What you are about to read, based on our research, is the most comprehensive painting tutorial currently available online.

The impetus for this how-to tutorial first came from our customers, many of whom expressed to us an interest in painting their own properties but lacked the knowledge and skills necessary to complete the task.

As professsional painters, we were also motivated by the general lack of online knowledge sharing (outside the trades) currently taking place. We're doing our best to get the word out.

As a company, we are of the mindset that anytime a dialogue can be started, on any subject, that's usually a good thing. If the topic happens to be painting, so much the better.

Our tutorial employs a casual, conversational tone. It is meant to be both informative, and fun. We provide motivation when we think motivation may in some way be helpful. We provide guidance when the next step in the painting process may not be absolutely clear.

If you're not already wearing them, you better put your reading shoes on. We have a lot of information to cover.

DISCLAIMER: Riverside Painting cannot and will not be held responsible for any personal injuries or property damage that results from readers or anyone else who attempts to complete the tasks outlined in this tutorial. Painting isn't like walking steel girders 60 stories in the air. That doesn't mean there aren't any risks involved. There clearly are. The long and the short of it:

USE EVERYTHING YOU READ ON OUR WEB SITE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Last comment before we begin: Riverside Painting does not shill for any paint or product manufacturers. Our recommendations are solely based on past experience as working contractors. If we recommend a specific paint or production tool, it means we've used it and have no complaints. If you choose to purchase tools through the links that appear in this tutorial, we make nothing from those sales. The links are simply meant to serve as visual points of reference for our readers.

PART I: Picking paint color(s)

Start by creating a materials check list. At the very top of the list should be paint color. While this may seem arbitrary, realize this is the one factor most likely to change multiple times before any actual production work begins. Until you have colors picked out, forget about everything else.

(Visit our resources page to view tens of thousands of paint colors offered by 12 popular brands of paint. Each site offers numerous design tips, some offer interactive color viewers. Lots of interesting color theory info available, too.)

Another reason why color selection is important is because it will ultimately determine your specific project's (in quarts and/or gallons) material requirements.

Say you are planning to paint a 12ft x 12ft bedroom. Say the walls are currently white but you are thinking about painting them a bright color, like red or green. In order to achieve adequate coverage using bright and/or dark colors, chances are all of the painted surfaces will require multiple coats of paint.

Where you might get by with two gallons if you used a standard color like linen white, you may need three gallons gallons to cover the same area using a brighter or dark color. If you are only painting one room, this may not be a huge issue. But if you are using a custom color palette throughout your home or office, be prepared to spend more money on materials.

Differences between finishes

Latex paints come in a variety of finishes. Some finishes have a bright "sheen" (which means they tend to shine and dramatically reflect light). Some paint finishes have little or no sheen.

As a matter of preference, we always recommend using paint that offers a low sheen when painting walls. Trim, which includes baseboards, doors and door frames, window frames and sills, chair rails, crown moulding and painted ornamental woodwork, usually is painted to achieve a medium sheen.

Popular trim finishes include gloss, semi-gloss and satin. Gloss offers the highest sheen, satin offers the lowest sheen. Popular wall paint finishes include eggshell, matte and flat. Eggshell offers the highest sheen, flat has no sheen. Ceilings are generally covered with flat finish paint.

We always recommend using matte finish on all wall space. Matte finish is essentially a washable flat wall paint with a very, very slight sheen. Unlike traditional flat paint, matte is durable and can withstand repeated cleanings.

We even recommend using matte finish in bathrooms and kitchens. Other contractors may prefer, and readers may have heard, using paint with higher sheens in these areas is the way to go. But we have found premium matte finish paints perform at least as well as eggshell without producing the texturing effect found in the eggshell finish.

The importance of priming prior to painting

Simply put: to achieve a professional finish, most surfaces need to be primed before they are painted. Possible exceptions include (relatively) new construction or recently painted surfaces that just need some freshening up. Brand new construction should always be primed before it is painted.

