How to paint a room like a pro

Key takeaways:

• Cutting in before rolling is what separates a clean paint job from a sloppy one.
• Choosing the right roller nap for your wall texture prevents the most common coverage mistakes.
• Tinted primer saves time and money when painting with dark colors. 

A fresh coat of paint is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to change the look and feel of a room whether you're selling your home or upgrading it.
"Fresh paint is one of the best tricks to make a home look sharp!" said Ellen Hill Strife, an agent with Sotheby's International Realty in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Buyers love to see clean bright walls," she said. A freshly painted home in a neutral color in many cases will "sell quicker than a home that has had the same paint for the last decade.”

Here are some tips on how to carefully prepare for painting to help you achieve the results you want.

Before you start, the color you choose matters beyond appearance. "Nothing is sadder than fresh paint that's the wrong color," said Strife.

Blues, greens and browns tend to produce calming, cool feelings that remind people of nature. Reds, yellows and oranges create a more energetic, upbeat atmosphere. Neutral tones like grays, taupes and warm whites work well in spaces where you want a clean backdrop that does not compete with furniture and decor.

"There are so many ways to pick paint colors, but the tried and true best way is to pay for the small can of paint and put three or four colors on the wall," Strife said. "The color online will look different in your room, near your floor, with light filtered through your windows. The printed samples don’t always catch the undertones just right, and you don’t want to have to paint twice!"

Related content:

• Experts offer picks and tips for choosing paint to boost homebuyer interest
  

You can begin painting once you've chosen your color. The first step is cutting in, meaning painting the edges and corners of a wall before using a roller. This includes the lines where the wall meets the ceiling, baseboards, door frames, window trim and adjacent walls. It is the most detail-oriented part of the process, and doing it well makes everything that follows easier.

How to do it:

• Use a quality angled brush, typically 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide. An angled brush gives you more control than a flat brush when working along straight lines.
• Apply a steady line of paint right up to the ceiling or molding. Painter's tape and edging tools help keep lines clean, especially if you are not confident painting freehand.
• Feather out any harsh brush marks as you go. If they dry before you roll, they will show through the finish.
• Work in sections of about 3 to 4 feet at a time. Completing one section fully before moving to the next keeps the edge wet and prevents visible seams.
• Work carefully. Cutting in takes patience, but clean edges make the rest of the job easier and produce a better result.

One common mistake is cutting in an entire room before rolling. If the cut-in paint dries before you roll into it, you may see a visible line where the brushed and rolled areas meet. Instead, cut in one wall at a time and roll that wall before moving on.
Related content:

• Your old home's old paint holds some hidden history

Once the edges are done, switch to a roller for the main wall surface. The roller covers large areas quickly and produces a more uniform texture than a brush.

Choose the right roller nap. Roller sleeves come in three nap lengths, and the right one depends on your wall texture and paint finish:

• Short nap (3/16 to 1/4 inch). Holds less paint. Works well with glossy and semi-gloss finishes on smooth surfaces because it leaves a flat, even coat with minimal texture.
• Medium nap (3/8 to 1/2 inch). A good all-purpose choice for most interior walls with a standard texture. This is what most homeowners will need.
• Long nap (3/4 inch and above). Holds more paint. Best for rough or heavily textured surfaces such as stucco, brick or popcorn-adjacent textures. Leaves a more noticeable stipple effect.

Using the wrong nap length is a common mistake. A long nap on a smooth wall leaves an unwanted orange-peel texture. A short nap on a textured wall fails to get paint into the low spots, leaving gaps in coverage.

Prep the sleeve. Some painters give it a light misting of water from a spray bottle, then scrape it down with a five-in-one tool, a hand tool that combines a scraper, putty knife, paint can opener, roller cleaner and a sharp tip to widen drywall before patching. The tool removes loose fibers that would otherwise end up stuck in the paint on your wall. It takes 30 seconds and saves time on touch-ups later.

