, can practically eliminate the need to use masking tape to protect one painted area from another. Use a beveled trim brush with nice long bristles. Hold the brush so that your thumb is on one side of the metal ferrule and your fingers on the other. Press the brush lightly against the surface, then, as you move the brush, add just enough pressure to make the bristles bend away from the direction of your brushstroke. Keep the brush about 1/16 inch away from the other colored surface. The bent bristles and the pressure will release a fine bead of paint that will spread into the gap.
With both methods of cutting in, but especially when you're dealing with two colors, it's better to have a brush that's too dry than one that's too wet. This is detail work. To do it effectively, go slowly and cut in 4 or 5 inches at a time. It will seem tedious at first, but your speed and accuracy will improve with practice, and even one ordinary-size room will give you lots of practice.
Rollers
Working with a roller is even less exacting than working with a brush. Even a novice painter can get the feel of it in just a few minutes.
As with brushes, moisten the roller first with water for latex paint or the appropriate thinner for other types of paint. Roll out the excess moisture on a piece of scrap lumber or kraft paper or even on a paper grocery bag. Don't use newspaper because the roller may pick up the ink. Fill the well of the roller pan about half full, and set the roller into the middle of the well. Lift the roller and roll it down the slope of the pan, stopping just short of the well. Do this two or three times to allow the paint to work into the roller. Then, dip the roller into the well once more, and roll it on the slope until the pile is well saturated. You'll know immediately when you've overloaded the roller. It will drip en route to the wall and have a tendency to slide and smear instead of roll across the surface.
 ©2006 Publications International, Ltd. To load a roller, fill the well of the pan about half full and set the roller into the well. Then lift the roller and roll it down the slope of the pan two or three times to work paint into the roller. |
 ©2006 Publications International, Ltd. With a roller, begin by making an M, a backward N, or a W pattern about 3 feet square. Always start with an upstroke so paint won't run down the wall. Next, fill in the pattern with crosswise strokes. You should be able to paint each 3-square-foot area with one dip of the roller. |
If you have a large indoor painting job, an airless sprayer is the best tool to use. We'll take a look at airless sprayers and how to use them safely in the next section.
