Rollers do come in various lengths, but the standard for most wall painting is 9″  Here in Canada the package likely also has this length in metric, but off the top of my head I don’t know how many centimetres that is…

The thickness matters too.  This is called the “pile” or the “nap”.  This varies from 5 mm and up.  The thinner the pile, the smoother the overall look.  Thicker piles leave more texture.  Some surfaces require a very thick pile – such as stipple ceilings which will require at least 25mm, 30mm or more. I typically use 5mm for doors, 10mm for walls painted in semigloss and 15mm for walls painted in matte or eggshell finishes – and this is what I’ll recommend for the do-it-yourselfer.

Some rollers shed.  Especially cheaper ones.  Non-shedding rollers are available (and preferable) and they are more expensive.  If you want to save a buck or two and buy the cheaper ones I recommend you wash them the night before, massaging them with your fingers and then just rinsing under the tap.  This will get rid of most of the excess fuzz that might shed all over your walls.  Stand them up on a towel or paper towel and let them dry for several hours before using.

I also always wipe down (just with my hands) a non shedding roller, just to get rid of any loose debris for fuzz that still may be hanging around.

Wash them thoroughly if you change colours, or when you are done painting.  Or throw them away and use a new one each time.  Many painting contractors leave them in a bucket of water when finished for the day, then spin out the excess water with a tool called a “spinner”  These cost $30 or so, and most do-it-yourselfers are not going to want to put out the cash for something they won’t use all that often.

Many painters will never wash their rollers – it’s quite time consuming to do it properly and it’s cheaper to just use a new one.  I buy dozens of rollers when they go on sale at one of the bigger stores here in Toronto.

Rolling Tones Painting is a contracting company serving the GTA. Estimates and advice are always free.

What this means is:  Start with the ceiling (if you are skipping the ceiling this time around, go to the next part)  When you paint this ceiling, go ahead and get some paint overlapped right onto the walls. This is not at all a bad habit, in fact it is exactly the way you should do it.  The straight line will be drawn when you paint the walls.  it’s then that you don’t want to get paint on the ceiling.  If you try to paint a nice straight line when painting the ceiling, and then again paint a nice straight line when you paint the walls you will undoubtedly miss a narrow band right up there in those corners – even if it’s only 1/16th of and inch (or 1mm for all you metric-thinking people) – and it shows!

However I don’t usually paint the walls 2nd – I paint the trim – the door frames, the window frames and even the baseboard.  Again, overlap – go ahead and get paint onto the walls.  The only thing you need to be a bit careful about is not leaving thick blobs of texture (too much paint) that can show through when you do paint the walls.  This is called “feathering”  which is just a quick stroke or two with a dry-ish brush to ensure that there is no excess build up.  No need to fuss over it, or overwork it – just a quick stroke or two, that’s it.

Last I paint the walls.  And again I take care to paint a nice straight line.  When painting up against the edges of the door frames and window frames I usually go ahead and overlap a nice straight line partially onto these edges.  The edges are usually pieces of trim only a half inch or so wide – it always looks much better if you never see any trim paint on the walls – even 1/16th of an inch.  But a tiny overlap of wall paint on this edge will hardly ever be noticed.

The overall look of your room is much nicer, with straight, clean lines if you do it in this order.

To summarize:  Ceilings first, trim 2nd, walls last.

Rolling Tones Painting is a contracting company serving Toronto and the GTA. Estimates and advice are always free.

Be certain that your new colour looks good with everything you are not changing.

Unless you plan on replacing the furniture, the flooring, the window coverings – your new colour needs to go well with everything else in the room.  There is nothing at all wrong with dreaming about your “new look” – but don’t get unrealistic.  Don’t get carried away unless you intend to spend the money and do whatever it takes to achieve the style and the look that you want.  And make sure you have the budget to do so.

This may mean that you have to give up a big and bold change in colour.  Sometimes it’s best to go with neutral shades that bring out the best in everything else.  Consider the floor first.  It is often the most prominent colour and texture in the entire room.  Try picking 3 or 4 colours that catch your eye, then place them on the floor and consider whether all four walls in the colour will look good with the existing floor colour.  No matter if the floor is hardwood, carpet or tile – there will be colours that look good and colours that don’t look good.

Don’t get overly attached to any of the initial colours that caught your eye until you check how they look with everything else.  Do you have a lot of natural wood finishes on the furniture?  How will your favoured colours go with that?  Maybe your couch and chair is the biggest colour or texture after the floor.  Put your colour chips on all the furniture, step back and have a good look.

