<p>We just got a quote for painting the main hallway that is astronomical, so I’m inclined to try it myself- assuming I won’t screw it up.</p>
<p>I painted a few of my rooms during and right after college, but I haven’t done it since.
And my standards are a bit higher now.</p>
<p>So if anyone out there knows how to do this, pointers appreciated.</p>
<p>Some specific concerns:</p>
<p>First of all, part of the high cost was for them to skim the evidently not completely smooth surface of the walls. The walls are currently painted with some multicolor lavendar pattern that more or less hides the “unsmoothness” (at least I never took particular notice of it), but they say when we paint it off-white as planned it may be more noticeable, particularly if we use flat paint. But we might get away with it if we don’t use flat paint, which would show every bump. So: what do we use? semi-gloss? satin? eggshell? are these all the same? None of the above, and I should get it skimmed?</p>
<p>Second of all, if it is. evident;y, not completely smooth, does that mean I have to use a brush for the whoe thing instead of a roller? That would certainly take longer.</p>
<p>Third of all, there is oen area near the stairs that was damage by the movers. I assume it has to be spackled, or repaired in some way, but I have no idea how to do that. Any tips?</p>
<p>Fourth of all, do I just get the paint I want and brush or roll it on there? Do I have to prep the walls somehow first? do I have to apply some sort of undercoat first?</p>
<p>not an expert by any measure, but I learned the hard way: the higher the gloss, the more it shows defects. Thus, flat shows the fewest defects. But, gloss has the most washability/durability. Higher gloss = bathroom/kitchen. Flat = adult bedrooms, DR. Hallways and kids bedrooms can go with a little more gloss, such as velvet/eggshell, which is more durable.</p>
<p>If you are going off white from a dark, I’d probably recommend a primer first. Some of the newer paints have built-in primer, which supposedly provide one coat coverage, but I’m skeptical.</p>
<p>Dunn-Edwards is a local SoCal company that has a decent website for tips.</p>
<p>Here’s some of my painting “rules” in more or less random order:</p>
<p>Flat is for ceilings only, use a satin or eggshell for the walls, semi-glass for trim.</p>
<p>Roll as much as you can, the roller will easily cover anything not totally smooth. A thicker nap on the roller will cover more imperfections.</p>
<p>I have two schools of thought on trim and cut out: 1) buy a really high quality angled trim brush (they cost around $20) for all the cut-out/trim work; 2) buy $1 disposable brushes and learn to paint neatly with them. In my house, I use only disposable brushes and throw them away, because I have a septic system and don’t want to put paint down it. If you wrap a roller in a plastic bag you will be able to reuse it for a couple days.</p>
<p>Spackling is easy, you by a container of spackle and a putty knife, smear it on with the putty knife and smooth it out. Get some drywall screen to sand it if you need to.</p>
<p>If the damage is large, it might take several coats of spackle, it will shrink as it dries. Really big damage may require drywall tape and joint compound.</p>
<p>The only prep is to clean the walls, fill in nail holes, etc. Buy a high quality paint so it will cover in one coat, this is paint in the $30/gallon range.</p>
<p>You should paint the ceiling too, use ceiling paint for this.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t skimcoat everything, unless the “unevenness” is is really noticeable.</p>
<p>Spackling is very good for small damaged areas. Get a putty knife and a jar of ‘light weight’ spackle, Red Devil makes a good one. Dip the knife into the spackle so it is on the front flat edge. Scrape it over the damaged area, pressing in with the flexible blade. You will go back over it so don’t be concerned if it bumps out a bit. Scrape the clean blade straight on over the spackle until it is even with the wall. If it is a large area, you’ll want to go over it again after it dries; better to ‘build up’ than ‘glop’. Wait til the spackle dries; sand lightly; paint. </p>
<p>It must be easy; I can do it.</p>
<p>[How</a> To Patch And Repair Walls With Red Devil, ONETIME® Spackling : Red Devil, Inc., Do it Right with Red Devil](<a href=“Red Devil > Home”>Red Devil > Home)</p>
<p>As for some of your other questions: yes to primer. 1stly, it will cover the lavender which can be a tricky color to overcome. 2ndly, it will mean you are spending less for paint as you may be able to cover everything with 2 coats instead of many. Definitely use 2 coats of color. You can probably use a roller with a longer ‘nap’ if the wall is a little rough. If it’s a lot rough, see what someone will charge to just skim coat it without the painting. Painting is labor-intensive, which is why painters get paid well. </p>
<p>“so what are the walls- drywall? plaster?”
