The Basics of Interior Paint

One of the easiest and least expensive ways just to spruce up nearly anything is to painting. But before you take on nay project you will need to make some basic decisions what paint is best for the job.

Let us start by choosing between latex and oil. Latex cleans up with water so that is a real plus. It retains its color well and offers good adhesion on most surfaces. Oil has so well, you may only need one coat plus it adheres better than latex to smooth surfaces like plastic or metal and you have more time to apply it before you lose the wet edge.

Now that you have answered the question between oil and latex it is time to choose a sheen or a finish. Let us start with flat which has little or no sheen and provides a muted appearance and it hides any imperfections you may have in your walls but it tends to show dark and does not stand up the scraping very well. Eggshell, it also hides imperfections. But it reflects a little light so it is smoother. It is also easier to wash. So it is popular choice for walls. Satin has even more sheen and is even more washable so it is a great choice for kitchens, bath or catering. Semi-gloss reflects 35% to 50% of all light that hits it so most people find it too shiny for walls but it cleans very well making it ideal for trim, cabinets or doors. And lastly, there is hi-gloss. It will really call attention to surface imperfections but it is a good option for areas that get a lot of abuse. They need to be cleaned regularly.

Alright, one last major paint decision to make, the color. No one can tell you what color to choose but here are a few tips to make the process easier. The lighter the color you choose the larger the room will appear. But you may need to apply additional coats for good coverage. Working with one color scheme and mixing in variety of tints and shades of that color is easiest. But if you feel adventurous, you can pull our certain colors of fabrics or accents in your room by matching those shades. Do not forget, light will have a big impact on how the color ultimately looks in your room. So look at the paint samples at different times of the day to see how it changes. Okay, so you have made your choice and you love the color. So how much paint do you need for the job? Take some simple height and width measurements of walls and multiply them for the square of footage divide the square footage by four hundred for the gallons needed for a smooth surface and divide it by 250, it is a rough purpose. One last tip before applying your paint, this is what the pros call box-in your paint. No, it is not packing up your paint and put it in boxes, supporting each of the gallons into a large bucket so all of the paint blends to the same color. This way you will not have one gallon that has slightly a different shade than the other.


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