How to Paint a Room

Choosing a Paint Finish

Before beginning to paint a room it would be a good idea to first consider the type of paint you will be using. It will make the job easier all around if you use flat latex paint on the ceiling and walls. This will make it possible to touch–up paint on missed spots and smudges, without flashing. It will also make it easier to cut–in and if you need to mask to paint a straight line, painting with flat latex makes for sharper lines and less peeling when removing the tape.

If You're Using Flat Paint

Using flat latex will also reduce the amount of work required because it will be self–priming on all wall repairs. Using just one paint means no need for two rollers and no need to wait for primer to dry before starting to roll the ceiling or walls. The flat wall or ceiling paint can also be used to prime any joint compound or spackle on wood trim.

If You're Using Shiny Paint

If you need to use a shiny paint like eggshell, semi–gloss or high–gloss on the walls or ceiling, you will need to take extra care to avoid flashing and roller marks. It won't be possible to touch up, in most cases, without causing a flashing problem and touch–up will not be possible at all when the paint has dried, even slightly.

All joint compound will have to be thoroughly primed with a flat paint or there will be dull spots in the finish. Rolling shiny paint will also require special attention to the direction you roll to avoid an uneven finish. Always roll in the same direction and overlap your strokes repeatedly to blend the paint evenly. This will make it harder to do a good job on ceilings when furniture is stacked and covered in the center of the room and you have to work around it.

Use a Quality Paint

Another consideration with regard to paint choice is the quality. Always use the best, usually most expensive, paint a supplier offers. Top quality paints are thicker and will cover much better than even the second best paint in a product line. Better quality translates to better coverage and can be the difference between one or two coats and multiple coats to cover completely. While top quality paint will be a bit more expensive than the lower grades the saved labor will more than make up for the cost.

Setting Up to Paint a Room

Painting a room should be done in a logical order to minimize the work and clean–up required to complete the job. The first step is to take everything off the walls, ceiling and trim and move all the furniture into the center of the room.

If you will be painting the ceiling, you will want to either provide a space for a ladder under any center light fixture or plan to paint around the fixture before moving anything under it. Then you can roll the ceiling with a roller pole after everything is covered in the middle of the room.

This will only really work if you're using flat latex paint on the ceiling. If you're using eggshell or other shiny paint it will probably cause a flashing problem if you wait too long to roll into the brush work. In these cases, try to brush around the fixture just before rolling the paint on the ceiling.

Remove Furniture or Not?

If you want to use a shiny ceiling paint or you have a lot of cracks to repair and other work to do on the ceiling, you may want to move all furniture out of the room. The work involved will be well worth it in saved effort on the ceiling painting and repairs. It will also make the whole paint job much easier and keep dust off all your stuff.

If you choose to work with the furniture in the room, use one or two large drop clothes to cover all the stuff in the center and then cover the floors around the perimeter with runners (long narrow drop cloths). A thin, 1–mil plastic can be used to cover the center but canvas drop cloths should be used on the floor. The canvas will be easier to shake to remove scraping and sanding dust before beginning with the painting part of the job and they won't slip around when walking on them.