A little extra prep work before painting will make a big difference in how it looks when you’re done. Here are a few tips Ive pick up over the years.

   Start by filling in cracks with caulking and scrapping any bumps, runs, dirt and loose particles off the walls and ceiling. Sweep cob webs with a clean broom. Any grease or water stains need a coat of primer. Ink pin, magic marker, crayon, even finger prints will bleed through Paint and look bad. Always put primer on new walls and spackle areas.

   Evaluate the condition of the walls; look for nail pops, loose tape, cracking seams and bubbles. These spots need attention, if they are not fixed, they will probably get a lot worse when the wet paint hits it. Then you just wasted your time and money.

   After repairs, {if needed} do a quick sanding, walls, ceiling, trim, base board. Let the dust settle and use the vacuum to clean the dust. Don’t miss on top of the trim around the doors and windows and base boards.

  You still need to chalk all corners, trim edges and any cracks or nail holes in the trim.

Did you ever wonder how painters get there corners so nice where two colors meet? Here is the secret. Run a bead of painters chalk down the whole corner. Using your finger, squish the chalking in the corner by going top to bottom pushing the excess chalk to the side, leaving a nice little bead in the corner. Wipe the excess off with a warm damp rag.

The calk dries pretty quickly so do a section at a time. Wipe the chalk off good. This will make your paint brush glide down the seams .Let the chalking dry at least a hour. Paint your ceiling first, both coats. Now your ready to cut in, take your time and use a good angle tip brush , Cut the top wall next to the ceiling all the way around. Find your grove

And go in the same direction all the way around the room. Do the same at the bottom by the top of the base board. Chalk this the same way and take your time.

   I think it’s easy to paint the ceiling, trim, base board, and then the walls, in that order.

Use good quality paint. The higher the gloss, the more it shows all the imperfections in the walls. Egg shell finish holds up well, but can not be touched up even after a few minutes, it shows.

  I hope these tips make you a better painter.    —Bob—