4 Painting Secrets to Ensure Your Walls Stay in Tip-Top Shape
Drop cloths and furniture covers, canvas in particular, offer the most protection by absorbing any paint that may spill, Banbury notes. Use plastic to cover furnishings from random splatters.
Step 2: Patch up cracks and damage
Need to figure out how to repair drywall? Start by filling nail holes or other cracks with a lightweight crack-filling compound. For deeper damage, say an opening after removing a TV mount bracket, place fiberglass tape over the opening and cover with joint compound. To seal the deal, apply acrylic latex painter’s caulk around all cracks. Smooth the area out with your finger. Cover all patches with primer before you paint to prevent flashing (known as a shiny spot) that can come through in the final finish, Crew says. Sand to smooth out any rough areas.
Step 3: Clean the surface
Vacuum the dust if you sanded. Clean any other contaminants such as dirt, mildew, oil, grease, and chalk from the walls with hot soapy water and microfiber cloth. Check that the surface is dry before painting. Wait at least one hour before starting the paint job. Applying paint to a wet wall could result in poor adhesion and even peeling.
Step 4: Use the right tools
A thicker roller with a 3/4-inch nap will hold more paint, and you will push down less and avoid making lap marks. “If you use too short of a nap, the finish is a bit smoother, but you will be constantly adding more paint to the roller and still cover less area,” Crew says.
For corners and trim, Paige Anderson emphasizes that a quality brush or roller is a must. “A cheap brush will shed bristles and leave streaks in your paint job,” she says.
How to remove scuffs and scratches from painted walls
No matter how great the paint job, your house is not a museum. You’ll have contact with the walls, whether you want to or not. For regular upkeep, incorporate melamine sponges in your weekly cleaning routine to wipe away grimy gray spots left by dirty hands. A soft cloth, or sponge, dipped in warm water will also do the trick. Stubborn stains may require the use of all-purpose household cleaners for total removal. Keep in mind, anything with chlorine or ammonia can discolor the paint or leave streaks.
In the case of legitimate stains—say, a rogue marker wielded by your offspring—they may require a paint touch-up in the same product, sheen, and color, Banbury says. Touch-ups can get tricky with shinier sheens because the new layer can look blotchy, while remedying a flat finish is a simpler process, Crew adds.
If scrubbing doesn’t work, apply a stain-blocking primer—like HGTV Home® by Sherwin-Williams’s Infinity Paint & Primer—to cover the stain and prevent bleeding through. “Keep a sample-size jar of your wall paint color and a small brush handy in a cabinet,” says Kate Albrecht, co-founder of lifestyle brand Mr. Kate, who is updating a fixer-upper with her husband in Hawaii. “It’s a concealer for your wall!”
Here, some helpful paint tools to get you started:
