1.  The Weather Needs to be on Your Side

Why does the weather matter? The simple answer is that paint needs to dry and dry well. If you paint during a very humid day or during the rainy season, all of your hard work could go to waste. Just wait for a full week of warm, dry weather. In San Diego this is not a difficult proposition. 

2.  Be Crazy About Prepping

What is prepping? It’s that phase of your painting project where you start by surveying your entire home. Do you have nails that need to be removed or a hole that needs to be patched? Do those things first. Repair any nail holes with spackle. Make sure to wipe the spackle after it has dried just a bit so the wall is smooth. If you have larger holes in your drywall consider calling a professional. Drywall repair can be tricky.

Prepping also includes taping off everything that you don’t want to paint. This is a BIG job and if done correctly will dramatically increase the quality of your finished paint project. Take out all of your switch plates on light switches and plugs. 

You’ll want to wipe the walls down with TSP which works to de-grease the walls. Paint doesn’t stick to walls that are dirty, dusty, or greasy. In addition, if you are worried about painting water-based paint over oil-based paint read this first.

3. Use High-Quality Paint and Have it Boxed at Your Paint Dealer

Rather than using individual cans of paint that have been mixed for you, have your local paint dealer combine them for you. This will give you consistent results throughout the project and in the years to come when touch-ups are needed. 

4.  Get a Basic Understanding of How Your Painting Tools Work

For example, you’ll want a roller to do the walls quickly but the nap on the rollers is different. Ask your local paint pro about what size nap you should use. If you are painting drywall you’ll want a thin nap. If you have something porous, like a cement wall, then you’ll want a thick nap. The texture of the finished product will vary depending on the thickness of your nap. 

There are also great tools for doing the edges along the ceiling line. If you learn how to do this correctly you can save hours of touch-up. Ask your local paint pro about the correct use of these tools. They are inexpensive but invaluable.