One of the easiest and fastest renovation projects you can do is changing the paint color of a room. It is reliably inexpensive, but has a drastic effect on the overall 'look' of any room in your home.

Painting is also one of the most popular do-it-yourself projects, but many people make some simple mistakes which can cause the finished job to look like it was a do-it-yourself job.

To create a professional paint job, there are three simple tips which will have a huge effect on your painting.

1. Always prime before you paint. A while ago a friend of mine phoned in complete frustration. After painting a wall four times, he could still see an old stain. He explained how after the first two coats looked good, then a few days later the stain was visible. And after his fourth coat and a gallon of paint he did not know what to do.

My response. "Did you prime the walls?" Of course his response was no. I went on to explain to him that especially with stains, you need to use a sealing primer to stop a stain from coming through your new paint.

Paint provides durability and color, but not bonding and stain blocking.

Save yourself time, frustration, and money. Prime before you paint, it gives you a nicer, smoother finish and seals any impurities from 'boring' through the paint.

2. Choose the correct finish. There is nothing worse than spending hours painting to create your new room, and in the first week someone puts a dirty hand print on your wall. You grab your damp rag and wipe it off, to discover you wiped off paint at the same time. Now your fresh wall has a different color splotch.

When you are choosing paint, ensure you are getting the right finish as well as the color you want. You do not want to put a flat finish in a high traffic area because flat paint can not be washed.

In the same instance you do not want a high gloss finish in a room with a lot of natural light, as they will literally sparkle and show every flow or discipline in your wall.

Think in terms of traffic, light, and room use as you choose both your paint color and finish.

3. Let the paint work. You spend a lot of time prepping the walls or doors, carefully sanding and priming so you will have the perfect finish. As you start to paint you realize there are horrible brush marks everywhere. All your prep work is for nothing if your paint brush leaves lines everywhere.

When you are painting with a brush, do not overwork the paint. Brush it on and let the paint flow to fill the brush marks. By pressing too hard or not using enough paint on your brush, you will not get rid of those brush marks.

If you do get brush marks, let it dry, sand with 220 grit sand paper to rough up the surface, and repaint allowing the paint to fill in the lines, not you.

By following three easy tips you will have a drastic impact on the way your paint project will turn out. Take your time to prep, choose your proper paint, and allow the paint to do it's job. You will be a lot happier with the effort that you put into it

Article originally published at Source by C. Mark Babcock