decorating help please!

[surprisenumber3]

I need to paint the hall/stairs/landing skirting boards, doors and ceiling.

I have never really decorated before, DH does all that, but he's too busy working at the moment so I am going to do it.

He thinks I should just wait for him but I want to do it. So, wise MNers, what do I need to do? Do I need to sand down first? (there are some metal doorframes with chipped paint). Do I use gloss apart from the ceiling? and what sort of brush should I get? What is good to use to stop it going on carpet?

Sorry to sound thick but I want to do it properly

oh and it's cream at the moment but am thinking of doing it a brilliant white to make it look cleaner.

Good idea or bad?

I'm no expert but you need to sand and then prime an bare wood / metal. Next undercoat then gloss. You can get self undercoat paint but it gets mixed reviews. For a really good job you should lightly sand between each coat to provide a key for the next coat of paint using a very fine paper.

It is best to wash walls down with a sugar soap solution first.
Ceiling and walls need emulsion paint which is waterbased. Probably need 2 coats.

Best to get a reasonable quality brush - they do them that do not shed bristles.

For the walls I would use a roller or paint pad but you will still need a brush to do the edges.

Dust sheets are essential as is a bottle of whitespirits to clean brushes after use. If you are only having a short break you can wrap the brush in a plastic bag to stop it drying out.

Hall and stairs is a huge job. I always find decorating takes a lot longer than I expect. Good luck!

thanks tibni that's really helpful. Should have said not doing walls. Paid someone to paper them. He only wanted £50, gave him a bit more though!

That makes the job easier

I end up doing our decorating because it wouldn't get done if I waited for dh.

It would be worth buying some LOW TACK masking tape to protect your walls as it isn't easy getting a straight line. Low tack shouldn't rip the paper the standard product might.

Like tibni said. Wash with sugar soap, sand, wipe over, prime, sand, wipe over, paint.

But it's easier for a novice to paint with satinwood paint than gloss, so I wouldn't gloss.

To do small, fiddly bits, you can buy a slanted window brush which I find helps a lot.

And I keep recommending this book, but 'Fix It Good' tells you how to do all this kind of thing.