As a professional painting contractor in Newark, Armin Painting and Wallpapering LLC loves to share interior painting tips with our customers. We’ve helped so many clients fix painting jobs, that we’re very familiar with mistakes that are common with interior painting.
Interior painting takes a lot of work to get right. You can’t skip the prep work or start slapping paint on the walls, or else you’ll wind up making one of the biggest and most common interior painting mistakes, rushing through the painting.
Rushing Through the Interior Painting
Whether you hire a Kearny painting contractor or you do the work yourself, you don’t want to rush through the project. That’s definitely a mistake.
If you see your house painter cutting corners or not taking the time necessary to create a flawless paint finish, you should probably look for someone else. If you’re doing the interior painting yourself, plan for enough time to complete the work.
Remember that professionals paint much quicker than you could, so make sure you have enough time on weekends or after work to complete the job. Otherwise, you’ll wind up rushing through the project.
- Take your time when roller painting the walls
- Plan enough time for the project to get completed
- Purchase painting materials in advance
- Get help if you are painting the interior of your entire house
Neglecting the Prep Work
Painting over dirty interior walls and baseboards is a no-no. While you can’t easily wash a wall with flat paint on it, you can vacuum it and use a damp towel to clean it.
Make sure you use about three teaspoons of laundry detergent in a gallon of water to clean grease off the walls in the kitchen if they get painted in a semi-gloss. If there’s cracked or flaking paint, scrape it off and smooth the surface before starting the interior painting project.
Forgetting to Use Primer Over Bright Colors
If you are choosing to use different interior paint colors, don’t forget to use a primer over brightly painted walls. Otherwise, the original paint color will bleed through the new paint. Even if it’s only slightly noticeable, you won’t get the exact color you wanted to achieve. Your fresh cream-colored paint could look dingy, or your beautiful blue may turn out purple!
Not Removing the Wallpaper
One of the biggest interior painting mistakes is to paint right over old wallpaper. Don’t be tempted to do it! Either you or the future owner of your home will eventually be dealing with the peeling wall paint as the wallpaper starts to rise at the seams. Let us tell you that it’s tough to remove all the layers without destroying the wall surface underneath.
Since the history of our area is so rich and deep, many of the older homes in Belleville still have old wallpaper on the walls. It’s much better to remove the old wallpaper before you start the interior painting project. Remember, the wall will need to be repaired before painting if it’s damaged during the process.