Never Painted - Need Advice

leeegglestone

I have ordered a New Carpet for my Living Room & Stairs.

I have been thinking about whether to Paint the Ceiling, Walls, Skirting Boards & also the Doors too.

Not sure I would be changing the Colour as Id have absolute no idea what to choose. but a Fresh Lick of Paint its bound to make my Room more Refreshed, especially when I get the New Carpet & in time new Curtains & Sofa.

The Ceiling is White & the Walls are a Cream colour. New Carpet is a Brown/Red Colour, Fireplace and Wooden border around the Room on the Walls are all Brown.

I have never painted in my Life, picked some Paint out with my Mam for the Doors & Skirting Boards. What should I do before I paint, give them all a Wash or Scrub?

Also what Paint should I use for Ceiling & Walls.
The Walls is some Sort of Wallpaper, which you can Paint over, I was just going to leave that on for now as I am a sole occupier, maybe in the future be more adventurous.

Whats best to Paint either of them, Brushes, Rollers?

Do you paint the Coving too?

As you can see, a zillion questions, I know I should ask my dad and he would be happy to help, but i would like some satisfaction by attempting it myself, if it looks crap then maybe he can try to fix it.

tawnyowls

You'll need to wash down the woodwork with a sugar soap solution, but probably will get away with just dusting the walls. It's a good idea to use a small painbrush to get into all the corners int he skirting etc - should stop the brush you eventually use from picking up any dirt.

Generally it's emulsion for the walls - either silk, satin or matt. Matt is a flat finish, very good for covering up imperfections, whereas silk and satin have a reflective surface, good for making a room look bigger. You can paint over wallpaper, as long as it's not vinyl. It's best to use a roller when doing this, as it picks up less paint - too much paint can cause the wallpaper to bubble, and although you'll get this to a certain extent, it should flatten when it's dry, as long as you didn't overload it with paint.

You need either gloss or satincoat paint for the woodwork - again, gloss gives a shiny finish, whereas satincoat is more matt.

Brushes or rollers tends to be personal preference - most professional painters use a brush, but I prefer rollers. Emulsion rollers are furry, while gloss ones are foam. The gloss ones are useful for doing big areas like doors, but you'll need a brush for skirting etc. You'll also need a brush for doing the edges of walls even if you use a roller for the rest of it. Make sure you don't overload the roller, or you'll get splashing. There is also a product called a paint pad, which is a foam pad with lots of tiny bristles on it - these are often good for novices, as it's easier to get a straight line.

For either brushes or paint pads, it's important to rub them back and forth a few times to get rid of any loose hairs, and keep a lookout while you're painting to remove any hairs out of the painted areas if you spot them. Professional painters also advocate running a brush up and down a brick wall a few times to soften the tips of the bristles.

Yes, you can paint the coving. It's a stronger 'look' if you paint it a different colour to the walls/ceiling, but it's easier to keep them the same, then you don't need to worry about different paint splashing onto the wrong area.

Keep a wet lint-free cloth (like a J-cloth) handy to remove any spills and make sure to rinse it regularly - this will work on gloss too, but you'll find the cloth gets tacky after an hour or so, then it's best to chuck it away. Professional painters usually do the ceilings and walls first, then the woodwork, but I tend to do it the other way round, as it's easier to get emulsion off gloss rather then gloss off emulsion, so if you have to scrub a bit you don't take your newly applied emulsion off.

The UKTVStyle site has step-by-step instructions: http://www.uktvstyle.co.uk/index.cfm/uktvstyle/StandardItem.step/aid/98.shtml

leeegglestone

Heres some Pics of the actual Room and the Walls.
you think I should use a Roller to do the Walls, as well as the Ceiling?

I had never thought about Different Colour for the Coving. I think it would look nice, as a Brown Colour, however, if I dont want it to be that colour in the Future, it would be awfully difficult to make it back to white wont it.
Suppose painting it a different colour would be very tricky, as if It gets onto the Walls, its not likely goinna be easy to cover up considering the Walls are so Light.

I know B & Q has a sale on this Weekend, and also my local Homebase - I can get 15% off here because of where I work. So seems to be a good idea for me to buy my Paint this weekend

At present the Ceiling is White and the Walls are a Cream Colour.
Should I just get some Emulsion for both. I have no idea what Size Tin would be best.

Here some pics I took of the Room.
I dont understand why they have come out Darker, the wall dont look a yellow colour. I had the Light on and also the Flash. anyway gives an Idea.

http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc002524nx.jpg

http://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc002530xm.jpg

ceiling
http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc002546jg.jpg

arnie&caseysma!

