After having decided what rooms of your house need painting, which you actually have the time for and even more stressful what colours to use then you’re then faced with another big dilemma, what product should I use to paint the interior of my house with? Here are some recommendations from products from our friends at Sherwin Williams (I can offer some input for the products of other companies in future blogs if anyone needs).
A common thought from most Homeowners and DIY-ers in Vancouver is that all paint is created equal, that you should simply get the cheapest paint or the one that is in discount. This can sometimes be true specially when you are faced with special offers from paint stores in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, this offers are most common during the summer months when everyone is in a crazed to have their Homes, bedrooms, decks, fences, etcetera painted , all trying to take advantage of the good weather, the school holidays (because let’s face it we’re all just wishing we can get our teenagers involved to cut our labour and get to enjoy a cold one as soon as possible).
From flat to gloss finishes, white base or ultra deep bases, a gallon of paint versus a quart, cheap to high end paint products, the selections and combinations are almost endless and while most paint companies in Vancouver will always recommend the best products to use for your specific needs I have noticed that sometimes the “high end” products are being offered more often than not. Don’t take me wrong, this is not a bad thing, since the paint companies know their “high end” paint products are the safest products, for the Homeowner and the paint company, to offer because they’re usually self priming to a lot of substrates, they cover well in two coats even when doing a colour change, they tend to have low to no VOC’s making them more user friendly.
So, if you haven’t done much painting before (meaning you have at least the concept of rolling handled) you should stick to the paint company’s recommendation. If you do have some experience, even small, maybe you painted during a summer back in the day or have painted a few rooms in your Home (or your Girlfriend’s place) I would suggest may be taking a few tips which may save you a couple bucks.
1 – When painting new areas such as bare drywall, bare wood, bare metal. Stick to the recommendation of your paint store, if that recommendation is a high end (pricier product) and you have a few rooms of new drywall to paint then I would suggest using an economic drywall primer from Sherwin Williams called PVA (always have the paint store tinted to a colour as close as the one you’ll be using and only buy what you need as tinted products are non-returnable). Why am I recommending using a drywall primer when you have a self-priming paint? Well, drywall walls tend to be very (and I swear am not trying to be redundant) very dry, specially the areas around the joints where the mudding was done and will soak a lot of paint if not primed. Rolling (no need to cut if you are careful and get as close as possible to the edges/corners) a coat of inexpensive primer can save you a few bucks since you will be using a lot less top coat (regular paint). The amount of paint you will save by rolling a primer coat first can be considerable specially when painting larger areas.
2 – Repainting any room walls with the same colour, if this is the case I recommend using a product called Quali-Kote on their low-sheen finish if you’re not paint savvy or eggshell if you have any kids, pets or in high traffic areas where walls can get dirtier. An eggshell finish will provide you with and easier to clean surface while a low-sheen finish will allow you to hide imperfections better and to have a smoother finish in your walls.
3 – Colour change in your walls? If the colour change isn’t too drastic (light to dark or vise versa) I recommend using a product called SuperPaint, by far my favorite Sherwin Williams product. SuperPaint is a very thick, self-priming paint with excellent coverage and the best thing is, it sits right there between too expensive or too cheap. SuperPaint is our “Go-to” product because of its versatility and how user friendly it is. However, if you do find SuperPaint to be too thick for you can ad some Dynaflow to it to make it run smoother and to extend its “wet edge”, meaning you will have a bit more time to do a cut-line and a good back-roll job.
4 – Painting a kitchen or bathroom? If so, you might want to try Duration matte-finish. Duration is a great product, more so because it is easier to clean, it’s stain resistant and more durable than most paint. Yes, Duration sale price is a bit steep but trust me, you will thank me during clean-up time, specially after your secret that marinara sauce starts bubbling.
Even though all of the recommendations made above are quite user friendly and easier to apply than most you should always consider buying quality brushes and roller sleeves.
Dynamic 10mm microfiber roller sleeves will give your paint job a nice and smooth finish (always remember to go around the surfaces of the roller sleeve with the tacky side of a piece of painter tape to remove any loose fibers).
Brilliant 2 & ½” brushes are relatively inexpensive and have a nice feel to them, they’re not too stiff nor too soft, should be perfect for a first timer (no need to go for an expensive brush unless you know how to take care of them and are capable of cleaning them properly).
Green painters tape (1 & ½”) is an excellent aid to keep areas not being painted clean or use green frog tape (1 & ½”) if you want a clean cutline.
Sims trays and liners are usually inexpensive and can hold about ¾ of a gallon of paint leaving some room to roll the paint roller without overloading it with paint.
For small holes in your walls use Drydex, a pink patching compound that dries white when dry indicating when it’s safe to sand the patches.
Use a fine grit sponge sanding block to sand all the patches in your walls.
The wide range and versatility of Sherwin Williams products plus the excellent customer service provided by all Sherwin Williams employees are some of the many reasons why we love to use their products and even though this blog sounds like an endorsement it isn’t, all paint companies have great products just like the ones described above I just thought I’d do my first recommendation blog on the products I use and know best.
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