Any time you are using what is commonly referred to as a "deep base" color, you should prime before painting. In layman's terms, deep base colors are generally defined as such because they are either very dark or very bright compared to colors that reflect more neutral or earthy tones.

A tip when priming before using deep base colors: when using deep base colors, the primer should be tinted a shade or two darker than the finish paint.

(Note: any latex primer can be tinted to match any paint color.)

Using white or any variation of gray under a deep base color is not something Riverside Painting recommends.

The main reason we don't recommend using an untinted or lightly tinted primer prior to applying deep base colors is because doing so does not preserve color continuity. If damage occurs to a red wall, we would prefer the surface shows red primer underneath the paint instead of white. White primer showing through damaged paint will be glaringly obvious as where red primer showing through the same area will be barely noticeable.

Is it worth the time, effort and expense to use tinted primer? We think it is. In painting, as with anything else, an ounce of common sense goes a long way.

Estimating a project

Now that you've selected your colors and your finishes and determined whether or not you need to prime, the estimating process begins.

One gallon of paint generally provides between 350 and 400 square feet of coverage. Measuring surface areas to be painted is a straight forward process.

If you have 12ft x 12 ft room with 10ft ceilings, you can be fairly certain each of the room's four walls is going to equal 120 square feet (12ft length X 10ft height). Multiply that figure by four and you have 480 square feet of wall space.

Based on this simple example, and because we know a gallon of paint covers between 350 and 400 square feet, it should be easy enough to figure out how much paint is needed to cover all four walls. Be sure to measure all windows and closets then subtract their dimensions from the room's total square footage.

Reminder: to achieve professional results, in most cases, all painted walls will require a minimum of two (2) coats of paint. Simply doubling the original materials estimate is often a good way to determine how much paint will be needed for two coats of paint.

Estimating trim paint needs can be tricky. Assuming the dimensions of the previous 12ft X 12ft bedroom, assuming the room has at least one window and at least three doors (one entry and two closet), it is rare for us to encounter any single room that cannot be covered by a single quart of trim paint.

Of course, there are exceptions. Multiple doors, ornate trim, multiple or tall windows may sway the one quart rule. If you are painting a large room with heavy trim paint requirements, it's time to get out the tape measure and start measuring. There really is no simple way around this.

It probably goes without saying, but even still, we remind that a quart of paint offers one quarter the coverage of a typical gallon.

By now, you should easily be able to figure how much paint is needed to paint an entire ceiling.

Quick question: are you painting over latex or oil?

Before you hop in your car and drive to the paint store, you may need to double check and make sure you're not unwittingly about to start painting latex over oil.

Today, it is rare to find oil paint on walls or trim inside homes. If the space you are working with has not been painted for many years, there's a chance oil paint exists. Oil is still sometimes used in very expense homes, particularly on trim. Same goes for commercial spaces. Industrial property is oil paint's last domain.

To test for oil-based paint, all you need is some regular acetone a.k.a. nail polish remover. Soak a cotton ball and rub it over the suspected area(s). If the acetone does not remove any paint, then you know you're dealing with oil.

If you discover the walls in your work area were last painted with oil paint, we strongly recommend hiring a professional contractor to complete any new projects. Painting latex over oil is possible, it happens every day. The prep work involved in making an oil-based finish latex-ready is way beyond the capabilities of any inexperienced painter, and way beyond the scope of this tutorial.

We do intend to eventually write a "how-to work with oil-based paints" guide. Until then, to the smallest percentage of readers who now find themselves at an impasse, we apologize. And we also again remind, working with oil-based materials when you don't know what you are doing is a very bad idea.

Purchasing paint and supplies

Once you've calculated how much primer and paint you will need, head to your local paint store. Before you walk in, make sure you have everything you need written down on a piece of paper. Be sure you have the names and codes of every paint you plan to order.

