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4 Common Painting Mistakes

When painting your house, common painting mistakes can ruin a perfectly good project. Even the small ones can be bothersome. Important steps that we omit or ignore will have a direct impact on the quality of our painting job.

Not prepping the surface – One of the BIGGEST painting mistakes

  • Most DIY-ers often skip this step, probably because they’re too eager to take on the painting part. As long as the surface looks clean, they think that it is ready to be painted.
  • Even if the surface does look spotless when viewed at a distance, it is still important to clean it. This is whether it is the exterior or interior surface. A dirty surface is a no-no when house painting because it can affect how well the paint adheres.
  • Although it doesn’t look like it, interior walls gather tiny particles of dust and dirt, as well as other things like cobwebs.  Just clean the interior walls with a damp cloth, rag, or sponge.
  • Exterior surfaces need a lot more cleaning. This is because they are more susceptible to weather elements in addition to dust and dirt. If you live in a moist area, for instance, your house most likely has mold or mildew, which you can remove by a water-and-bleach solution.
  • People may also prefer to use a power washer on the surfaces to be painted. If they don’t have a power washer on their own, they can rent it.
  • After washing, make sure that the surface is completely dry before you can proceed to the next step, such as fixing any flaws (like cracks and holes), caulking, priming (if necessary) and then painting.

Not sampling the paint colors

  • If the first paint color you’ve chosen turns out to be a decorative disaster, you will go out of your way to buy another gallon of paint of a different color. You don’t have to commit a costly mistake if you sample the paint colors first.
  • Using paint color chips or swatches is not usually a good idea. This is because they don’t give you a good preview of the color once it’s painted on the surface. The better way is to buy samples of paints and applying them in an inconspicuous area. Study it at different times of day to see how the color changes when it’s hit by the light. This is where you will be able to decide whether that color looks great all day. Remember, this will be on the walls for a long time.

Buying and using cheap paints – Another painting mistake

  • If you think that buying cheap paints will give you a bang for your buck, think again. Cheap paints are typically insufficient to protect the surface from dust, dirt, sunlight, and moisture. In addition, they quickly fade over time. Plus, they generally don’t provide good coverage, which leads you to apply more coatings and you may end up buying more paint than you should.
  • High-quality paints don’t come off as cheap but are otherwise well worth your money. These paints require fewer coats, and their durability offers the walls a much-needed layer of protection.  Buying a cheap paint is mistake #3 when it comes to the top 4 painting mistakes.

Not having the proper tools or using poor quality tools

  • Even if you have the quality paints if you don’t have the right tools your painting job could still end up a mess. Make a list of the tools that you really need — brushes, rollers, paint trays, buckets, caulk, scrapers, painter’s tape, drop cloths and lots more — and make sure that you haven’t forgotten anything. 

    To help avoid the mistakes give us a call at Local SD Painting we would love to help!   (619) 586-5683

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