If you are adequately prepared, a home painting project can go pretty smoothly, and you’ll come out of it with fewer complications and a greater sense of accomplishment. Not to mention, you’ll be more impressed with how things look.
The key is to have the right supplies for every stage of the painting process, and the following looks at some of the best items you can have.
Products for Preparation
Whether you are painting the exterior or the interior of your home, you need to prepare the walls. What you will need might depend on the condition your walls are in, but the essentials include:
- Patching materials. If you have cracks or holes, you need to get these filled prior to painting. Choose a caulk or spackle that’s appropriate and follow the directions to get a nice finish.
- Primer. A good primer is another essential product that can take care of problem areas and produce a better finish. There are many specialty primers, so make sure you identify what you need (stain-hiding, waterproofing, and much more) and get the primer that best satisfies that need.
- Sandpaper. If you are painting wood, especially, you may need to sand the area to remove old paint. Sandpaper is also necessary for smoothing out patches.
Products for Protection
Painting a home can result in disaster if you aren’t careful. Paint that gets on furniture, ceilings, and floors is almost impossible to remove, so you need the right products to make sure everything is protected.
- Drop cloths or plastic. When you are painting, you want to have an adequate supply of drop cloths and rolls of plastic. This way, you can cover up furniture, rather than move it, and the plastic will protect the floors from paint drips.
- Tape. Tape is an essential product that every painter should be using. You need to tape off the areas that you don’t want to get paint on, so you can put a layer of tape where the wall meets the ceiling and another layer where the wall meets the floor or the trim. Tape is also useful for securing plastic coverings.
Products for Painting
When it comes to the actual painting, the products you choose will dramatically impact the difficulty level of the job. The most important products include:
- Bucket and grid unit. Bucket and grid units are often far more effective than flimsy roller pans. With a bucket and grid, your rollers will absorb more of the paint, and you don’t have to pour paint as often. Buckets are also more difficult to spill, and they are easier to carrier around.
- Rollers. Paint rollers pair with the bucket and grid system, and they give you more coverage than a paint brush.
- Rigid roller extension. An extension for your roller is essential so that you’ll be able to reach the high points of your walls with little effort. You want the extension hand to be strong and rigid so that you can keep your painting quality consistent all along the wall.
Ray is an inspiring leader with a strong work ethic stemming from his exemplary upbringing in a caring and loving family environment. His parents modeled the importance of integrity and hard work to him and his siblings, values which Ray now instills in his teenage daughter. As the owner of Aspen Painting & Wallcovering, Inc., he leads by example by expecting nothing but the best from himself and his employees. His primary goal is to provide superior service and quality craftsmanship to each of his clients so that they become enthusiastic ambassadors for the company. Ray is a passionate team player who always strives to exceed expectations.