Once you actually place your order, make sure the salesperson reads the order back to you before you pay. Once custom colors are mixed, they are not returnable. Once the order has been paid for, match the paid receipt, line item by line item, to your list. This is important. Any errors can end up costing you a lot of money.

Remember most paint stores sell all of the tools you will need to complete any painting project. And always ask the paint store if they deliver. Many do, and the charge is usually very reasonable. Moving paint can be back breaking work. Avoid it if and when you can.

Tool checklist

What follows is a comprehensive checklist of everything you will need to start and complete the task of painting.

(Click on any of the following links to see a picture of that particular item.)

Brushes: Riverside Painting generally makes it a point not to promote one brand of products over any other, but, in the interest of helping everyone work as efficiently and professionally as possible, we are going to go ahead and recommend the Purdy XL Cub paint brush to our readers. In our opinion, the Purdy XL Cub is the best reasonably priced paint brush on the market today. In fact, the 2.5" Purdy XL Cub is the best brush we have found, at any price.

With any painting project, it's always best to have at least a couple of decent brushes on hand. How do we define a decent brush? Believe it or not, it really is as simple as looking for and buying brushes with wooden handles. If you're using a brush with a plastic handle, chances are you are asking for trouble. Cheap, plastic handled brushes may work if you're staining a piece of patio furniture. Otherwise, they tend to shed which means they leave their bristles on your walls and trim as they're being used. Loose bristles may end up in your cutting bucket, or they may end up on your floor. Any way you slice it, using cheap brushes is usually not a very good idea. A 2.5" Purdy XL Cub costs around $12-$13.

Roller handle: skimp here and pay later. The foundation of a perfect paint job begins and ends with this tool; buying a decent roller handle is that important. A decent 9" roller handle will run you anywhere from $10-$15. When picking a roller handle, make sure the frame or "cage" part of the handle (the part the roller cover slides over) is strong and well made. Cheap roller handles generally are constructed using thin metal spines that look like bicycle wheel spokes. Squeeze the spines. If they collapse easily, you know you're dealing with junk.

To expedite trim work, you will also need a 3" roller handle. Cost: $2.

Roller cover: roller covers are the cottonous looking gizmos that are slipped over the roller frame. They come in a variety of fibers, textures and "naps". For painting walls and ceilings, a 9" roller cover with a 1/2 inch nap is recommended. You need at least one 9" inch roller cover for every color you plan to paint. A 3" roller cover, 3/8" nap is also recommended. Make sure you have one for each color unless you are prepared to wash them out after each use. If you have access to a yard and a hose, or a large slop sink, cleaning roller covers isn't a bad idea. Otherwise, properly discard every cover after it's served its usefulness. Cost: $5 per.

Extension pole: about the easiest thing to buy. A good four (4) foot extension pole will suffice. Good for walls and ceilings. A decent pole will cost around $15. Make sure the extension pole you select has a decent locking mechanism. Wooden poles are not always a bad choice. They do tend to wobble and splinter, and you lose the extension functionality. The thinness of wooden poles becomes a pain in the hands too soon for our full on recommendation. If wood works for you, they usually cost around $5.

Paint bucket: there are two varieties, the five (5) gallon bucket and the two and a half quart cutting bucket. You will need at least one of each.

Something you will never see on a Riverside Painting job site is a paint tray. Paint trays are accidents waiting to happen. They are unstable. If anyone ever spots a paint tray on one of our job sites, they best stick their head out the nearest window and make sure the sun is still shining because something is seriously amiss! Have we made clear enough the importance of NOT using paint trays? Good!

In place of trays, professional painters use plastic five gallon buckets. These can be purchased at any hardware or paint store. You have the choice of buying them with or without lids. Always buy the lids. After you're done using the "fiver" (<-- painter lingo), it can be cleaned out and used for other painting projects or any number of other purposes. No trays!

A "cutting bucket" is another must have sundry. They are much smaller than a fiver. They are made of plastic or metal. You can buy paper inserts that fit right inside the cutting bucket. The inserts are time savers when working with multiple colors. A cutting bucket allows you to avoid having to work out of a full paint can and helps you avoid costly accidents. Drop a cutting bucket and you lose a few ounces of paint, drop a gallon and things get expensive. And messy.

