DIY Home Painting by PAINTFORME®

In normal times you might begin to start the process of planning your painting a couple of months in advance. This is the time when you would research the market and choose the company to outsource the job to (Paintforme) and discuss their availability and look at paint colours, brands, finishes, and the length of works. In most cases, your life would be much easier if you just called me straight away. But this time – DIY Painting - you plan and you do the job. And of course, call me with any questions if needed!

Let’s start with paint finishes. Unless you’re a fly swatter and hit them with a newspaper, your ceilings will be fine with Matt or Vinyl Matt paint. However, kitchen and bathroom ceilings are an exception, and using an acrylic finish can be to your advantage. Kitchen ceilings and wall surfaces are easy to wash down and bathroom surfaces can easily be protected from moisture, which otherwise would result in mould growth or peeling paint.

Walls are exposed to different conditions and require different finishes depending on the room, especially if you expect your hard work to last longer. For rooms such as bathrooms, kitchens, hallways and staircases, I recommend painting with Washable/Durable Matt or Eggshell paint finish, as these are formulated to resist moisture, staining and general wear and tear.

Different paint finishes have different light reflection rates, varying from between 1% to 85%.

I recommend using washable and reflective paint on walls in hallways and staircases for two reasons. First, to bring more light into them, as these areas often have either none or very little natural light (by design), and second, they are easy to maintain, which is particularly useful when kids are around. But think twice before using this type of paint on uneven walls and ceilings, as any imperfections will be highlighted.  

It is worth noting that deep colours require more coats, 3 on average versus the normal 2.  The most difficult colours to date have been when using a selection of blue, red and orange, with these colours taking between 5-8 coats to achieve a good finish. But don’t worry, it’s highly unlikely that you will choose one of those more difficult colours and they only represent around 0.03% of the 70,000 colours available. BTW, did you know that the human eye can see 7 million colours? Amazing hey!

Different finishes are available for woodwork, such as skirting boards, door frames and doors. This starts with the least shiny type of Matt and Satin, to mid shine Eggshell and to High Gloss (the black door of number 10 Downing Street!) – with a mirror like finish.

Classic interiors have Matt ceilings and walls, and glossed woodwork. Modern interiors have Durable/Washable/Intelligent/Diamond Matt on all ceilings and walls, except for the woodwork, which comes in a modern and fashionable Satin finish, or Eggshell. …If they could only introduce Satin finish for walls! But there are no written rules on what’s right and what’s wrong, are there?

We only use water-based paints, so these are what we recommend for your indoor projects. This type of paint is low in VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and is therefore safe for you, your kids and any pets, while also being environmentally friendly. They also have very little odour and dry very quickly, usually in around 2 hours, meaning that you can sleep in your newly painted bedroom in no time at all, which is all quite perfect. One thing to remember is that the drying time can be affected by humidity and temperature, no matter what type of paint you use.

If you suffer from asthma there are paints that are free from VOCs, sometimes called ECO paints. Please note that not all ECO paint is VOC neutral, so check before you purchase or call me on 07967644218 for any advice.

Finally, when it comes to paint brands – your choice!  A 5 litre tin can cost between £50 - £85+ for a quality trade paint – and I strongly recommended using the pro paint. Skip the budget!

So, start thinking about the paint and finish you want and send me any questions you might have.

Next time we will discuss Paint Colours. 

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER BY CLICKING ON THE FOLLOWING LINK.