Interior painting tips
Discussion
Dave_ST220 said:
dave_s13 said:
Pay someone to do it.
Decorating is a f
king awful, awful job. I detest it with a passion.
+1 Decorating is a f
king awful, awful job. I detest it with a passion. 
Pick colours, go on holiday, come back to a freshly decorated house.
Last holiday we had the entire upstairs repainted and laminate flooring laid in the bathrooms and master bedroom.
Having just been through the agony that is 'a little freshen-up of the living room before Christmas' and still in the midst of Sistine Chapel levels of intricacy painting the nursery for the impending mini-me, if I've one tip of value to pass on as a complete novice it would be to ditch the idea of tape for the edges!
Masking tape is the devil's creation.
1. If you leave it too long, it hardens and then rips the paint away.
2. If you peel it off too soon, it's still soggy with the paint so leaves its adhesive behind.
You either
a. scrape this adhesive off immediately (although it's soaked and soggy with paint which WILL go everywhere) or
b. you decide to let the paint dry (by which time the adhesive will have hardened and will pull off the paint it was stuck to)
3. Since you're unlikely to live in a greenhouse, the walls of your house probably aren't glass so there will be tiny gaps under the edges of the devil's tape which although they may look minuscule to you & I, are like a yawning chasm where paint of the wrong colour is concerned. Even my jelly-like non-drip fancy dan paint put me in mind of the dye they use to find cracks in cylinder-heads in these areas resulting in walls or ceilings having to be done again (again)!
I love decorating, me.
Masking tape is the devil's creation.
1. If you leave it too long, it hardens and then rips the paint away.
2. If you peel it off too soon, it's still soggy with the paint so leaves its adhesive behind.
You either
a. scrape this adhesive off immediately (although it's soaked and soggy with paint which WILL go everywhere) or
b. you decide to let the paint dry (by which time the adhesive will have hardened and will pull off the paint it was stuck to)
3. Since you're unlikely to live in a greenhouse, the walls of your house probably aren't glass so there will be tiny gaps under the edges of the devil's tape which although they may look minuscule to you & I, are like a yawning chasm where paint of the wrong colour is concerned. Even my jelly-like non-drip fancy dan paint put me in mind of the dye they use to find cracks in cylinder-heads in these areas resulting in walls or ceilings having to be done again (again)!
I love decorating, me.
I've used pads and rollers for DIY decorating. As I am a slap it all over merchant (Henry Cooper is my hero) I find rollers are fine if you are then painting all the wood work afterwards. When I did my current flat I just wanted to refresh the walls and I found that a pad gave off no "overspray" as you get with a roller - I couldn't get a shield at the time and had no time to wait till I could.
I've never seen pros in commerical work use pads, but then I've never seen those pros be worried about carpets or furniture either as they usally follow.
The other things I would say is that refreshing the walls will show up all the shortcomings of the gloss and ceiling, so bite the bullet and do it all or be prepared to put up with it. I also concur with pay a bit more for good (but not gucci) kit and paints, it will pay off many times over.
I've never seen pros in commerical work use pads, but then I've never seen those pros be worried about carpets or furniture either as they usally follow.
The other things I would say is that refreshing the walls will show up all the shortcomings of the gloss and ceiling, so bite the bullet and do it all or be prepared to put up with it. I also concur with pay a bit more for good (but not gucci) kit and paints, it will pay off many times over.
singlecoil said:
It doesn't 'need' rubbing in, but if it is applied with a pad then it will stick better than if it is applied with a roller. That may not be important if it never comes under any stress, the adhesion achieved with a roller will be perfectly adequate. But if anyone ever sticks anything to it, for instance double-sided tape to hold up a poster, when it's removed the paint will probably come with it.
But if that doesn't happen, then there will be no problem using a roller. A pad will give a better finish but with a matt surface I doubt anyone will notice the difference.
A pad is just as fast as a roller, BTW.
We've painted somewhere in the region of 150 houses this year. I have 6 guys doing it and not one of them uses a pad, nor has anyone else I know that does it professionally - and no, speed isn't the name of the game, quality is for us. But if that doesn't happen, then there will be no problem using a roller. A pad will give a better finish but with a matt surface I doubt anyone will notice the difference.
A pad is just as fast as a roller, BTW.
If a bit of double sided tape takes paint off your walls that easily, either your preparation, paint and/or application is poor.
Adhesion should never be problem with rolled latex / emulsion.
The only thing I'd take over a rolled finish, is a sprayed one.
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