5. Purchase Quality Painting Tools
For the sake of your future happiness, use quality tools. You have been forewarned.
- Brush, Roller Cage, and Extension - Purchasing a quality brush and roller cage as well as an extension arm (a telescoping kind, at least the 2-4' variety) will ensure great results.
- Bucket and Screen - The best, quickest set up is to get a 5-gallon bucket for your roller. Buy a screen to fit the bucket.
- Roller Nap - Get a roller with a quality nap, one designed to fit your job. The nap is the thickness of the roller pad itself, which goes on the roller cage. Make sure it's designed for your walls and your paint.
- Roller Pad Size - Get a roller pad 9" wide; this will suffice for most rooms. If painting between cabinets or in other confined areas, then use a smaller roller, typically called a weenie roller.
- Brush and Bucket - For your brush set up, keep a half gallon of the paint handy. If you like, you can set a hook into the side of your brush so it can rest in the rim of your can, draining excess paint where it belongs. This way you'll also preserve the life of your brush as you keep the paint off the ferrule--the part where the bristles begin at the handle.
6. Cutting and Rolling
Cutting in the Paint:
First: cut in. This is a term used to refer to brushing areas your roller cannot reach: corners, up against a ceiling, around fixtures and cabinets. Work one wall at a time, unless you have a partner who can backroll (or follow) you.
If you do have a backroller, this person will start painting once you get far enough ahead. Cut in from the top-down. Start anywhere, pick a wall, and begin at the top-left corner. Hit the "highs" then the "lows" as you make your way from one end to the other.
Rolling the Paint:
Once you've cut in, rolling is easy.
- Dip - Beginning in the same vicinity your cut began, use your roller and extension pole, and with about a halfway-filled 5-gallon bucket, lightly dip the roller into your paint. Do not immerse your roller into the paint. You'll wind up dripping for the rest of the job, wondering why you didn't hire a pro to paint for you. If you want to know how to paint like a professional painter, then be sure to just barely dip your roller arm into the top of the paint.
- Screen It - Pull it back up the screen, then roll back down onto the surface until you hear the sticky sound. Do this several times until you're confident the pad is coated in paint but the roller core isn't full of paint.
- Roll the "W" - Roll out the excess on the screen, catch some drips into the bucket, and start in the upper left corner, making about a 2 1/2' to 3' downward pass, back up in a "W" pattern, and so on until you have a "W."
- Fill In - Fill in that little square with your roller before returning it to the bucket, wetting it like you just did, and repeat. Be sure to work top-down, in a "Z" pattern. Once you get about four cycles of this done, roll them together with your roller and repeat until you reach the floor.
