So today we’re going to give you seven painting hacks on how to make your painting experience
more efficient and faster because, let’s face it, it’s something that’s absolutely
needed in every home renovation. Whether you’re going to be selling your property or you’re
just remodeling your home, painting is always a part of it. So I want to give you seven
tips on how to make that easier for you. So tip #1 is for repairing any holes or nail
holes from pictures that you take off the wall to use DAP DryDex. I really love using
this product because it is fast drying. And the biggest thing about it is that it doesn’t
shrink or crack. So typically on a normal installation, you have to do two coats of
drywall mud to fill any type of hole. This will eliminate that. It takes one time. And
the nice thing about it is it goes on pink. And then once it’s dry, it turns to a natural
wood-filler look, so you know when you’re ready to go and start priming. But its great
because you don’t have to work twice the amount of time to fill these holes. You can
just putty it in, and then you’ll be able to paint… this’ll turn to… actually,
it’s starting to turn already. It’ll turn to like a wood-filler look, and then you can
just go ahead and prime that and be ready to paint.
So tip #2 is to use a large 18-inch nap roller to roll your walls and ceilings. This is probably
going to be the thing that saves you the most time because, typically, normal roller pads
are only 9 inches. So if you have twice that distance, you’re going to be cutting down
the amount of time it takes to apply that paint. Now, this is one that’s made by Purdy.
I bought an extension pole as well with it. This will go up to about 8 feet. So this will
make it easier to roll large rooms like this that have cathedral ceilings. But applying
the paint with a long roller like this is going to save you basically half the amount
of time with the regular roller. So tip #3 is to use the proper nap size for
the type of walls that you’re painting. So most flat, smooth drywall walls, you want
to use a 3/8-inch nap roller pad. And then for anything textured, you want to go to a
½-inch nap roller size. Main reason for this is that if you use too big of a nap roller,
you’re going to apply too much paint to the wall, and it’s going to take longer
for you to actually smooth out that paint surface. But if you have a textured ceiling
for say, the more nap, the more paint you’re able to apply, and it’s going to be easier
to fill in all the cracks and divots that the textured surface has. So always use a
½-inch nap roller for textured ceilings, and 3/8-inch nap roller pads for smooth walls.
So tip #4, I have to give a big shout out to Idaho Painter who is here on YouTube, he’s
the one who gave me the advice on this one, and that is to use a corner roller pad. And
basically all it is is a standard roller pad, but it has the edge that’s completely covered
by the fleece of the roller. You’re able to cut in and roll all at the same time having
a roller pad that has the side covered like this. Typically, you always have to paintbrush
the corners of a ceiling, but this eliminates that step. So anything you can save a couple
of minutes doing is well worth it. So thanks, Idaho Painter, for this tip. And as you could
see, it gets all the way into that corner. It’s obviously smearing on the side wall,
but we’re going to be cutting in the walls with the regular paint, but this eliminates
the step. So tip #5 is to use drywall stilts to cut
in the ceiling of the wall color that you’re using. Being able to walk on stilts makes
it a lot easier to walk around the room and be more efficient with your painting, rather
than getting up on a ladder and moving every 4 feet with that ladder, takes up time. Walking
on stilts will allow you to do that all on basically one motion and speed up the time
of painting. So we’re going to put some stilts on. This
is going to really help out with cutting in the ceiling and not having to use a ladder,
essentially, to do all your cutting in. So really, you just have two straps on them for
your feet. Typically, I find that the bigger boots are easier to wear when you’re doing
this than using tennis shoes. You know, it just kind of holds on there better. Any time
I use tennis shoes, it’s really tough to get everything anchored down properly. So
I actually have a strap that’s missing on the back, but… All right.
So your stilts really allow you to get up as if you’re just standing and be able to
cut in. Really makes it a lot easier than moving a ladder around. It’s a lot easier
on your neck, too. You’re not looking up as much.
So the kind of brushes I like to use is primarily Purdy brushes with the angled type where it
has like a slant on the brush. And I typically use about a 2 ½-inch brush. I think that
gives the easiest amount of coverage and ability to cut in. But the angled part of this brush
allows me to get right into this corner and just do full swoops.
I think the real key of creating straight lines with a paintbrush is using motions that
are continuous rather than dabbing back and forth. If you can get like a half an arm’s
width stretch all on one swoop, it’ll keep that line a lot straighter rather than just
dabbing little pieces at a time. If you’re dabbing things, it just makes it harder to
keep nice, straight lines. So try to keep your motions continuous with brushing, and
that’ll allow you to cut in a lot easier. Tip #6 is to use an oil-based primer for any
water stains or stains that have come through the drywall. Using an oil-based primer will
ensure that it’s blocked and that you don’t have to come back later to address any of
the issues. The last thing you want to do is use a water-based sealer that ends up still
bleeding through, and you have to come back and repaint. So it’s going to make things
a lot more efficient for you if you start out with an oil-based prime blocker. We actually
specifically are using the Sherwin Williams ProBlock Primer, and it’s an interior oil-based
primer. Okay, so we’re going to spot-prime these
water stains with the ProBlocker. It’s basically an oil-based primer. Really, the oil-based
primer is going to be your best bet to block out any stains. In my mind, I don’t see
any reason to try to do an acrylic water-based. Just go with the oil-based; you know it’s
going to cover. So I always use a disposal mini-brush for this because I don’t want
to waste a whole roller. But obviously with oil-based, you don’t want to use your nice
paintbrush with it or you’re going to have to really clean it up with acetone or mineral
spirits. So you could see how this turns to a natural
color now, kind of like a wood-toned color. So now it’s ready to go ahead and prime.
So another great place to use this oil-based primer are the knots on your wood. You can
see how this is bleeding through. So if you used oil-based on that, that’ll keep that
stain from popping through. So tip #7 is going to save you a significant
amount of time, and it’s always something that probably takes more time than painting
all the walls, and that is to paint all your doors. You always pretty much have to paint
your doors when you paint all the walls. Otherwise, it’s going to look unfinished. They came
out with a great product that I think is going to be really efficient for your time. It’s
called the Stack Rack. And this kit allows you to paint four doors, both sides, at once
essentially. You’re really cutting down the savings, like pretty much paint all the
doors in a house in one day versus stacking them and leaning them against the wall and
taking several days to do. So use the Stack Rack the paint your doors.
And here’s a bonus tip for you: use a carpet shield plastic film adhesive plastic to cover
any carpet in your area. No matter how safe or careful you are, the likelihood of you
spilling paint on the carpet is very high, so use a plastic carpet shield to protect
your carpet. Hey, if you like these tips, please give us
a thumbs up. It helps other people out. So give us a thumbs up.