How to paint a room

[Elektra1]

I’m moving house soon and want to paint some of the rooms. It’s 10 years since I last did any decorating myself and although I remember the prep took longer than the painting, I can’t remember what products I used or what order I did things in. Questions:

what’s a good product to fill small dings in the walls?

Do I need to sugar soap the walls first (they are currently painted, not wallpapered)

Do I need to put some sort of primer on first or just the paint (walls are already painted)? Especially in the bathroom - would some sort of mould-retarding undercoat be good and if so, what?

Do you do the woodwork first or last or doesn’t it matter? Likewise ceilings or walls first?

Is there a best brand of masking tape? Last time I painted I left the masking tape on while paint dried on ceiling and then when I peeled it off, it lifted the paint from the walls so I had to do those again.

Any other tips welcome!

Frog tape is the best masking tape.
I do the ceilings woodwork and then walls. I don’t bother with specialist paint or sugar soaping

Thank you! Ceilings first makes sense as I suppose you may get drips you then need to correct off the walls (for the inexperienced painter). I’ll get the Frog tape. Planning on Dulux Trade paint or similar (budget is not F&B)

No sugar soap needed.

Fill and prep the walls, do all the sanding of woodwork and clean well.

Use a dead flat matt emulsion on walls. I really like Valspar V&Co from B&Q and they often have a three for two deal.
They also do a lovely bathroom paint which is matt - I hate sheen.

Do the woodwork last. Use a tack cloth before you paint to remove all traces of dust and a good quality satin finish paint.

Buy ready mixed interior filler in a tube and use a scraper to flat it. Sand flat before painting and use the flat of your hand to “feel” that is is smooth.

Get a decent small angled brush to cut in edges, then a good quality roller. Don’t use too much paint, get an even load and always finish by rolling downwards on walls.

Always buy decent brushes and rollers.

I think the yellow Tesa precision masking tape is really good for general indoor use. I just used the pink, low tack Tesa tape to mask the walls I painted yesterday so I could do the woodwork and it didn’t ruin the fresh paint.

I discovered that Farrow & Ball modern emulsion has anti-mould ingredients so did my bathroom in that – no problems so far.

I did some very bad painting with eggshell and ended up investing in Two Fussy Blokes roller sleeves, which are so great. Also bought a nice, angled Purdy brush for cutting in and no, it doesn’t make my hands really steady, but the bristles don’t surprise me by trying to escape from the pack so I recommend.

I’m always nosy about what colours people pick, if you feel like sharing!

Remove masking tape while paint is not dry,then it will come away without taking paint with it.

Unlike a previous poster I prefer a silk finish on walls and it shows less marks,handprints etc.

Get a long pole for your roller,makes ceilings and walls so much quicker. After cutting in you can do long strokes with it.

Thanks - very helpful tips. I do remember getting some Purdy brushes before, so I’ll look online for those. @Offcom,not sure yet about colours as need to get in the house. I’m feeling maybe a calming pale sage green colour for my bedroom, but usually I go for neutrals. I will update you.

I do the skirting the same colour as the walls which looks nice but also has the added benefit of avoiding needed to cut in. Some durable matt paints (eg johnstones durable Matt which can be coloured matched) can be used for both walls and woodwork

Lots of good advice here! For skirting do you need to sand it down?

I would sand the skirtings. I’m out of practice with woodwork because current house has oak which has its own set of problems. I’ve been using the big tubs of trade paint not sure on the brand but 10 litres and it only comes in white or magnolia
it’s good paint though

Following with interest as I have the WHOLE HOUSE to decorate starting this autumn. Never done it before. For @Offcom , Timeless in kitchen, Bone China hall stairs and landing, Pale Nutmeg in my bedroom and Cornish clay in the spare room. All Dulux/Dulux heritage.

If skirting is gloss then lightly sand
Fill holes, cracks allow to dry and sand back
Dust and hoover whole room
Protect floors
Use Frog tape (yellow) to mask walls
Paint ceiling - there are now some specialist ceiling paints for this https://www.thedecoratorsforum.com/best-ceiling-paint-for-your-home/
Mask ceiling and skirting, light switches (loosen first) etc
Cut in using cut in brush then small roller to layoff to reduce picture framing
Paint walls, from ceiling down x2 coats

ALWAYS use trade paint, go to Brewers or use someone like Paint Shed on line. Most decorators say avoid Farrow and Ball, a painter recently told me Dulux Heritage is great. Brewers colour matching is very good
Do the prep one day and you can do 2 coats the next with 4 hours drying tine
Get a good quality roller like Hamilton Perfection, it makes a lot of difference (I find very little spraying)
Mask walls and Paint skirting

I found the Dulux Heritage matt velvet really great, very forgiving of my 2nd coat, fuuuck, just get it done already "technique". (The 3 for 2 Dulux Wall & Ceilings from B&Q is another story... never again.) Good luck with it! It's definitely one of those jobs where the effort really pays off.

Oh, one more tip - I got a ladder from Amazon that I really like, it's called BONTEC 4 Step Ladder (although I'd have sworn I ordered it in pink, was a bit sad when the black & white version turned up). I still needed a telescopic one for the stairwell ceiling but this one has got me through everything else.

Some great advice on here that I’m going to use!

Me too!

Great thread! I need to paint my doorframes and windows and then I can get new blinds/curtains. Does anyone know of good videos to watch people doing Reno’s/painting?
I just did my bathroom ceiling using a roller extender, my neck was not happy lol