Paint Trim 1st, Ceilings 2nd and Walls 3rd
Before you consider painting, you should think of your painting task is 2 parts: 2/3 Prep, 1/3 Painting. A good prep job often takes more time than painting, but pays dividends in in the end. The more time you spend prepping a room for new paint, the better your finished paint job will look. Washing, patching, sanding and vacuuming walls, ceilings, trim and doors before you pick up a brush or roller are time well spent. If you don’t take care of small imperfections now, they’ll stick out like a sore thumb once the paint goes on.
Now to the fun stuff, the painting. With years of experience I’ve been able to see and learn that professional painters follow a certain order when painting a room or house exterior. They paint the trim first, then the ceiling, then the walls. That’s because it’s easier (and faster) to tape off the trim than to tape off the walls or house siding.
When painting the trim, you don’t have to be neat. Just concentrate on getting a smooth finish on the wood. Don’t worry if the door and trim paint gets slopped onto the walls. You’ll cover it later when painting walls. Once the trim is completely painted and dry (at least 24 hours), tape it off (using an “easy release” painter’s tape), then paint the ceiling, then continue on to wall painting.
How to Apply Wall and Trim Paint
Lap marks are those ugly stripes caused by uneven layers of paint buildup, a common problem when wall painting. They occur when you roll over paint that’s already partly dry. (In warm, dry conditions, latex paint can begin to stiffen in less than a minute) Avoid lap marks by maintaining a “wet edge,” so each stroke of your roller overlaps the previous stroke before the paint begins to dry.
To maintain a wet edge, paint an entire wall all at once. Start at one end, running the roller up and down the full height of the wall, moving over slightly with each stroke. Move backward where necessary to even out thick spots or runs. Don’t let the roller become nearly dry; reload it often so that it’s always at least half loaded. Keep the open side of the roller frame facing the area that’s already painted. That puts less pressure on the open side of the roller so you’re less likely to leave paint ridges.
Slap it on and smooth it out when painting trim or other woodwork with a brush, I’ve found it’s best to load my brush with paint and then lay it on heavily in small sections using short, quick strokes — just to get enough paint on the trim to work with. Then I blend the paint into the section I painted before and smooth it all out using long finishing strokes in one direction.
Clear the Entire Room Before Painting
If something is too big to take out, move it to the center of the room and cover it with plastic. To be crafty, an old bedsheet works great or other kinds of fabric sheets and mats also do a good job at keeping paint off the floor. Cardboard also works great because it usually has clean 90 degree cuts and edges.