Never work out of a full quart or gallon of paint. Always use a cutting bucket.

Paint grids: these fit inside the fiver and are used to take excess paint off the roller cover once it has been dipped in paint. Don't forget to buy grids when you buy fivers; the fivers are useless without them. Also make sure the width of the grids match the length of your roller handle and covers. Cost: $5-$6 per. If you buy the 3" roller handle and cover, you'll need a 3" grid as well. Highly recommended, and cheap.

Caulk gun: The difference between a good one and a cheap one is a few bucks. Buy a good one. Look for features like spout cutter and seal puncture tool attachments. Usually cost no more than $10.

Painter's caulk: when buying caulk, make sure you buy PAINTER'S caulk. Most other types of caulk are not paintable. DAP is the most popular brand and can be found at most popular hardware and paint stores for around $3 per tube.

Light weight spackle: needed for filling nail holes and making other minor wall repairs. Always buy a small container. The stuff dries out fast. Cost: $7.

Sanding sponges: long gone are the days of using sand paper and the resulting bloody knuckles. Sanding sponges work in place of sand paper and come in varying degrees of coarseness. It's best to have a few medium grain sponges on hand. A fine grain sponge will also be needed. Lots of hardware stores now sell these at the checkout counter for $3-$4 each.

Blue tape: don't ever let anyone tell you Riverside Painting has to use blue tape to achieve a straight edge. Blue taping for a straight edge is a rank amatuer move! However, blue tape is useful for covering light switches and power outlets. It's also handy for protecting baseboards and holding painters plastic in place. One roll of 2 inch blue tape costs around $10.

5-in-1 tool: we debated about whether or not to include this but smarter heads prevailed. A 5-in-1 tool is exactly what its name implies: five tools in one. It's great for opening paint cans, getting those last few drops out of an oversaturated roller cover, scraping walls, pulling nails, spreading spackle, cutting out old caulk. A decent 5-in-1 can be had for around $6-$10.

Drop clothes, floor covering: canvas is always the safest bet. If you are working around hardwood floors, a layer of rosin paper is also a good idea. Plastic on the floor is almost always a bad idea. Plastic is slick, causes falls, and doesn't naturally absorb fallen paint like canvas and paper do.

DIYers no doubt will be contemplating whether or not to pull out and cover their floors with old bed sheets.

In theory, it's not a bad idea. In practice, at least on hardwood flooring, cotton sheets tend to slide around which makes for an unsafe work environment, particularly when ladders are being used. Cotton sheets also do not provide any real barrier between themselves and the flooring they were meant to protect.

If you want to play it safe, always use canvas. Canvas tarps run anywhere for $20-$40 per, depending on the size and material thickness.

Painter's plastic: comes in different lengths and weights: 100' x 4' roll & 9' x 12' sheets come in .5 mil thickness, 1 mil thickness, etc. We recommend using 2 mil plastic for covering anything you consider valuable. A roll costs around $20, sheets cost roughly $5 per.

Ladder: a decent six (6) foot step ladder will run around $100. Before purchasing, always check load capacity and make sure you feel comfortable with a ladder's basic operation. Some ladders are sturdier than others. The fold out ladders that pretend to be 50 ladders in one, we haven't had good luck with them. They are heavy, difficult for one person to move.

Miscellaneous: standard and philips screwdrivers, razor knife, claw hammer, cloth rags, small artists brush, dust broom, paint stir sticks.

General project comments, please read before proceeding

This tutorial assumes all surfaces being primed and painted are in good condition and not in need of any major repairs.

Separate tutorials that address how to repair cracks in plaster and drywall will be forthcoming, as will tutorials that show how to fix water or smoke damage. If you are unsure whether or not your project is paint-ready, contact a professional contractor before proceeding.

