Paint Color

TheBoffin

Complete novice here

Made a brave decision to tackle a room and paint it - I have never painted a room before and not 100% sure what I am doing.

First Question.

I have cleaned all the walls with warm soapy water and allowed to dry, then I cleaned with sugar soap and one of those grey rough pads and allowed to dry. Finally i put some masking tape around sockets, light switch door-frame and skirting etc. also filled in a few chippings with filler and sanded down.

Am I missing anything else?

Second question.

The colors in the room currently are red and cream (1 wall is red and the other 3 walls are cream). This was done since house was built, I have no idea what the color name is. - I would assume if I go and get a dark red and and a heavier cream color this would work? I am really not too pushed about the color used. Any tips? Also is it emulsion I am looking for?

appreciate the advice.

sky6

By now I'm sure you realise that Painting is 90% preparation and 10% painting. You've done the hard work the painting itself is a lot easier.
First you need to choose what colour or colours you want to paint the Walls.
Get a few Colour Cards to help you choose or seek the help of a good assistant in a paint shop. You can even get some help from here on Boards.

Yes, Emulsion is what you need to use. It comes in different types of finishes, Silk which is Shiny. Matt which has no shine and Eggshell which is in between.
Silk is very good where children are like bedrooms and Kitchens as marks and grease will wash off easily.
But it can look too shiny in a Lounge. But it's all down to personal choice.

Make sure to only use a Good Quality paint. There a little more expensive for a reason. I personally wouldn't use own brands either.

If you need to kill out the strong colour on the Walls then a coat of White over the dark colour will do that for you.

Paint the Ceiling First with a good Matt White using a Roller. Two coats does a really good job. One in the morning and another a few hours later.
Get some cheap plastic cover sheets in the paint shop and cover everything in the Room. Don't overload the roller and Roll the paint on slowly to keep splashes to a minimum.

Then paint in the Corners and the Ceiling lines using a Brush. Then Roll the Walls using a Roller again going slowly.
You'll soon get the hang of it, the secret is not to try and rush it.

Best of luck with it.

slimjimmc

Other simple things that make life easier,

- wrap brushes/rollers in cling film to prevent the paint drying on them when you're not using them short term, e.g. if you're taking a break, or even overnight.
- make sure you have somewhere to set down a wet paintbrush or roller without getting paint all over the handle. A spare roller tray is handy for this.
- prepare your brush/roller clean-up area in advance.
- protect other floors against drips while you carry the brushes/rollers for cleaning.
- be careful that you don't step on wet drips and leave emulsion footprints on other floors. You'd be surprised how easy this happens by accident. Protect other areas that you might enter, e.g. kitchen/bathroom or remove footwear outside the painting zone.

- lock up any pets and keep everyone else away! If they're not there they can't be blamed for kicking over paint trays, brushing against walls or just being a nuisance.

McDook

Best painting tip I ever got. For an old landlord i used to work for about 20 years ago.

Paint with washable paint of a light colour. Never tried this with dark paint, so dont know if it would work with dark paints. Have doors and skirtings of something that you varnish.

Once your painting is done properly the first time.
Next time the walls are looking a bit dirty after a few years, just cover everything in the room and get a roller and a solution of 50% bleach and 50% water. Paint that over the walls. Wipe the skirtings, doors with the same solution with a cloth. It will come up frothy but will dry quickly.

Whole painting job takes about half an hour and you need not buy paint or anything but a roller and tray.

Obviously if there are dinges and pen marks etc this wont work.

And Open the windows for a few hours because that stuff is strong and will choke you until its dry and the room is aired (not much worse smelling than real paint though and dries far quicker). Done.

Now you only need fresh paint every 10 years or so when the mrs gets bored of the colour.

Try telling that one to a painter and watch him tell you how you will be poisoned or catch fire during the night. They really hate to be told how quickly, cheaply and easily it can be done.

DublinDIYguy

McDook wrote: »

Best painting tip I ever got. For an old landlord i used to work for about 20 years ago.

Paint with washable paint of a light colour. Never tried this with dark paint, so dont know if it would work with dark paints. Have doors and skirtings of something that you varnish.

Once your painting is done properly the first time.
Next time the walls are looking a bit dirty after a few years, just cover everything in the room and get a roller and a solution of 50% bleach and 50% water. Paint that over the walls. Wipe the skirtings, doors with the same solution with a cloth. It will come up frothy but will dry quickly.

Whole painting job takes about half an hour and you need not buy paint or anything but a roller and tray.

Obviously if there are dinges and pen marks etc this wont work.

And Open the windows for a few hours because that stuff is strong and will choke you until its dry and the room is aired (not much worse smelling than real paint though and dries far quicker). Done.

Now you only need fresh paint every 10 years or so when the mrs gets bored of the colour.

Try telling that one to a painter and watch him tell you how you will be poisoned or catch fire during the night. They really hate to be told how quickly, cheaply and easily it can be done.

Yes this really works, and when you are finished, pour whats lefts of the bleach mixed with water into your kettle and make a brew. Not only will it clean the kettle and restore the element to make your kettle last an extra 10 years. The tea tastes fantastic and cures all cancers, diseases and bugs, even the common cold. It'll actually increase your life expectancy by upto 75 years..
Great for washing your eyes with too

McDook

McDook wrote: »

Try telling that one to a painter and watch him tell you how you will be poisoned or catch fire during the night. They really hate to be told how quickly, cheaply and easily it can be done.

DublinDIYguy wrote: »

Yes this really works, and when you are finished, pour whats lefts of the bleach mixed with water into your kettle and make a brew. Not only will it clean the kettle and restore the element to make your kettle last an extra 10 years. The tea tastes fantastic and cures all cancers, diseases and bugs, even the common cold. It'll actually increase your life expectancy by upto 75 years..
Great for washing your eyes with too

LOL. Brilliant.

shamanpriest

I totally agree with all the advice given to you above and would echo the following (as mentioned above) TAKE YOUR TIME..

Also and this is very IMPORTANT.

If you live in an old home (1920's, 30's to 1970') be careful when sanding woodwork and some walls which were coated with oil paints. This is because all oil paints during these periods of time were lead based and are very harmful to inhale during prep.

If it's a newish home you don't have to worry.

Best of luck