How to Paint a Wall Like a Pro

How to Paint a Wall

1. Choose Your Color

   Looking at swatches in store is fun, but to figure out what will look best in your space, you'll want to take home a sample can. Paint a little area on your wall or walls and take note of what it looks like during the day vs. at night and in a dark corner vs. near a window. You'll want to make sure you love it as much at 10:00 AM as you do at 3:00 PM! Some companies, like Clare, can send you peel-and-stick vinyl swatches to test with, which means you don't have to paint your walls at all. Win! Once you've chosen your color, make sure you buy enough. The general rule of thumb is one gallon per 350-400 square feet.

2. Clean the Walls

   • Use a broom to clear out hard-to-reach dust and cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling.
   • Vacuum baseboards and window sills with a hand-held vacuum or bristle attachment. Then run a wet cloth over these areas.
   • Using a large cellulose sponge and a solution of water mixed with a few drops of mild dishwashing liquid, clean the walls to remove any dust, dirt, and grease.
   • Wipe down the walls with a damp cloth to remove soap residue.

3. Tape the Trim

   Use blue painter's tape (not masking tape) to protect areas you don't want your paint to get on, such as trim, molding, doorknobs, window frames, and door frames. Run long strips of tape just inside the outer edges of these areas. (The outer edges of the tape should lie exactly where the wall meets the trim, covering the parts of the trim that your roller or paintbrush might hit when you paint.)

4. Pour Primer in a Tray

   • If you're using tarps for the floor, set them out now.
   • Line the paint tray with a plastic liner or tin foil to make cleanup easier later.
   • Pour in enough paint so that it almost fills the well toward the bottom of the tray without covering the angled portion of the tray where the ridges are.

5. Brush the Corners

   • Start with the corners—the areas the roller won't reach. Using a 2-inch angled paintbrush, dip the bristles into the paint about a third of the way. Gently slap the insides of the can to remove excess paint.
   • Brush on paint around the trim and in the corners of the walls with the brush. Extend out 2 to 3 inches from windows, doors, and moldings.

6. Roll the Primer Onto the Wall

   • Dip your roller into the primer, rolling it back and forth across the tray's ridges a few times to remove any excess and prevent drips. Make sure the roller gets evenly coated.
   • Run the roller up and down a section of the wall, applying primer until the section is fully covered. Continue until your wall is fully covered, reapplying primer to the roller as needed.
   • Follow the manufacturer's drying instructions, which you'll find on the can, to make sure the primer is completely dry before applying paint.

7. Roll on Paint in a "W" Shape

   • Fill a paint tray with paint and dip your roller into it, removing the excess.
   • Roll the paint onto the wall in a 3-by-3-foot "W" shape. Working your way back across that "w" without lifting the roller, fill in empty patches until that section of wall is fully covered.
   • Continue, adding more paint to the roller as needed, until the whole wall is painted.
   • Consider using an extension pole (one of the common techniques used by pro painters), even on the walls, to make it easier to refill your paint roller and cover your wall more quickly.

8. Remove the Painter's Tape

   Peel off the tape while the paint is still wet (ideally about an hour after you've finished painting) to avoid accidentally removing any dried paint along with it. Leaving the painter's tape on too long is one of the most common painting mistakes people make.

9. Know When Your Paint Is Dry

   Different kinds of paint dry at different speeds—and they'll feel dry to the touch before they're ready for you to lay on an extra coat. A latex-based paint will feel dry to the touch in about an hour, and be ready for a second coat in four hours. An oil-based paint takes six hours to feel dry, and you should wait a day to apply a second coat.