PART II: Preparing the work area

Before you begin priming or painting, every surface you plan to paint needs to be thoroughly cleaned. To clean, we do not recommend using detergents or any other common household cleaners. A water-dampened sponge is all that is required. How to handle wall or trim sections that show dark marks or light staining will be addressed in the following sections.

Remove light and outlet covers

Preparing the work area also involves removing light switch covers and power outlet covers. Grab your standard screw driver and start removing them. Be sure to store the covers and their screws in a safe place. We use blue tape to secure the screws to the back of their respective covers. Placing a small piece of blue tape over the tips of all on-off switches, and over the electrical outlets is a good way to ensure that these fixtures stay clean during the priming and painting process.

Cleaning walls, part 1

When you are finished removing and storing covers, lightly dampen an ordinary kitchen sponge, start in a corner and start wiping down the walls. Move length-wise down the wall working from high to low. (Note: you should not be using a sanding sponge. Just an ordinary kitchen sponge.) When cleaning walls, use long, sweeping, up-and-down strokes as you move across the room. Every inch of wall space should be wiped down.

Concentrate on working quickly. It shouldn't take one person more than ten minutes to clean a typical 12' x 12' room. Once all the walls have been wiped down, sponge all baseboard trim. Then move to door frames, doors, then window frames and sills.

While your giving the sponged areas a few minutes to dry, walk around the room and inspect the surfaces you plan to paint. Note any small nail holes, shallow divits or other slight imperfections. Remember the specific locations of all problem areas then grab a medium grain sanding sponge.

Sanding walls

Use the sanding sponge the exact same way you used the kitchen sponge. Start in a corner and work length-wise across the room. Apply a fair amount of pressure to the sponge as you work, enough to keep it flush against the wall.

Pay special attention to areas that show dark marks or other discoloration. These areas usually require additional sanding. Apply extra pressure to a sanding sponge and it begins to work like an eraser. As you sand over the dark marks, they will slowly begin to fade. Don't worry about trying to remove the black marks completely. You just want to knock down enough of the discoloration so it can be covered with primer.

Once you finish sanding one complete wall, stop, then turn, lean in so your head is next to the wall, and look back at your work. You will see a medium grain sponge lightly scores all surfaces it touches. Any areas that still shine or otherwise have obviously been missed need to be quickly sanded before you move on to the next wall. Proceed around the room until all walls have been sanded. Remember to focus on moving quickly. It should take one person about ten minutes to sand a 12' x 12' room.

When sanding trim, just make a single pass over all areas and you are done.

Making wall repairs

Once everything has been cleaned and sanded, grab your 5-in-1 tool and your container of light weight spackle. Pick a corner and start hunting for and filling holes while searching for other slight imperfections. (You already know where most of them are, right?)

Light weight spackle dries fast as long as you use it sparingly. To fill an ordinary nail hole, first run the sharp edge of your 5-in-1 tool across the hole to knock down any raised surfaces. Almost every nail hole has them. Then dip your finger in the spackle then spread the white residue across the hole. Don't force or try to jam it in. This sometimes causes spackle to bubble which is something you want to avoid. A simple swipe across the hole is all that's needed. Remove any excess spackle that resides around the hole. Then move on to your next repair.

We considered providing advice on how to repair damaged trim but ultimately decided that this task deserves it's own separate tutorial. Look for it in the next week or two.

Give the spackle ten or so minutes to dry then grab your fine grain sanding sponge lightly sand the repairs. Make a single pass over each repair. No more, no less. If you spot any excess spackle around the filled repairs, use the sanding sponge to remove it.

Cleaning walls, part 2

Time for more cleaning! This actually goes pretty fast. Using an ordinary dust broom, working from high to low, start sweeping the walls. Only work in one direction: down. Sweep downward. Toward the floor. Once you've finised sweeping the walls, sweep the baseboards. Move on to the remaining trim.

