Before I give you house painting tips, let me say that if your last set-to with a paintbrush involved the use of those old-fashioned oil base paints, you're in for a jolt. The new coats that have arrived on the market go on like no paint you've ever handled before. They're available in a range of colors varied enough to confuse an electronic brain (but not a housewife). What's more they set new records for durability, washability and beauty.

Since you are after house painting tips, you've probably found out about the latex or alkyd paints that are on the market under quite a few different brand names. Most of these do an excellent job. However, when you buy paint do not try to skimp on quality.

Foremost of my house painting tips is that for the most part this is one field where you get what you pay for. Top quality paint put out by a reputable firm is not cheap.

While not one of my house painting tips, I have to say the strangest and, to a large extent, the most fantastic paint that has come along in a good many years is the new Lucite wallcoating. This stuff is not a liquid and it is not a paste. It's a sort of jell about the same consistency as mayonnaise. Lucite paint is ready to apply directly from the can with no stirring or thinning.

Before I go on to painting techniques for my house painting tips, I have to say that with Lucite wallcoating you can dunk a brush into this glop and pick up a generous portion at one time without having the paint run down your elbow. An odd thing happens when you touch the brush to the wall and start to flow on the paint too. It goes on with a sleek smoothness that seems almost unbelievable.

Painting Techniques

On to some useful house painting tips relating painting techniques – with a brush, paint the areas along base_boards, trim and corners. These are tough to cover with a roller. Paint the ceiling first. Your best bet here is a paint roller coupled to an extension handle. DuPont and several other companies put out a special paint for ceilings that has added hiding power so that one coat will often do the job of two.

Here's one of my handy house painting tips: the trick to handling most of the new paints is to first concentrate on slobbing the paint onto the wall, then, before you move onto another area, smooth the coating with multiple side-by-side roller strokes running in the same direction.

You'll find this next set of house painting tips helpful: take care of the walls next. The job will be easier if you plan to work in a series of vertical panels about as wide as you can comfortably reach. Roller coat the top part first. Your extension handled roller makes this job simple. Finish up the rest of the panel with a standard roller. Most of the new paints can be touched up even after the coating has dried – just be cautious.

This is one of my simpler house painting tips: if you notice a spot you missed, even days later, just give it a quick swipe with a brush or roller.

Many of the new paints dry so quickly that a second coat can be applied even an hour or so later. This means that by the time you've finished painting your way around the room you're back to the starting point and all set for the second coat. Because of this, a two-coat job can be a one-evening job – you'll be able to apply all of your house painting tips in one go!

You'll notice that in my house painting tips, little space has been devoted to the subject of primers or undercoating. Most of the new paintings are their own undercoat. This varies from brand to brand, however. Check the manufacturer's instructions on the label and if a primer is required use the right type and apply it as detailed.

Above all, have fun with your painting!

Article originally published at Source by Russell R. Freeman