You may end up having 2nd thoughts on all your original ideas and select another half-dozen possible colours.  Take your time.

Of course, if it’s in the budget you can hire an interior decorator, or replace some of the furniture that just does not fit right in your new ideas and your new look.  If that’s not in the cards or in the budget and you just want a fresh coat of paint and a new colour then all of the above is good advice.

If I’ve just rained on your parade, consider this:  If you’ve just found out that you can’t get away with the bright and bold lime green that you really really wanted…     consider accessories.  This can be fun and a lot cheaper than trashing all your existing furniture.  Get a vase or a tablecloth in that bright and bold green you loved so much at the paint store.   You can also consider a “feature wall”  Paint the rest of the room in a shade that blends with everything else, and put up a splash of colour on your feature wall.  This might appease the urge to “go big” with your new paint job and still keep your existing stuff in line with your new look without breaking the bank.

You don’t have to stay away from big bold colours – just make sure they go well with anything you are not changing, or be prepared to change a few things and spend a bit of money so that your new colour does look good with everything else in the room.  Have fun!

Rolling Tones Painting is a contracting company serving Toronto and the GTA.  Estimates and advice are always free.

Most often with residential painting it is recommended to use a matte finish on the ceilings, eggshell on the walls and semigloss on the doors and trim.  Semigloss is also often used on ceilings & walls in the kitchen and the washrooms.

If you have kids, or your walls have high traffic and wear & tear you can either use a very high quality eggshell, or even a semigloss in all areas.  If you have less traffic then probably a mid – line eggshell is good enough.

If you really dislike any sheen at all on your walls then there are premium quality matte finishes out there – but they are expensive.  Enquire at your local dealer.

Generally you don’t need a premium quality paint on your ceilings.  A less-expensive matte finish is probably all you need here.  I never use the cheapest – they often don’t cover well among other problems.

The semigloss that I buy for doors and trim is usually a very high quality product. Doors and trim take more abuse than regular walls, and often you only
need one gallon for an entire home – so go ahead and splurge a little here – a bit more money spent won’t hurt the wallet so much when you don’t have to buy a lot.  Not only that – the premium quality products often cover better – so you might save some time by not needing as many coats of paint.

I’ve been assuming you’re all using latex paint for your regular walls and ceilings – don’t forget that if any previously painted surfaces in your home are presently in oil based paint you should not just paint over it with latex.  I’ve covered the subject of priming over oil in a previous tip called LATEX VS OIL.  Read up on this subject there.

Another exception:   If you have stipple (textured, popcorn ceilings) you should probably use oil paint, matte finish.  Consult your local paint dealer for different brands recommended.  The reason for this is that latex can penetrate the stipple and partially dissolve it and it can peel off the ceiling.  It does not always happen, but if and when it does it’s a real MESS.    Actually, painting stipple is messy no matter what, as it splatters a lot and absolutely everything has to be thoroughly covered with plastic or tarp.

If you hate using smelly, toxic, slow drying oil paint and want to take your chances, then test the stipple surface by rubbing your fingertips across it.  If there no dust or small particles comes off on your fingers, then it’s probably sealed well enough to use latex.  But beware, this test is not 100% reliable.

Rolling Tones Painting is a contracting company serving the GTA for over 30 years.  Estimates and advice are always free.

Oil based paints (also called alkyd) are being phased out.  This has been going on for years, but it’s become more noticeable more recently.  You can still buy it, but be aware that there is a reason for it’s scarcity.  Its toxic and nasty for the environment.  It probably still has an edge on durability over latex, but that edge gets smaller and smaller as time goes on.

The chemists who have spent their entire careers testing paints have found lots of ways to improve water based products by adding all kinds of wonderful ingredients such as acrylic.  High quality paints have a high percentage of acrylic in them.  If you are wondering how tough acrylic is, try to break a sheet of acrylic plexiglass.  There are lots of other tough additives too, like vinyl and more.

I’m a painting contractor, so my knowledge base is mostly within the application of these products (I’m not a chemist).  One important thing to know is that generally you should not paint latex over a surface previously painted in oil without using a specialty primer.  There are lots of them out there and every paint store will have something that is appropriate.

While it is true that a 100% acrylic latex will often adhere quite well to a surface previously painted in oil, I advise that you not take the chance.  If it fails you can end up with a very unstable new surface where even small scuffs cause paint to peel off.

