Full dis­clo­sure? Our best tip is to hire a pro­fes­sion­al inte­ri­or paint­ing com­pa­ny. Hon­est­ly. What can seem like a fun do-it-your­self project at first can quick­ly snow­ball into a big­ger, more labor-inten­sive process than you had bar­gained for. Plus, there’s just noth­ing as dis­ap­point­ing as pour­ing all those hours into a repaint only to have it not turn out the way you’d hoped.

But if you do want to tack­le a project your­self, we have a few pro tips and tricks for inte­ri­or paint­ing to help smooth the way a bit. Ready to get start­ed? Let’s dig in.

Clean and prep your sur­faces for the best paint adhesion

When it comes to inte­ri­or paint­ing, one of the most impor­tant tips and tricks is to make sure you clean dirty/​dusty sur­faces before apply­ing any paint (even in the clean­est of homes!). This is crit­i­cal because it allows the paint to form a strong bond with the sur­face (that’s the ​“adhe­sion” we referred to). Use a mild deter­gent and damp cloth to remove any dirt, dust, and debris, then make sure to let the sur­face dry thor­ough­ly before painting.

Here are a few more bonus prep tips for you:

• Pro­tect Your Floors — Cov­er the floors with a drop cloth no mat­ter how care­ful you plan to be. This will help you avoid any cost­ly clean-up lat­er on.

• Cut in First — Before you start rolling, make sure to cut in first. This means paint­ing the edges and cor­ners of your walls with a brush before you use the roller. This will give you a more even fin­ish and will make it eas­i­er to roll the rest of the wall with­out hav­ing to wor­ry about the edges.

• Clean as You Go — As you paint, make sure to clean your brush­es and rollers often so that the paint does­n’t get too thick or lumpy. Also, clean up any spills as soon as possible.

How do you avoid roller marks on your wall? Keep a wet edge

Ready for anoth­er tech­ni­cal paint­ing term? ​“Lap marks” are those ugly lines left by a poor­ly rolled wall — a sure sign that a novice has been at work.

To avoid lap marks, use your roller to paint the full height of the wall in smooth strokes, main­tain­ing a wet edge. This means that you should start at the top of the wall and work your way down, keep the roller wet, and over­lap the pre­vi­ous stroke before it dries to cre­ate a more even and con­sis­tent fin­ish. Addi­tion­al­ly, use a qual­i­ty paint and primer to ensure that the col­or is true and the fin­ish is even.

Pur­chase high-qual­i­ty roller cov­ers and brushes

Speak­ing of qual­i­ty, hav­ing the right tools for the job is essen­tial. Invest in high-qual­i­ty roller cov­ers — you’ll be SO glad you did. Choose one with a high thread count for smooth appli­ca­tion and bet­ter cov­er­age, plus the right ​“nap.” Sur­faces like dry­wall require a short­er nap, while more tex­tured sub­strates require a longer nap so you can get in all the nooks and crannies.

There are many dif­fer­ent types of brush­es avail­able, so make sure you choose one with a com­fort­able han­dle and soft bris­tles. Also, make sure that the roller cov­er and brush are com­pat­i­ble with the paint fin­ish you are using. For exam­ple, if you are using an oil-based fin­ish, use a nat­ur­al-bris­tle brush.

Only use high-qual­i­ty inte­ri­or paint

Pick­ing up on the theme here? When it comes to any type of paint­ing, the qual­i­ty of the prod­uct you use will make all the dif­fer­ence. This is espe­cial­ly true for inte­ri­or paint, work­ing won­ders for the fin­ished look of your walls. Also, not only will the paint last longer, but it will look bet­ter and fresh­er too.

Our best advice is to avoid the bar­gain brands at your local big box store and skip right to the name-brand options. You’ll pay more up front, but the val­ue is tremen­dous: bet­ter col­or reten­tion, bet­ter cov­er­age, bet­ter longevi­ty, bet­ter dura­bil­i­ty… You get the idea.

Let the roller do the work

The roller is your best friend! It is the quick­est and eas­i­est way to apply an even coat of paint. As you get rolling, make sure to use the W tech­nique: paint in a series of W‑shaped strokes, start­ing at the top and work­ing your way down. This will ensure that the paint is even­ly applied and will look bet­ter than if you just rolled in one direc­tion. And keep that wet edge like we men­tioned above!

Use cot­ton drop cloths, not plas­tic sheets

Those plas­tic sheets may be cheap and con­ve­nient, but cot­ton drop cloths are much bet­ter for sev­er­al key reasons:

• They’re more absorbent than plas­tic, mean­ing they can help pro­tect your floors and fur­ni­ture from any spills or splashes

• They are much eas­i­er to maneu­ver and work around than plas­tic sheets

• You can reuse them for future projects

Pro tip? Secure your drop cloths with painter’s tape so they don’t move while you’re paint­ing. There’s noth­ing worse than drop clothes slid­ing around under­foot while you’re try­ing to work.

Have more ques­tions about your inte­ri­or paint­ing project?

Con­tact us at John Byrne Paint­ing! We’d love to dis­cuss your goals with you and share exact­ly how we can help. In the mean­time, you can explore all ourinte­ri­or paint­ing ser­vices here.