Once it is all swept, you will need to thoroughly clean around the edges where the baseboards meet the floor. This is particularly important if the room being painted has hardwood floors. First sweep, then run a damp cleaning sponge around the perimeter of the room. All the dust you created by sanding the walls and spackle repairs should be completely cleaned up before you open a can of paint. Are we having fun yet?

Caulking baseboards and trim

The final step before priming is caulking.

Grab your caulk gun, a tube of painter's caulk, your 5-in-1 and a cloth rag. Start by cutting a small piece of plastic off the tip of the caulk tube. (Some caulk guns have built-in cutters. Look for a small hole on the side of your caulk gun's handle. That's the cutter. If your caulk gun doesn't have a cutter, a standard razor or sharp pocket knife works just as well.)

When we say cut a small hole, we mean small. Just a sliver. And be sure to cut the tip at an angle. Avoid cutting straight across the tip. Then slide a thin metal rod into the cut tip. (Many caulk guns have built-in metal rods that swing out from underneath the tool. If your's doesn't, a regular coat hanger works just fine.) The rod should travel the length of the plastic nozzle and into the cardboard tube itself. This punctures the tube's protective seal and allows caulk to begin flowing. With your tube cut and punctured, load the tube into the gun.

Before you begin caulking, put a damp cloth rag in your back pocket. Caulking tends to get messy. A dry rag works in a pinch but will not remove caulk from your fingers and hands the same way a damp rag will.

Begin by focusing on the baseboards.

Place the tip of the caulk tube on the top edge of the baseboard, where the baseboard meets the wall. Make sure the angular cut you made is facing down. The angular cut should be resting on the top of the baseboard. Slowly squeeze the caulk gun's trigger until caulk starts flowing.

Once the caulk starts flowing, drag the tip across the top of the baseboard at a slow but consistent speed and keep moving. You always PULL the tip across the top of the baseboard. Do not PUSH the tip across. You should be moving backward as you work. Concentrate on dispensing a small but even amount of caulk. Work in four foot sections.

Once you have applied caulk to one four foot section, stop, return to your original starting point, and, using the tip of your index finger, lightly smooth the caulk out so it no longer resembles a bead and lays flat. After smoothing the bead, remove any overage.

Sometimes applying too much caulk will result in ridges appearing above and below your line of work. Use your damp cloth rag to lightly remove the ridges before you continue. After you start feeling comfortable working with the caulk gun, start working in longer sections.

As you work, you should be looking for any old caulk that shows signs of wear or decay. If you find a section that appears loose or otherwise unstable, use the pointed end of your 5-in-tool to strip it out.

Pay special attention to wide gaps that exist between the walls and baseboards. Wide gaps can, in most cases, be filled by simply applying additional caulk.

Once you've caulked all of the baseboards, begin inspecting door frames for cracks and/or gaps. Look for gaps/cracks where the door frames meet the walls. If they exist, caulk them. Remember to remove any old, faulty caulk before you begin. Next move to window frames. Crown moulding and any other decorative trim should also be inspected, repaired and caulked.

PART III: Priming your work area

Now is when you begin setting up your work area. (Note: this tutorial assumes readers will be applying primer to all surfaces prior to painting. A brief section that covers "spot priming" will follow this section.)

Any furniture that has not been moved out of the room should be moved to the center of the room then covered with plastic. Once the furniture and other valuables have been covered, begin laying down your canvas tarps.

Tarps should cover every visible inch of floor space. No exceptions. Once the canvas tarps are in place, begin organizing your work materials. Select a designated production area and remember to keep your tools and other materials in that one centralized location.

As with any painting project, always start high and work low. In this tuturial, we begin with priming the ceilings. In this section you will need a brush, a cutting bucket, a clean cloth rag, a 5-in-1 tool, a sanding pad, a can of primer, a plastic five gallon bucket ("fiver"), a wooden stir stick, and a ladder.

