Paint Like a Pro: Essential Painting Checklist

Whether you’re adding a fresh lick of paint to your spare room or completely revamping every wall in the house, preparation is key to the success of any DIY painting project. By making sure that the prep work is carried out to a high standard before adding your top coat of colour, the final result will be a smooth, level application with no patchy areas for a professional-look, no-chip paint finish.

For an essential painting and decorating checklist, you will need:

Enough paint in the correct paint finish: An emulsion is generally used for plaster walls, but if the walls you are painting are in a high-traffic area like a hallway or a playroom, you’ll need a hard-wearing emulsion often named ‘modern emulsion’ or ‘intelligent emulsion’. You’ll also need to consider if the room you are painting has high humidity (like a kitchen or a bathroom) and if you have enough paint for a minimum of two coats (check the square metre coverage area on the back of the tin).
Paint tray and paint roller: you may require two trays and rollers - larger for the walls and mini for those tricky areas. Rather than the plastic trays that end up in landfills, instead, try the eco-friendly paint trays that can be composted.
Paint brushes in a variety of sizes: It’s always good to invest in high-quality paintbrushes which do not leave stray brush hairs in your paintwork.
Step ladder: A must for those hard-to-reach areas.
Painter’s tape: For those super-sharp paint lines. Always go for a low tack painter’s tape on previously painted surfaces.
All-purpose filler and a spreading knife: To repair the wall once you’ve removed any nails or hooks.
Something to cover your furniture: You can invest in large protective sheets, but often, old bedding or towels will do.
Old clean cloths/baby wipes: For any spills / excess paint.

Picking a paint colour

When picking a paint colour, it is important to take your time; try testing up to five shades and look at them in different lights throughout the day. Make sure that you apply each colour sample to various parts of the room: in some areas, the colour might look darker than in others.

Think about how you use the room and the atmosphere that you want to embrace: a task room where you need to see what you are doing would be best painted in lighter tones, while rooms that you relax in are good for embracing richer shades.

Protect surface areas

Clear everything out of the room as much as possible - decorating is easier when there is as much space as possible to move in. To protect your floor and anything that you cannot move, use protective sheets and cloths that can take paint splatters without seeping through.

Apply masking tape over areas that you do not want to paint (such as handles and sockets). For the best result, try to loosen switches and sockets away from the wall using a screwdriver and use painter’s tape for a professional join line if your paint colour will not be the same as your ceiling, window frames or skirting boards. As a general tip, it works best to use long pieces of tape (this makes it easier to achieve a straight line). Apply the tape at one end then move to the other end to line it up before securing it to the wall. Use an old credit card or plastic spatula to smooth down the painter’s tape, ensuring no paint infiltrates the tape underneath.

Set up your step ladder

Step ladders are super-handy for painting because they enable you to access areas that are out of reach, such as ceilings, door frames and coving. For your safety, adhere to the following guidance on positioning and erecting your step ladder:

Erect your step ladder directly below where you need to paint.
Check that any locking devices are fully secured before use.
Only set up your step ladder on flat ground that is sturdy and even.
Ensure that your ladder is standing on its feet - no other parts of the ladder are designed to take its weight.
Descend and reposition your ladder each time you complete a section. Never attempt to paint beyond your natural reach as this can cause the step ladder to become unstable and you may fall.

Prep your walls

Before you decorate, make sure that your walls are clean, dry, and in good condition. Remove any hooks and nails and fill any damage with an all-purpose filler. Sand back any uneven surfaces and fill in any movement cracks. Wash your walls with sugar soap and make sure that they are completely dry before adding any paint.

Prime

Unless this is the first time the walls are being painted, you likely won’t need to bother with applying a primer as long as you are using a good-quality emulsion and the colour you are painting over doesn’t have any strong undertones. However, if you are painting over a bright yellow or lime green, you may want to use a specialist undercoat or a couple of coats of pure brilliant white emulsion first to neutralise these vivid pigments. If your walls have water stain marks or other significant discolouration, it’s good to use a stain-blocking primer so that these do not push through into your new paintwork. If you have any damp areas, it’s important to find out the cause, resolve it and allow for the wall to dry fully before you begin decorating.

Paint the first coat

Take your medium-sized paint brush and carefully cut in the edges where the wall meets the ceiling, trim and corners. You can use the smaller brush for any particularly tricky sections such as around door frames and plug sockets (I prefer to use angled or pointy brushes for smaller areas). Use your roller to paint the main portion of the walls. For an even coverage, it helps if you work in sections using smooth, W-shaped strokes, going in the same direction.

The exact number of paint coats that you will need to apply will depend on the depth of colour that you are using: rich shades tend to take three to four coats, while lighter colours will generally be two. Make sure that there are at least four hours between coats and do not attempt to paint your walls in exceptionally cold or hot temperatures.

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