Your Essential Beginner’s Guide to Learning How to Paint and Decorate

The first thing that you must understand is that proper preparation can do wonders for your paint job.

Don’t start applying paint directly onto the walls because you might end up doing more damage than ever imagined.

The thing with DIYs is that you must take baby steps, follow all the instructions correctly and then see how amazing your result turns out to be.

Now it doesn’t matter whether you are a pro like these painters and decorators in Dulwich, or not, as long as you will follow the following steps you’ll end up with a fresh, long lasting paint job that you’ll be extremely proud of!

1. Clear away the work area and clean those walls

Remove all the furniture, lamp, frames and personal items, etc. from the room. If you are moving the large furniture into the centre of the room, then make sure to cover it up with dust sheets and cloth to prevent getting paint all over them.

Cover up your carpet with polyethene sheets. Using some water and sugar soap solution or even just some warm water with a dash of dishwashing liquid, wash your walls. Remove any dirt, grease or stain that you see and then rinse off the walls with clean water.

2. Fill up those cracks and protect your woodwork

Make sure to inspect every inch of your wall, around the windows and the door frames. Fill up any crack that you see, and make sure to sand the surface once you’re done with that. Do make sure to apply a second coat. This way you’ll get the best result.

Also, if you think your walls are in bad shape, then you might consider getting them re-plastered. Tape the edges of the window, door frames, unscrew the sockets and edge them away from the wall. Make sure to remember to peel the tape away when the paint is dry. This way you won’t peel off the paint.

3. Choose your color, your tools and get going

Choosing colors can be tough as there are thousands to choose from. And often the color that you see turns out to be different when applied to the wall.

Therefore it is always better to get small paint tester squares and try out the color before selecting any. Make sure to apply at least two coats to see what the final color looks like.

The tools that you need include,

• a 230mm roller with extension pole
• a 100mm roller
• a selection of brushes
• a paint roller tray
• a mixing stick
• a dry cloth

4. Prime the walls get your roller and start rolling.

Primer is necessary to apply onto the walls for a long lasting finish. If you are painting a dark colored wall to a light color, you need to prime the wall first. Once you’ve primed the walls, you then don’t require a third or fourth coat.

Pour the paint into the tray, dip your roller and start applying. Do slow, vertical strokes, when painting higher walls use an extension pole to help you out!

Once you’re done, wash away the brushes and keep them aside, use warm water to clean the brushes and viola they are good as new.