Home Maintenance Tips

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Paint Tips

Interior Painting Hints and Tips

Painting the interior of your home is a job that you should need only do every few years, provided that you have selected a good product and that the surfaces allow for little Johnny’s handiwork to be cleaned.

How Much? Which One? What Colour?

  • Naturally, the first thing you need to ascertain is how much paint you will need and for that, you will need to calculate surface areas. Don’t forget to subtract the spaces taken up by windows and doors.
  • When deciding on a make of paint, check the coverage in square metres per litre. For example, one might think that Paint A is expensive because 5 litres costs R150 while Paint B costs R120 for the same amount. Both are good products but, while the R150 can might cover 25 square metres, the R120 can might only cover 18 square metres. The cost, therefore is R6 per square metre for the R150 can and R6,66 per square metre for the R120 can. So now which is the cheaper paint? The 66c difference adds up when you are painting a whole house; on a total area of 500 square metres to be painted, that 66c amounts to an extra R330. When in doubt, ask your Mica stockist for advice.
  • Take particular care when selecting a colour. What looks good on a small swatch can be overpowering on an entire wall. Also bear in mind that colour changes… in full light, shadow, under incandescent lighting and under neon. The colour at sunrise can be slightly different from that at sunset. So check and recheck before making a selection.
  • Before painting, ensure that all surfaces are clean; repeated touching will eventually leave a thin residue, of a greasy consistency, to which the paint won’t adhere properly. Also ensure surfaces have been properly prepared.
  • Paint the doors, door frames, window frames and window sills first, before starting on the walls. When actually painting, use a brush to cut along skirting boards, door jambs (that’s the vertical frame surrounding the door), window frames, window sills and ceiling cornices. Apply the paint in a band about 50mm wide and feather the outer edge so that the paint doesn’t form a hard ridge. You can also cut around light and wall fittings but it is preferable to remove them and then re-attach them after the job is done. Also apply paint where the corners meet, exactly as you did around the door jambs.

    • Interior Painting Tips

  • Once done, apply the paint with a roller. To avoid the roller strokes showing up when you are painting a ceiling, roll the roller towards the window so that any borders between the strokes are at a right angle to the window. In this way, light reflecting in won’t pick up any ridging. Simple!
  • Before re-attaching the light fitting cover, write the name of the paint, the manufacturer and the lot or batch number on the inside in permanent marker. In 10 years time when you need to re-paint with exactly the same paint, you’ll know where to find the details.

Shopping List

  • Paintbrush
  • Paint Roller & Tray
  • Paint
  • Masking Tape
  • Drop Sheer
  • Ladder

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