Take the ‘Pain’ out of Painting

Make sure all your supplies are on hand before you start.

If painting is on your list of home upgrades to tackle, you may find yourself procrastinating to avoid a painful process. However, with the right tools and a little preparation, you can achieve the new look you want and a finished product that makes you proud.

Before you get started, take inventory of your painting supplies and ensure you have plenty of brushes (including extras, if you’ll have help), paint trays, masking tape, clean-up rags and drop cloths to protect your floor or furniture.

Make a list of any items you need to purchase, and before you head to the store, measure your space one last time to ensure you know how much paint you need to buy.

Follow these additional tips for a painting project that delivers a big gain without the pain:

It’s prime season for a reason

Prime painting season runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. One important reason is that when the weather is nice, you can open up the windows and get some circulation running through the room for faster drying times and better air quality.

Lights on, lights off

Think about lighting when choosing your paint. It is easy to pick a color solely based on a photo or swatch, but it is important to think about your specific room and how the lighting may affect the color’s appearance. What is the natural light like? Will you still like the color once the sun goes down?

Protect and prepare

Before you begin painting, protect surfaces and ensure sharp lines by masking off your painting area. You can do a better paint job with painter’s tape that tears by hand at a straight, 90-degree angle for fast cornering. Painter’s tape removes in one piece without tearing or slivering.

Make it fun

Get the whole family involved in the project. Having kids take part will help give them a sense of responsibility for the family home, and make the end result more personal. If you’re concerned about their skill level, give them a small area to apply primer instead of the actual paint color.

Revel in the results

Putting in the legwork in advance will pay off when you get the freshly painted look you want. Make sure to take “before and after” photos to show off your hard work.

Find more tips and techniques to pull off a better paint job at scotchblue.com.