What You Should Know Before Changing Colors On A Wall

“I once lived in an apartment where the tenant before me went crazy with wall color. All down the hall, in the bedroom and living area I could see remnants of red paint. There were red patches down by the base boards, around the trim, and even a little left over color around the wall plates.

It was an apartment; I lived with it.

But now that I’m in my own home, I realize how tacky that truly looked. The previous owner also liked color – color I’m not fond of. But I’m scared to paint it. What if I have those same remnants like in my apartment? I want my home to be beautiful.”

Oh, the wonders of paint.

When consider changing colors on a wall and you go from white to white, even a little drip here or a missed spot there really won’t show very much. But forget to cover a spot of red when you’re changing back to white, and it might as well have a spotlight on it. Everyone that enters your home will see it. Or at least you’ll think they do.

When you’re ready to go from a bright or dark color that penetrates your walls back to a subtle color like white, it takes a little more work that one coat of paint.

Clean walls and painting tools

Before you start changing colors on a wall, clean them first with a mild dish detergent to remove accumulated dirt, grease or grime. Also make sure your painting materials are clean with no trace of the red you painted the walls with in the first place. Its happened many times before; you assume the paint brush or roller cover is clean, you dip it into the white paint, and it goes onto the walls in a sickly color pink.

Drying Times For Interior Latex Paint

Primer

If you listen to the marketing for paints that you can buy at the big box stores, one of their biggest benefits is that the primer is included – only one coat necessary. That’s fine when you’re painting white over white. But when you’re making severe changes – white to red, or red back to white, a little more work is needed. That’s where a primer comes into play. A primer covers the existing paint and gives it a clean coating for the new paint about to be applied.

Paint

Yes, paint matters. If you use a low quality paint, it will provide poor results when hiding the bright or dark color beneath it. What’s worse is it sometimes takes a day or two to show. If you’re in a rush – painting before you move out of an apartment, let’s say – your landlord may be upset by the red and white walls left behind.

Drying time

This is one of the most important parts of the job. It’s easy to want to rush through and get everything cleaned up and back to normal. If you don’t allow each coat – primer too – to dry completely, it may contribute to poor color and color showing through in certain areas on your walls. Temperature, humidity, type of paint – all matters in drying time. When in doubt, give it extra time.

Want an easier way for guaranteed results? Hire a professional painter instead. Your walls will be the perfect shade of color – whatever you choose – with results you can be proud of every time.

Contact us about your Denver Interior House Painting ideas today.