Mask the room and determine the order for painting the room. Paint last the areas that are likely to get dripped on. Prime and paint the ceiling first, walls second, and trim last. If you plan to prime the trim with a different tint than you will use on the walls, mask the trim first. Mask the top of the walls if your are painting the ceiling; mask the ceiling and trim if your are starting with the walls.
Spot prime; If using latex, dip the brush in water to help it absorb the primer. If using alkyd, dip the brush in mineral spirits. Brush out the liquid on a piece of cardboard to remove loose bristles. Brush primer on areas of the walls and trim that need special attention. For example: patches in drywall and plaster, areas of bare wood exposed by scraping and sanding, and any spots treated with stain blocker.
Roll the walls. To minimize the wall area that will have a brush stroke texture, run the roller over the strips you've primes during the cutting stage, getting as close as possible to the masked trim, ceiling, or adjoining wall.
Begin rolling at the top section of the wall along the cut in strip, and work to the bottom in a series of W's on the wall, to avoid creating a visible pattern of vertical passes. Move along the wall in 3 to 5 ft sections, cutting in and rolling until the job is done. Work in sections small enough to cover with a single load of the roller, and always roll up on the first stroke. The area here is to overlap areas of wet paint.
Sand the Walls if necessary. Wait until the primer is thoroughly dry and sand lightly with a 120-grit sandpaper. Tear a piece of sandpaper in fourths, and then fold one of the quarter in thirds. Whisk the paper along the wall, removing high spots and bumps. When the paper loads with paint dust, refold it to reveal a fresh face, and continue waxing it down. An alternate is to drag the surface lightly with a 4 to 6 inch putty knife. Once you have finished, wipe the wall with a damp rag to remove dust and debris.
Roll the ceiling with the finish color. When the primer is dry, mask around the ceiling. After cutting in a section, start rolling. Protect your eyes at all times with goggles and wear an old cap. A 5-gallon bucket with a roller grid requires filling less often and is less likely to tip than a paint tray. Use a relatively dry roller to reduce spattering. Roll diagonally, as you did to prime, to avoid creating visible rows across the ceiling. Extension poles allow you to reach more area without using a ladder and risking falling.
Prime and paint the trim. Remove the masking for the walls, allow the paint to dry thoroughly, and mask off the trim. Control dripping by pouring the trim paint into a small bucket and dip the brush about halfway into the paint. Tap the brush against the sides to remove excess paint in the tip of the brush; this will leave paint in the body of the brush.
Painting Doors and trim
Painting doors, windows, baseboards, or moldings involves five key steps to success:
Clean and prime to achieve maximum adhesion.
Smooth the surface so that cracks, holes, dents, and chips don't show through the finish coat.
Mask adjacent surfaces so you can paint quickly and confidently.
Keep a wet edge to eliminate lap marks.
Never overwork the paint. Brush it on, and then let it flow out to form a surface free of brush marks.
When painting doors to minimize brush marks, paint your door from top to bottom. That will give you the time you need to feather each application of paint before it dries. Paint all the edges first then the larger area. A good painter will usually paint the door without removing it from the jamb. If that is not for you then you can take the door down and paint it laying down to avoid drips and bumps.
Remove the door. Insert long screws in the top and bottom edges and suspend the door on sawhorses. Remove all hardware. Fill dings, spot prime knots, and sand the door as necessary with 80- grit sandpaper. Follow up with 220-grit sandpaper that way the sanding marks will not show under the finish coat.
Prime the door. Use a tinted stain blocking primer to prime the door. Follow the painting order above. when the primer is dry, sand it lightly and then apply the finish coat following the same order as I mentioned.
Prime the ceiling. Start on the short side of the room and cut in the edges about 2 inches wide and about 5 feet long along the edges of the ceiling. Then, wearing eye safety protection and an old cap, roll paint onto the ceiling, working the roller into the cut in area to remove as many bush marks as possible. Roll with diagonal strokes and move the edge toward the middle of the room. Continue cutting in and rolling until you are finished.
Cut in a section of a wall. Wait until the ceiling dries and mask it off with blue painter's masking tape. Mask off with blue painter's masking tape. Mask off the trim if you haven't already done so. Starting in a corner, prime along about 5 ft of trim, 5 ft of ceiling, and from top to bottom of the corner.
Cut in the walls. After you have painted the ceiling, remove the tape from the top of the walls and allow the ceiling to dry thoroughly. Then mask off the ceiling to dry thoroughly. Then mask off the ceiling and trim to paint the walls. Start painting in a corner and cut in a few feet along the ceiling, a few feet along the baseboard, and the starting corner.
Roll close to the wall perimeter. The texture of brushed area is different from rolled areas. Paint into the freshly cut in areas with a roller, removing as much of the brush stroke texture as possible. Cover as much of the cut in as you can without getting paint on other areas. Starting with an up stroke, work from the ceiling toward the baseboard, rolling on large W-shape strokes. Back roll with a light load of paint to smooth things out.
