Painting a wall? How do you proceed?

Painting your walls can give a fresh look to your interior. Giving your walls a new color immediately changes the look of the room. But sometimes it's just necessary to paint your walls. After all, over time, your walls can start to look musty. Also, paint may begin to peel, causing a new coat of paint to emerge.
 
Painting walls in itself is not that difficult. In principle, any do-it-yourselfer could do it themselves, without much can go wrong. Although the quality of the work can of course differ from that of a professional.
 
If you want to start painting yourself, we have developed a detailed step-by-step plan that you can follow to paint your wall. We take a closer look at the types of paint you can use and the different steps you need to follow.
 
For those who do not feel so sure, we have also compiled a price table with target prices, for those who would still like to work with a professional painter.
Types of paint: Let's start with the types of paint you can use to paint your walls. Anyone who has ever stepped into a do-it-yourself store knows that there are many types of paint. There are some differences between all types of paint, so it is worth knowing which type of paint is best for your wall.
 
Broadly speaking, there are two main types of paint: oil-based paint (alkyd or synthetic paint), and water-based paint (vinyl, acrylic, and latex paint). Oil-based paint is thicker, gives a more durable result, but is also less easy to paint with. If you have painted with oil paint, brushes are also less easy to clean afterwards. You then have to clean it with solvents or white spirit.
 
Water-based paint is thinner, easier to paint, and therefore the best choice for novice painters.
 
So even within the 2 major paint categories you still have subspecies within which you have to make a choice.
1.    Acrylic paint Acrylic paint is paint based on acrylic. It is a more expensive type of paint that is mainly characterized by its vapor permeability. With acrylic paint, your wall gets an additional protective layer that easily absorbs and releases air and vapor. Because of these properties, this type of paint is mainly used in fairly humid areas, such as the kitchen or bathroom. In other areas, this paint is less popular because of the higher price.
2.    Latex paint Latex paint, in contrast to acrylic paint, is much less vapor permeable. It is a paint that insulates much better, making latex paint much better suited to create a pleasant indoor climate. In addition, latex paint is also cheaper than acrylic paint, making it slightly more popular as well.
3.    Textured paint Textured paint is a type of paint that is aimed at applying some kind of structure or relief to your wall. In fact, textured paint is a thick, pasty latex paint to which silver sand or quartz has been added. This allows you to create structure on a flat surface. With textured paint it is also much easier to mask irregularities in the wall.
How much paint do you need? To determine how much paint you need, it is important to first calculate the surface area of ​​your wall. The area is calculated by multiplying the number of meters in length by the number of meters in width. Of course you have to subtract the surfaces that are not to be painted from this. Think of doors or windows.
 
Now that you know the surface to be painted, you can estimate the number of liters of paint. Usually the size of the surface to be painted is stated on the paint pot. But this usually depends on the thickness of the paint and the substrate.
 
To give an example, with 1 liter of latex paint you can paint an average of 5 to 8 square meters of wall.
Roadmap: Once you have chosen the right paint, you can get started. Painting your wall is not that difficult in itself, but of course you have to do it correctly. In concrete terms, this means that you cannot just fly in. Good preparation is just as important.
Preparation: You start the preparation by creating the necessary space for yourself. Everything that stands in the way, such as tables, chairs and cupboards, is best removed to another room. This not only gives you the necessary space, you also prevent them from getting paint splatters.
 
Everything that remains after that, such as fixed furniture, window boxes or floor coverings, should also be covered with a foil, so that they also do not get paint splatters.
 
When everything is covered, it's time to clean the walls. You only paint walls when the wall is completely clean and free of dust. For most walls it is sufficient to clean the walls with a cloth and a vacuum cleaner.
 
Don't forget to make your wall even. Holes and cracks must therefore be filled with filler. This is best applied with a putty knife. After applying the filler, sand the wall with a fine-grit sandpaper.
 
If there is still an old layer of paint on the wall to be painted, you should first see if it needs to be removed. Normally you can perfectly paint over an old layer of paint. But if this old layer of paint peels off, it's a good idea to scrape it off completely first. You can do this with a scraper and sandpaper. Even after scratching, you have to clean the wall before moving on to the next stage.
Primer: You start painting by first applying a base coat or primer. Especially with new walls it is important to first apply a primer, since the paint will then adhere better to the wall.
 
For a brick wall it is best to use a long-haired roller, while for plastering or plasterboard walls it is best to use a short-haired roller.
 
It is best to apply the primer crosswise. First put some vertical stripes, and then roll them out horizontally. Gently roll out the last roller stripes for an even result.
Wall painting: After applying the primer, you can start painting the wall. Make sure that the base coat has dried thoroughly before applying the first coat of paint. This usually takes at least 6 hours.
 
Painting the finishing layer is best done in a structured way. Start by painting around the edges and corners with a paint brush. Afterwards you go over this again with a small paint roller, to smooth out the paint and avoid streaks.
 
In a second phase you can start painting the large surfaces with a large paint roller. Divide the large areas into an imaginary small area of ​​about one square meter. Paint alternately horizontally and vertically so that the paint is evenly spread and there are no streaks. When painting, use the paint roller with an even pressure.
 
You often need to apply a second or third coat of paint to get good coverage on the wall.
Finish: After painting, it is best to remove the tape when the paint has not yet dried. After all, it is much easier to remove a tape when the paint is still wet. In addition, you have much less chance of stripes or a jagged line at the edges.
 
If you want to use your material later, wash your brushes as soon as possible. Don't give paint a chance to dry on your brushes. Especially when you have painted with oil paint, it is important to wash paint brushes as well as possible. For oil paint, use solvents or white spirit. You can use water for watercolors.
Wall painting price: Painting walls in itself is not that difficult. Little can go wrong when painting a wall. Although the quality of the delivered work can of course differ between that of a beginner and that of a professional. If you have little experience with painting a wall, paint splatters can sometimes fly around. Also a wall with stripes is a classic mistake for beginners.
 
Don't you feel so sure? Then it is best to outsource the work to a professional painter. They paint walls day in and day out, and can guarantee a perfect result. Moreover, they can also assist you with color advice.
 
A professional painter guarantees a beautiful end result, but of course also costs some money. How much it costs, of course, depends on the surface to be painted.
If you're looking for a painting contractor Los Angeles, then your search will end at our company. We provide both interior & exterior painting service with a strong focus on quality and customer satisfaction. You can choose residential or commercial painting jobs and know that you'll be hiring the best professional service.