Load the roller. Pour paint into a roller pan and load the sleeve evenly. Roll it back and forth on the ramp of the pan to distribute the paint.

Apply the paint. Follow these steps for even coverage:

1. Start about 6 to 8 inches from the top or bottom of the wall to avoid accidentally hitting the ceiling or baseboard with the roller.
2. Use a slow zigzag motion to distribute paint across a 3- to 4-square-foot section at a time.
3. Work quickly. Overlap wet paint with wet paint to avoid visible lap marks. Lap marks occur when the edge of one section dries before the next section is rolled into it, leaving a visible stripe.
4. Do not lift the roller off the wall unless you are reloading it with paint. Lifting mid-stroke creates start-and-stop marks.
5. After distributing the paint in a zigzag, go back over the section with light, even vertical strokes from top to bottom. This smooths out the texture and creates a consistent finish.
6. Roll as closely into your previously cut-in edges as possible to create a uniform blend between the brushed and rolled areas.

Most rooms need two coats for full, even coverage. Allow the first coat to dry completely before applying the second. Drying times vary by product, but most interior latex paints are ready for a second coat in two to four hours. Check the label on your specific paint for the manufacturer's recommendation.
Related content:

• Front door colors that sell: How a simple paint job can boost personality, appeal and buyer interest

If you are painting with a dark shade such as red or deep blue, start with a tinted primer. Visit your paint store and ask them to tint the primer to a shade recommended for your finish color.

A tinted primer base helps the finish color cover the walls faster and more evenly. Without it, dark colors often require three or even four coats to achieve full, uniform coverage, especially over a white or light-colored wall. A tinted primer gets you closer to the target color before your first coat of paint goes on.

It also saves money. Primer costs less than paint per gallon, so applying an extra coat of tinted primer before your color coats means you use less of the more expensive product to reach full coverage. Even with the added step, you may end up using fewer total gallons and less time than if you skip the primer and rely on extra coats of paint alone.

This technique is not necessary for lighter colors or when painting over a similar shade. But for any dramatic color change, particularly from light to dark, tinted primer makes a noticeable difference.

• Walls prepped and primed
• Painter's tape applied to trim, ceiling lines and edges
• Angled brush ready for cutting in
• Roller sleeve selected for your wall texture
• Roller sleeve misted and scraped to remove loose fibers
• Paint poured into roller pan
• Cut in one wall at a time, then roll before moving to the next
• Roll paint in 3- to 4-square-foot sections using a zigzag pattern
• Smooth each section with light vertical strokes
• Overlap wet paint with wet paint to prevent lap marks
• Allow the first coat to dry fully before applying the second

Most interior walls need two coats for full, even coverage. A single coat may look acceptable when wet but often reveals thin spots, streaks and uneven color once it dries. If you are making a dramatic color change, such as going from white to dark red, you may need a coat of tinted primer plus two coats of paint. Allow each coat to dry completely before applying the next. Most interior latex paints are ready for a second coat in two to four hours but check the manufacturer's label for the specific product you are using.

It depends on your skill level. Painter's tape helps produce clean, straight lines along ceilings, trim and edges, and it is especially useful for less experienced painters. If you are comfortable cutting in freehand with an angled brush, you can skip the tape and save setup time. If you do use tape, press the edges down firmly to prevent paint from bleeding underneath, and remove it while the final coat is still slightly tacky. Pulling tape off fully dried paint can peel the finish.

Lap marks happen when the edge of one painted section dries before the next section overlaps it, leaving a visible stripe. To prevent them, work quickly and maintain a wet edge by always rolling into paint that has not yet dried. Paint in 3- to 4-square-foot sections, reload the roller as needed and do not stop mid-wall for long breaks. If you are working in a warm, dry room where paint dries fast, consider adding a small amount of paint conditioner, such as Floetrol for latex paint, to slow the drying time and give yourself a longer working window.