How to Paint a Wall - Harris
HOW TO GUIDES

How to Paint a Wall


Find out how to paint a wall like a professional with our Harris Brushes-approved wall painting tips and transform the look of your home.

When tackling the daunting yet exciting task of redecorating the home, the walls naturally become a key focus and can have a huge impact on the overall aesthetic of your room. Our expert guide will reveal how to paint a wall with a rolller smoothly and efficiently to deliver better results than you ever thought possible! Read on to discover our easy-to-follow wall painting tips and ensure a flawless finish for your walls every time.

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Step 1: Preparing the Room for Painting

When it comes to painting or repainting your walls, preparation is key. Be sure to remove all furniture from the room and lay down a Seriously Good Dust Sheet to ensure your room is suitably protected. We always recommend taping the dust sheet down with some Essentials Masking Tape to guarantee secure coverage. To learn how to master this step in more detail, consult our easy video guide on how to prepare a room for painting and protect your home the right way.

Before you start any decorating lay a dust sheet.

Use masking tape to keep the dust sheet in place.

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Step 2: : Surface Assessment and Preparation

Once the floor is protected, you need to assess the walls for damage, in order to paint the wall smoothly and effortlessly. One of the most crucial wall painting tips in our guide is to fix any cracks or holes you may find by sanding and cleaning imperfections with sugar soap to make sure your paint applies beautifully. Now that your surface is prepared, you can apply Seriously Good UV Tape to mask off areas of detail such as skirting boards, door frames, window sills or architraves. Now it’s time to cut in!

Repair any damage to the wall.

Use masking tape to protect the plug sockets and the edges of the wall.

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Step 3: Cutting In and Rolling on the Pain

Cutting in means using a paint brush to paint around the edges of the wall, do this in 1m sections.

‘Cutting in’ is a well-known term, often used by professional decorators. It refers to the action of painting around the edges of a room, a light switch, a skirting board and more with high accuracy. Begin by shaking a new unopened paint tin, then open and stir the paint if necessary. Gently pour some paint into a Small Ultimate Handy Hold if you need to use a ladder or Large Ultimate Handy Hold if no ladder is required. Be sure to use the correct amount of paint and don’t over-saturate your brush to avoid unwanted dripping.

When you start to paint in around the edges of your wall, we recommend working in 1m segments to ensure seamless results. Start with the unrivalled Ultimate Blade Brush to make your precision painting easier than ever with no bristle loss. The blade has a very fine wide tip, perfect for cutting in and projects that require more intricacy. Place the tip with the long edge against the narrow area you’d like to paint and pull the paint along that area, then paint a little higher using the brush as normal. Aim to have about a 5-10 cm painted area around the edge you are cutting in to prevent time-consuming mistakes. Once you’re confident with this technique you can cut in without using any masking tape, or you can switch from the blade to the Ultimate Flat Brush for faster painting!

Once you have cut in a 1m segment, its time to start painting the wall with a roller, so switch to the Ultimate 4-inch Walls and Ceilings Roller. Load the roller with paint and place it on the wall about a foot away from the section you have just cut in. Roll in a light W motion towards the painted area, overlapping with the brushed area as much as possible without touching any edges. This will give you a very fine rolled finish to the edge of your wall, removing the framing effect.

After cutting in a section with the paint brush use a Mini roller to blend the finish so it matches the rest of the painted wall.

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Step 4: Cleaning Your Painting Tools

Many of us are guilty of leaving our brush cleaning until the very last second, which inevitably results in a more stressful job as the paint dries solid to our brushes and rollers. Built into our Ultimate products, Harris easy-clean technology means you can have these clean in a few minutes when washed as soon as possible after painting. Our unique functionality keeps your brush set in top condition to deliver phenomenal results for every project you undertake.

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Step 5: Use Roller to Paint the Wall

Now it’s time to paint the wall with a roller, as we’re going for a sprint finish! Use our Ultimate 9 Inch Powercoat Roller for fast, powerful coverage. Its large surface area and soft fluffy roller material is ideal for painting large areas quickly. Screw the pole and roller together, load the roller and place it on the wall about 1m away from the nearest painted edge. Roll towards the painted edge and back again in a slight W motion, using the pole to cover a larger segment of the wall without the need to bend and stretch. This will also let you complete the job in far less time and move on to the next stage in your renovation journey. Repeat this process of loading the roller, placing 1m away and rolling into the area you have painted. Known as the wet edge technique, this method allows you to paint faster while saving paint and providing an enviable finish.

When your walls are complete, be sure to clean your brushes straight away to avoid a more tedious cleaning job. Don’t forget that we’ve developed our Ultimate range so you can clean them in just a few minutes, ready to complete your next task to the highest possible standard.

Explore our content hub to find more useful guides and master each step of your DIY project today.

Paint the wall in a W motion with the Paint Roller

Walls & Ceilings

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