Brighten Up Your Home With a DIY Painting Project.
Choose the Paint
The paint in your home may contain 2-3 times the pollution outside your door. Going “green” is a colour decision and a lifestyle choice. Acrylic paint is hardy, with little scent, and cleans easily. Natural clay paints are popular in homes with an allergy sufferer. Natural milk paints are a powder that requires mixing with water. They are one hundred percent natural and extremely durable. Oil-based paints have their own set of properties and techniques. Just make sure you use a paint rated for your surface.
Test and Experiment
If you are unsure, simply purchases a sample pot of your paint, and paint some paint on the wall and let it dry. Test all your colours and wait one day to see what it looks like dry. It may not be exactly what you expected and it is much better to adjust now than repaint an entire room.
Gather Supplies and Equipment
Make sure you have extra rollers, sponges, tape, trays, brushes, edges, gloves, and masks on hand. There’s nothing worse on any DIY job than realizing you have to make a trip back to the building supply store after the paint is mixed and sitting out.
Protect and Serve
Fumes are not fun. Ventilate the room, use room fans, and take frequent breaks. Wear a fresh mask for every session and definitely use goggles when you tackle the ceiling. Paint fumes can affect your head and your lungs, so take care of yourself as your number one priority.
Preparation
Every time paint winds up where it should not you will spend extra time cleaning. You may even damage wood trim. Do not scrimp on your edging tools or tape. Always use painters tape to avoid paint seeping through, to avoid accidents, and create a good looking finish.
Protect flooring
It is best to cover the entire floor with dropsheets. You can purchase plastic cheap drop sheets from Bunnings (or your local hardware store). A few feet of drop cloths will not protect your floor from a dropped can of paint that splatters across the room. A roller tray that drops from a ladder will find unprotected floor space every time. Tiles are bad enough to clean up after a spill and the problem is even worse with hardwood or carpet coverings.
Every successful DIY project is a result of thorough planning. Follow the plan and the actual paint job will be completed without wasting time and effort.