Summer may be on the horizon, but paint school is in session at DIYnetwork.com who offers the following tips to help make sure your next DIY painting project comes out like one done by the pros.
- Dry days make good painting days. Moisture in the air keeps water-based paint from drying. Skip the humid afternoon paint project so slow-drying walls won’t wreck the rest of your day.
- Give the walls a sponge bath. Washing your walls from top to bottom is always recommended for the DIY painters, since paint sticks better to a clean surface.
- Patience is a virtue. You’ve completed your mission to fix every imperfection with patching compound. Now, make sure it’s dry. Then sand, smooth, and prime, and you’ll have a perfectly prepared surface.
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Primer comes before paint. Tempted to skip the primer? Primer not only provides a good surface for the paint, but it also brings out the paint’s true color.
- One gallon at a time. How much paint will it take to cover your walls? The pros recommend one gallon for every 400 square feet. Covering textured, rough or unprimed surfaces may require more.
- Don’t look back. Once an area starts to dry, it’s best to leave it alone. Going back over it can leave marks and color streaks in the paint’s surface.
Don’t forget to make your next DIY painting project eco-friendly with the help of paints that are free of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s).
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