Having seen your pics and if you are wanting to stay neutral colours why don't you paint the top part of your walls in a cream colour, and below the dado rail in a slightly darker colour. Crown do a nice colour called liqeur which I have just used on one wall in my house and they match great. I would be tempted to do the dado rail in a darker colour again and always do the coving in the same colour as the ceiling. If you want to change it then match it to the colour of the dado rail.

Re the amout of paint, it depends if the wallpaper has already been painted over - 5 litres of colour for the top and 5 for the bottom shold be plenty and would allow for 2 or even three coats if a third is needed.

My personal preference is to use a brush for the edges ('cutting in') and also for the dado/coving. I then use a painting pad for the actual main walls as these are much easier to use and give better coverage than a roller without splashing the paint everywhere.

The more you paint the more you will find out your own preferences, its all down to trial and error. Get a little help/friendly advice before starting out. Also, some lo-tack masking tape will help you keep the colour where you want it but make sure the surface is totally dry before you stick it on, and remove it as soon as you have finished aswell....

leeegglestone

Thanks for that. someone else has also mentioned doing two Colours, top and bottom.
Which would be nice. My mam said you can buy tiny pots of Paints so you can take home, paint a little on your Wall and see what It looks like.before purchasing your Big pot. Can you do this for the Emulsion ones. and do they have them in the likes of homebase & B n Q?

The Liqueur colour sounds nice for my Room, and Cream for the top.

If I do the Dado Rail. would I be best doing this First or Last?

My mam also recommends using the Painting Pad and says its probs gonna be better considering the Patterns on the Wallpaper.

Heath_Robinson

leeegglestone wrote:

mam said you can buy tiny pots of Paints so you can take home, paint a little on your Wall and see what It looks like.before purchasing your Big pot. Can you do this for the Emulsion ones. and do they have them in the likes of homebase & B n Q?

tester pots? yes you can and everywhere that sells paint does them.

leeegglestone

Have been to B & Q. Yes I know on a Saturday night not got a life etc. Stupid cinemas messed up my Booking.

Anyway I narrowed it down to a choice of 4 colours. 2 for the top, and 2 for the Bottom.

Dulux - Buttermilk
Dulux - Cookie Dough
(colourguard)

Dulux - Mellow Mocha - simply neutrals
Crown - soft Cream

Am gonna Pick a Wall and Paint a Section either Side of the Dado Rail of each Colour so I can see how they match up.

Theres 15% off on all Colour Emulsions too.
I def think with me being a Novice painter the Dulux Magic White for my Ceiling sounds like the best choice. My mam said I may have to use a Brush on the Ceiling instead of a Roller because of the Bobbles on the Ceiling, does that sound right?

tawnyowls

leeegglestone wrote:

Heres some Pics of the actual Room and the Walls.
you think I should use a Roller to do the Walls, as well as the Ceiling?

You've got the same doors as me!

A roller is easier to use on walls than on ceilings, unless you get one with an extendable handle, then it saves your neck aching. You should be able to use one on the ceiling, as long as you get the one with long fur. Should tell you on the label what surface it's suitable for. Otherwise, try the paint pad if you feel that would be easier. Make sure you get rid of all the hairs first, though, as they can really shed them.

I think 10 litres to do a room is possibly a bit much. I generally find I only use about 3 litres to give two coats. Even with wallpaper, which will soak up a bit, I would think 2.5 litres of each colour would be enough, especially as it appears to have been painted over already, which should seal it a bit, and you're not having to paint over a really dark colour, so two coats should be enough. You can use emulsion for both walls and ceiling.

As I said, I personally would paint the woodwork first before the emulsion purely for cleaning-up reasons. When you're using a brush, BTW, hold it like you'd hold a pen, and brush back and forth - that gives much more control. You'll need to use one with the tester pots anyhow, so that'll give you a bit of practice. B&Q do a particular range of brushes that I really like - they've got blue handles, and black plastic bristles that are slightly 'feathered' at the ends.

Another tip - you can keep rollers/brushes overnight without needing to clean them if you wrap them very tightly in a few layers of clingfilm.

leeegglestone

Have tried out my Testers on my Wall to see how they look and the diff combinations. Im not totally sure, or maybe im just not confident im gonna make a good choice and that its will end up looking not very nice.

Out of my choices, i may keep the Cookie Dough one for the Bottom half, however the Top im not sure. my mam thinks the Soft Cream one is better, theres hardly any difference to what the colour is at present when applied, thats probs why i thought to go for Buttermilk as its slight yellower compared to the Cream on the Walls now.

Have looked at lots of colours,maybe i need a couple more Testers for the Top. The more colours I see the more I dont know what I want

deca_321

can any1 give me any tips on glossing? should l buy 1 coat gloss and would only 1 coat be enough?? or should l just buy normal gloss and apply 2 or 3 coats?

and which is the best kind of gloss for a cornice

ormus

never use gloss on a ceiling or the cornice/coving.
always use a matt finish.