How to Achieve a Professional Paint Job

When you apply the layers of paint, it's not just about coverage, but also about achieving a uniform thickness. Professional painters don't just add color, they provide texture, according to Doug Wold of Queen Anne Painting. Mixing the paint correctly is essential to avoiding a spray-painting job with stains. Before starting, make sure to shake the can of spray paint for at least 60 seconds, especially if it has been sitting for a while.

One of the best ways to tell the difference between a quality paint job and a cheap one is to look at the smoothness of the lines at the joints and edges. For example, check where the ceiling meets the wall; is the line clean and straight, or is it wavy and sloppy? What about the corners where two colors meet? Are the lines sharp and distinct? Also inspect the baseboards, door frames, and window frames. In each of these areas, quality paint should result in clean lines and straight edges. Whether you're using dye or paint, make sure that the brush is right on the surface you're painting.

A professional house painter will remove any items or cover them with adhesive tape with care before painting. Here are some tips I've learned from painting hundreds of furniture and kitchen cabinet sets. To avoid little fluff doodles embedded in freshly painted walls, your home center or local hardware store offers many standard 9-inch roll-up cages and covers for painting walls. However, these are not the only sizes to consider.

Brushing the same area, especially after the paint has started to dry, will result in unsightly brush marks and ridges. As with cleaning brushes, you can't paint very well with equipment that's covered in dry paint. If spray-painted coatings become uneven due to improper conditions or low-quality sprayers, you may end up with stains. If you don't have help from a friend and you're working alone, try to cut only what you can roll up while the paint is still wet.

Even if you've already finished most of the project, you can get rid of those stains without having to completely redo your painting work. Many homeowners paint the walls first and then move on to the molding while they wait for the first coat to dry. Finally, if you've chosen the wrong paint gloss for the job, no matter how good your application technique is, it won't turn out as expected.