Drywall. I think.</p>
<p>“Was there sand or other texturizer added to the previous paint?”
No, it feels even. . Its got a pattern to it, regular periodic splotches of yellow and purple squiggles on a light lavendar background. Unless you knew you’d think it was wallpaper. I don’t know how the prior owner did that. I actually don’t mind it at all, but my wife hates it, as do some of her friends.</p>
<p>“You should paint the ceiling too, use ceiling paint for this.”</p>
<p>Do I really need to do the ceiling too? The painters’ quote didn’t even include that. The ceiling looks like it has sand, or something, in it, is very grainy . It doesn’t look particularly bad too me now, are you saying after I’m done, with the freshly painted walls the ceiling will then likely look like crap by comparison?</p>
Yes, unless the ceiling was painted fairly recently (like, within a few years), it will look dirty and dingy.</p>
<p>Also, a popular thing to do these days is to tint the ceiling paint with some of the wall color. I’ve never done it, but it supposedly unifies the area more… for a hallway it may not be necessary. A roller will cover the texture on the ceiling.</p>
<p>You’ve already received good advice but I’ll second a few of them - </p>
<ul>
<li><p>I think your painter either gave you wrong advice or you mixed it up - the ‘flatter’ the paint the more it’ll hide surface imperfections. Also the comment about the texture and ‘unsmoothness’ seems odd. If there’s an issue you should be able to see it and if you don’t notice it now there’s a good chance it’s no big deal and won’t cause a problem when you repaint.</p></li>
<li><p>Shinier paint is easier to clean than flatter paint but it also has a sheen that some people might not want in certain areas. Eggshell or satin work pretty well for walls. Eggshell is sort of between flat and satin but how these will look exactly depends on the brand. </p></li>
<li><p>Spackling is easy - just use a premixed container and a putty knife and smooth it on and let it dry and then lightly sand if needed. If you don’t like the way it looks you can scrape it right off while it’s wet or sponge it off with a wet sponge after it’s dry.</p></li>
<li><p>Texturing is where more skill and experience is needed - especially to match an existing texture. However, you can still give it a try for smaller areas you’ve patched with spackle where the difference in texture shows. You can buy small texture spray cans at HD/Lowes. Practice a bit on a piece of scrap cardboard first. </p></li>
<li><p>Since you have a multi-color pattern there now you should use a primer coat first - something like Kilz2. It’s less expensive than the final paint and is designed to cover up although I’ve found I sometimes need to do 2 coats of it. It’ll also give you a chance to practice your painiting technique while you know it’s not the final coat. </p></li>
<li><p>Since you’re not that confident now, start with just a section - one side of a wall, and end wall, or something and paint that first to perfect your technique and so you’ll know you can do a good job of it.</p></li>
<li><p>Do get the appropriate supplies - a quality brush (like a 2.5" tapered brush), a 9" roller with rollers that are designed for the roughness of your walls (smooth, medium, rough), blue painter’s tape for masking, tarps/plastic or old carboard pieces for protecting the floor, stirring sticks for use by hand or a paint mixer for your drill, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally - you can do this! It’s not really that difficult to paint and the results can come out great as long as you’re careful and follow the basic painting techniques. If you mess up you can always just paint another coat on it. If the ‘unsmoothness’ is a problem after you’re done you can then deal with it if you want but there’s a good chance it’s fine.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>On the pattern - if you can’t feel the pattern with your hand then you s/b able to paint over it - first with the primer and then the finish coat. You may need to do multiple coats of one or the other or both depending on how it looks. If you feel the pattern you’ll probably need to sand it smooth first - probably not a difficult task.</p>
<p>On the nail holes - this is very easy to do - just put a very small amount of the spackle on your putty knife and fill the hole. You may be able to do it with just your finger by dipping it in the spackly and filling it with what’s on your finger. It takes about a second. Make sure you let it dry according to the directions on the spackle (although I sometimes cheat on this if it’s a small nail hole).</p>
