How to paint walls: what paint to choose and the sequence of works

Recommendation points

• Choice of paint and tools
• Calculation of the amount of paint
• Surface preparation and temperature selection
• DIY wall painting
• Decorative techniques for painting walls

Painting the walls will not seem like a daunting task to you if you approach it responsibly. You can easily paint the wall in a single tone or apply a color palette. How to choose paint and paint the walls with your own hands, we will tell you in this article.

Choice of paint and tools

For high-quality painting of the walls, you should prepare the necessary tool:

1. Fur or foam rollers. With fur rollers, you can create textured surfaces, and with foam rollers – smooth.
2. Set of brushes. Before buying, you need to check the strength of the pile. Pull the pile, if it comes out, then it is better to pick up other brushes.
3. Cuvette. Do not ignore this device, it contributes to a more uniform impregnation of the roller and saves paint.
4. Masking tape. Needed to protect unpainted areas.
5. Plastic spatula.

Water-based paint is most suitable for interiors. It is odorless, has a quick drying period, is environmentally friendly and breathable. In addition, it is elementary to use, and you can easily clean it from tools and hands. And the variety of shades that can be created using the color scheme is amazing..

To select the desired color, it is advisable to use the tinting service. It is rather difficult to create the desired tone with your own hands, because the water-based compositions change color after drying. And if you need to buy paint, then it will be quite difficult to repeat the tinting on your own..

There are 3 types of water-based compositions for walls:

1. Acrylic. They are strong enough, they lie flat on the surface, they are resistant to fading and abrasion, they can be washed.
2. Latex. An additional advantage of latex water-based emulsion is the coating formed after coloring and giving the surface additional moisture resistance and strength.
3. Silicone. Used in rooms with high humidity.

Calculation of the amount of paint

To calculate the required amount of paint, you need to know the area of ​​the painted surface. On the container with paint, the manufacturer can indicate the consumption per 1 m² or the total area of ​​the painted surface. The quality of the paint is of paramount importance. It is worth focusing on proven manufacturers.

Important! It is necessary to paint the walls in the interior in 2-3 layers. In addition, 20-30% must be added to the resulting volume, since the consumption indicated by the manufacturer is an approximate value and depends on many factors. Leftover paint has a long shelf life and can be reused.

To visually expand the space in the room, the wall with a window must be painted 1-2 tones lighter than the rest.

Surface preparation and temperature selection

The first and obligatory stage of surface preparation is cleaning, leveling and priming the wall. The surface must be primed thoroughly enough. It can be in two layers. This will promote better adhesion and economical paint consumption..

Small defects after cleaning can be putty, for deep cracks, a cement-sand mortar should be used.

If rust, mold or a greasy stain appears on the wall, then they must be removed. Rinsing with water and a primer with 10% copper sulphate helps well against rust. The oil stain can be removed with a 5% soda solution diluted with warm water. Moldy areas are effectively removed by special fungicidal compounds. If there is a fungus in the room, the walls should be treated with an antiseptic, carefully rubbing it with a brush into the surface.

When carrying out painting work in the room, the optimal temperature regime must be observed from +5 to +20 ° С without drafts. Air humidity should be in the range of 50–70%. In a dry and too warm room, the paint will dry too quickly, which will affect the quality of the finish. It is not recommended to carry out work on painting walls in winter. Since the air in the apartments at this time of the year is rather dry. The desired microclimate can be achieved with a humidifier or a bucket of hot water.

DIY wall painting

If you create shades yourself, you should choose the right consistency. There are no clear recommendations on this issue. You can dilute the paint with a small amount of water or just mix it well right in the container with a mixer nozzle, adding color.

When choosing a mixer attachment, pay attention to the whisk. It should have two rows of blades twisted in opposite directions. It is this device that will help stir the paint without trapping air..

Prepared paint is poured into a clean cuvette. In the process of work, the roller should be scrolled in it so that its entire surface is evenly impregnated. Test strokes are best done on cardboard sheets. After each lowering of the roller into the cuvette, it is necessary to remove excess paint. This will help avoid unsightly smudges and splashes..

Now you can start painting the walls directly, applying the composition in wide stripes 60–70 cm. Each new stripes should not go over the already painted layers by more than 5–8 cm. Painting should be done from top to bottom, 5–10 cm away from the ceiling. Thus, the roller will roll out the smudges formed from below. The unpainted area near the ceiling must be painted over with a brush using the tamping technique. Then the zones will not differ from each other..

Don’t try to save money and paint the walls in one coat. Water-based compositions have different absorption coefficients in dissimilar structures, so there will still be stains. If painting is done in 3 layers, then the first and last layer must be applied vertically, and the intermediate second one horizontally.

Each subsequent painting can be done only after the surface has completely dried. As a rule, the first layer of water-based emulsion dries for 3-4 hours, and the next at least 5-6. You should not speed up the process with heating devices. They spoil the structure of the paint and the quality of the coating. If you plan to paint the walls in stripes, they should also be separated with masking tape. It is possible to apply adhesive tape to an already painted area only after 2-3 days. If you do this earlier, then when removing some of the paint will be removed..

Decorative techniques for painting walls

There are many ways to decorate painted interiors using textured paints, spatulas, stencils, embossed rollers, etc. The simplest in execution include:

1. Stamping method. Another textured layer is applied to an already painted and completely dried wall with a sponge soaked in paint 1-2 tones darker than the main color.
2. Filling the design with a lump of paper or cloth. A clear pattern can be achieved with waterproof (wrapping) paper, less pronounced – using cloth tampons.
3. Frottage (patchwork technique). A newspaper sheet is applied to the finishing, not completely dry layer of paint and wiped with the palms.

These methods help to achieve interesting and stylish effects without much time and money..