As an experienced and professional painter working in Toronto and the GTA, I usually can spot a surface previously painted in oil just by looking at it.  However they do sell inexpensive testers at most paint stores that react a certain way when dabbed onto the surface in question.  You can use them if you have any doubt before you proceed.  Another way to check is to lightly sand the surface with fine sandpaper, then wipe your fingertips across where you’ve
sanded.  If there is a very fine dust on your fingertips its probably oil.

Bottom line:  Latex has come a long way from the cheap non-washable product of 20 or 30 years ago.  In most cases you just don’t need oil anymore.  Oil is a bit more durable overall, but it’s hard on the environment, messy for cleanup, takes a long time to dry and the fumes are unsafe to your lungs.  Small caged birds have been known to die when exposed to oil paint fumes.

The world is switching to latex.  You should too.

Rolling Tones Painting, Toronto, GTA painters

I always keep one side of the paint can clean:  No wet paint on it. I pour paint out of one side only (into the roller tray, or another can, or wherever).  When I drop the handle back down after picking up the can, I drop it only on the clean side.  After pouring paint I always immediately use my brush to get the bulk of the wet paint out of the rim, and off the side of the can too. When I am not using the brush for any more than a few minutes I put it right inside the can, and lean it against the clean side. No paint on the paintbrush handle, no paint on the hand that holds it. (Of course this would mean keeping only an inch or so of paint in the can)  Wet paint on your hands can and will eventually get on something else – like the furniture you need to move around.

A good painting contractor should keep himself and his jobsite clean, and so can the do-it-yourselfer.  It’s a good habit to get into.

The first thing you want to do is decide if you are going to paint everything in the room.  Sometimes you might decide to omit the ceiling, perhaps the closet and maybe even the doors and trim.  Don’t fool yourself into thinking that painting a room is going to be done in a couple of hours – it does indeed take a bit of time, even if you do omit much of the surfaces mentioned above.

Once you’ve decided exactly what you want to paint, choose your colour(s) and pick up the paint the day before so it is on hand when you are ready to go.  I always recommend that you look over the furniture and contents of the room and choose a colour that goes well with everything.  The floor colour (carpet, hardwood, tiles, etc.) is often the main colour in the room – so don’t overlook that.  Gather up tools you need that you already own, and if you need to buy anything you can pick that up when you buy the paint.  Don’t forget plastic, tarps or old newspapers to cover things up.

Check the walls for any necessary patching the day before too.  If there is very little to do (a couple of nail holes, the odd crack or two) you can do it on painting day – but you can also do them the day before to avoid waiting for that to dry before painting day.  In a pinch, you can also persuade your patch to dry a bit quicker by using a hair dryer, buying quick-dry compound, or both.

Sanding your walls and trim is always a good idea, though not always 100% necessary.  It does take a bit of time to do it by hand, so allow for that.  Sanding walls gets rid of little bits of debris often stuck there from the last paint job, and sanding doors and trim promotes good adhesion as well.  A dust mop will remove any dust caused by the sanding, or any cobwebs, etc.

When you move the furniture, always provide as much space away from the walls that you can.  It really will cut down on the time spent if you are not working in an obstacle course.  If you are doing the ceiling too, you may have to get some things right out of the room.  If so, remove the lighter items first and try to leave the heavy stuff inside if you can.  If there are bulkheads in the room you will need even more space.  If you are doing the ceiling don’t forget to leave a clear path under the ceiling light fixture (if one exists) so you can put a ladder under that in order to “cut in” around the fixture.  You can’t just roll over it!

Don’t assume you can get everything done in one day.  All of the above takes a bit of time and the painting itself is likely going to take 2 coats (or more with a big colour change).  It’s the exception and not the norm for paint to cover well in only one coat.  Furthermore if your doors and trim are a different colour than your walls, you will then have two colours + two coats of paint for each colour with adequate drying time for each.  If there is a lot of furniture and clutter in the room you can also consider doing only two walls at a time – shifting everything to one side for the 1st day, then over to the other side for the 2nd day.  If you happen to live in Toronto or the GTA, you might possibly live in a condo or a townhouse.  Getting your paint and materials up to the room may add a little more time to the project too.

Keep in mind that you also must put the room back together when you are done and clean up your tools.  Always be patient – you will do a much better job and not be overwhelmed if things don’t go as quickly or smoothly as you expected.

As always, if you choose a professional painter to do the job for you – call on Rolling Tones Painting and we will look after everything!