Back to Basics

Painting a room is one of the best ways to improve its look and feel. With the right tools and a little bit of know-how, its also a really easy and cost-effective way to update and refresh a room.  Many people however, are put off starting a project due to their lack of confidence in making sure they do the job properly.  

We’ve pulled together some simple tips and suggestions to help you make the first move. 

To start a paint project, you will need a few important tools 

• Sandpaper - it's useful to have a variety of grades. 
• Sugar Soap or sugarsoap wipes for cleaning – we recommend Selleys. 
• Protective equipment – dust sheets for your floor and furniture and masks for you. 
• Masking tape – to mask off edges and create nice, clean lines. 
• Filler – to repair any cracks or holes. If you have some repair work to do on woodwork, you’ll also need some wood filler. 
• Brushes and rollers – we have a selection of specialist brushes for edges, woodwork and walls. 
• Undercoat to prepare surfaces. The colour you choose, whether White or Light Grey will depend on your topcoat choice.  See our colour card for recommendations.
• Your chosen paint – use our handy calculator to make sure you have enough when you start. 

Before you get to the exciting step of applying paint, you need to do some preparation.  This stage is often overlooked but crucial in order to achieve a really impressive result. Take a look at the surfaces. Are the walls freshly plastered? Or do they already have a decorative finish?  Knowing this will help you decide on your first step.  Freshly plastered walls will require an undercoat or mist coat as the wall surface will be absorbent. They also need to be properly dry, so no dark spots.  

You want to create a nice, smooth finish on your walls so if they currently have an uneven surface, you’ll need to take some steps to do some repair work.  Any old wallpaper should be removed prior to a painting  - for this, you can use water, a sponge and a scraper, or alternatively a wallpaper steamer.  If the surfaces are already painted or are in a bad condition you would need to ensure they are thoroughly clean and that any holes or damaged areas are repaired. If the wall has a layer of shiny satin or silk paint, you’ll need to gently sand it down, applying very little pressure over the entire surface.  Please note, if you are working on pre-1960’s paint surfaces , be extra careful as they may contain harmful lead. The last step is to use sugar soap or sugar soap wipes to clean the surface, removing any grease or dirt.  This will also help the paint adhere properly and ensure good coverage for your topcoat. 

For walls, our Chalky Emulsion a luxurious soft and chalky matt finish with excellent depth of colour.  For walls in high traffic rooms, kitchens or bathrooms Eggshell is ideal.  It has a low-sheen finish for a look that will last. When painting woodwork , its best to opt for Gloss or Eggshell for durability. 

All three finishes in our 1829 collection come in all 110 colours and we recommend allowing for 2 coats of paint. Measure your walls or surface and then calculate surface area – use our paint calculator to figure out how much you need.  There’s nothing more annoying than putting all the hard work in only to find you are short on paint just when you need it. 

• When painting, always ensure good ventilation, this will also help with the dry time. 
• Take your time and carry out good preparation. You will be glad of this once the job is complete and you stand back to admire your hard work and enjoy the space. 
• Follow our tips on how to select colours and get the most out of your tester pots.
• Before each coat of paint, ensure the previous coat is completely dry.  
• When you are ready, give the paint a really good stir, getting right to the bottom of the tin. 
• When applying paint with a roller, apply in a ‘W’ shape to maximise coverage and ensure an even finish. Don’t be tempted to over roll the same area too many times as this may begin to lift paint off again.  At the end of each coat ‘feather’ the roller downwards with very light pressure to smooth the finish and lay pigments in the same direction. 
• For woodwork its best to use a use a brush. Lightly wet your brush first as it allows it to absorb more paint. Avoid overloading the brush as applying too much to the surface may cause drips or lines in the finish. 
• Do not apply paint in temperatures near freezing as this will seriously slow down the drying and may destroy the structure of the paint.  
• Always store in a frost-free place, it’s important not to allow the paint to freeze. 
• Our 1829 range is water-based which means the clean-up job afterwards is easy. Remove as much paint as possible from equipment before cleaning with water. Your tools will thank you when you come to your next project. 
• Please dispose of unused paint and container responsibly. Do not empty into drains or watercourses. Some local authorities have special facilities for the disposal of paint.