<p>DH is not very handy but is actually a pretty good painter. He painted our hallway a year ago after we also received sky high estimates. We have plaster walls and I did hire a plaster guy to smooth them ( we were painting after taking down previous owner’s wallpaper )…he used an eggshell finish - Home Depot actually sells a paint that has primer in it - I can’t remember the name of the brand. Also, DH usually brushes around the trip first, then rolls everything. One thing he likes to do is wrap the brushes in foil and put them in the freezer - when you need to use again the next day or whenever, thaw for a little bit and you’re in business. Goodluck!</p>
<p>You can use the same type of paint on the ceiling- both the builder and professional painter did years later on our house. Also, eggshell is a good all around choice- not so flat you can’t wash it and not shiny. Sometimes a ceiling is painted white, or a lighter shade than the walls, or in the case of our basement stairwell I just painted ceiling and walls the same light color. Read various websights for painting tips. I used the blue painter’s tape on trim, an even better idea when I did the kitchen was to use a flat edging pad for where the walls met trim, the ceiling and corners where rooms met. Use a good quality paint- Behr, sold by Home Dept, is rated highly by Consumer’s Reports. Now might be some of the paint manufacturer’s sales- sometimes rebates. Definitely use a roller- the place you buy your paint from will tell you which work best for the wall surface and paint type (use latex paint). You can also ask questions at a place like Home Depot then buy stuff elsewhere- in other words, tap as many brains as possible. Plan on 2 coats. Wear old clothes- you will spill if you don’t change just because you only plan to do a little bit now… Also shoes. Cover the floor. And your hair. Wash things ASAP after finishing for the day, if you spill on clothes- easiest to get paint out of things. Really easy to paint, and enjoyable.</p>
<p>Preparing to paint takes longer than the actual painting. Do a good job with filling nail holes/repairs. Also note where you had holes you want to keep- paint may cover unspackled ones so you can’t find them- no reason to have to remeasure.</p>
<p>I’ve switched from blue painter’s tape to green FrogTape. I just painted a large bedroom with lots of trim, molding and a chair rail and there was no paint bleed under the FrogTape. Not a drop.</p>
<p>I’ve never done this for painting purposes, and the times I have taken off molding, it does significant collateral damage to both the walls and molding. And properly installing molding is a lot trickier than painting, not to mention the added costs of buying new molding.</p>
<p>"- I think your painter either gave you wrong advice or you mixed it up "</p>
<p>I would go with #2, I mixed it up.</p>
<p>“Also the comment about the texture and ‘unsmoothness’ seems odd. If there’s an issue you should be able to see it and if you don’t notice it now there’s a good chance it’s no big deal and won’t cause a problem when you repaint.”</p>
<p>Well it’s like this. I never noticed it. But when it was specifically called to our attention, when I’m deliberately looking at the walls for the specific purpose of seeing if there is apparent unsmoothness, one can easily see that yes there is.</p>
<p>“You can use the same type of paint on the ceiling”
Same kind as what? The walls?</p>
<p>"On the pattern - if you can’t feel the pattern with your hand then you s/b able to paint over it "</p>
<p>That’s the case, I can’t feel it.</p>
<p>“- Finally - you can do this!”
Actually it hadn’t even occurred to me that the ceiling would have to be thrown in too; it’s a high ceiling and I’m not sure I want to be on the top of the ladder, painting up on it. Some sort of high scaffold might be better, but that’s more than I bargained for.</p>
<p>It’s sort of looking less appealing with that thrown in.</p>
<p>notrichenough- the current wall is a dark color under the molding so IMHO if you are going to change the wall to a lighter color, might as well remove molding and prime and paint the whole surface.
My pickyness.</p>
<p>How high is the ceiling? The walls obviously go as high as the ceiling, how are you going to paint the top of the walls?</p>
<p>You can get really long extension handles for the roller. There are telescoping ones that go out to at least 12 feet, there are others with fixed segments, you can add as many as you need.</p>
<p>You don’t have to paint the ceiling, it just might not look as nice as the walls when you are done.</p>
<p>moneydad - Then skip the ceiling and tackle that another time if you feel it really needs it. It might not need it.</p>
<p>Walls generally have some texture on them and aren’t perfectly smooth. This is usually done on purpose to help hide imperfections. Are you sure you’re just not seeing the normal texture? Have you compared it to your other walls?</p>
<p>Don’t forget to get an extension ploe for your roller - this makes it go faster when reaching higher on the wall (but you still need to do the edge with the ceiling with a brush after putting painter’s tape on the ceiling edge).</p>