Starting with primer

Pick up the can of primer, hold it securely, use both hands, and give it a good 30-second shake. This helps mix the paint that's been sitting on the bottom of the can (for who knows how long) prior to actually opening the can. After shaking, set the can down on top of a tarp and grab your 5-in-1 tool. Using the 5-in-1's flat edge, (not the pointed tip), slowly begin prying the lid off. Don't try to pry the lid off in one move. Work your way around the perimeter of the can, slowly work the lid loose until it pops off. Place the lid, wet side facing up, in a place where it can't be stepped on. Empty the entire gallon of primer into your plastic fiver. Set the can down, grab a stir stick and vigorously begin stiring the primer.

After you're done stirring, grab your cutting bucket. Pour primer from the fiver into the cutting bucket. Fill the bottom of the cutting bucket to a depth of about two (2) inches. Do not try to pour the entire contents of the fiver into the cutting bucket. Do not pour half of the fiver's contents into the cutting bucket. Just a small amount will do.

With the primer poured, pick a corner in the room and set-up your ladder. Safety tip: when using ladders, NEVER FACE YOUR WORK. Always position the ladder so it faces the direction in which you are working. If you climb your ladder and find yourself facing a wall, immediately climb back down and turn your ladder 90 degrees. In our experience, painters who do not observe this most important of safety rules are setting themselves up for a fall. This is the oldest of the old school painter safety rules. Remember to NEVER FACE YOUR WORK to avoid ladder related calamities.

Setting up a ladder

With your ladder properly set up, with a clean cloth rag in one back pocket and 5-in-1 tool in the other, grab your cutting bucket and brush. Approach the ladder and check one last time to make sure the ladder is locked in a fully open position. If the ladder rocks back and forth as you begin to climb, immediately climb back down and check to make sure the two braces that hold the ladder's legs together are firmly locked in place. Also make sure the ladder's front legs are square with its back legs. They should always be perfectly aligned with one another.

Before climbing the ladder, place your paint brush inside the cutting bucket. You should always have one hand free to hold on to the ladder as you begin climbing. With your brush inside your cutting bucket, begin ascending the ladder, one rung at a time. Once you are at a height that allows you to comfortably reach the ceiling, and with your feet firmly planted, grab your brush. Lightly bounce both (wide) sides of the brush against the inside of the cutting bucket. Doing this twice removes enough excess primer to safely begin priming.

Cutting in ceiling and walls with primer

Push the tip of the brush into the ceiling corner. Focus on covering the corner completely. Once the corner has been covered with primer, re-dip your brush, remove excess by bounching the brush off the inside of the cutting bucket twice, and start "cutting in." Use long, measured strokes as you move your brush across the outside edge of the ceiling and the top of the wall. And always use the wide side of the brush to spread primer. Do not use the narrow edge to spread primer. Concentrate on developing a straight and consistent motion. Long strokes.

When working in a corner, you should be priming both vertically and horizontally. Prime both across the ceiling/wall crease, and from the top corner, down toward the floor. In this phase, even though we are preparing the ceiling, it's smart to use the ladder time to prime the top of the walls as well. Otherwise, you'll have to move the ladder around the room again when priming the walls. When running the brush down the walls (from the top corner), you only need to prime down a few feet. The rest of the priming can be handled from the ground.

Brush stroke tip: as previously mentioned, always use the widest side of the brush when spreading material. A section that has been properly primed should be roughly equal to the width of your brush. If you are using a 2.5" brush, the edges of the ceiling and the top of the wall should show a 2.5" band of primer. Also remember that you should always use long, smooth strokes, not short, stabbing strokes. Use this time to establish your stroke, learn how your particular brush lays out paint so later on, when you begin cutting for a straight edge with color, you will work like a pro.

And remember to breath while you're working!

It's very common for DIY'ers to hold their breath when using a large brush for the first time. Remember to inhale as you dip your brush, and exhale as your brush first touches the surface that is being covered. This point may seem trivial, but we guarantee a full 95% of all readers who refer to these pages will forget to breath at least one time while painting, especially when the finish work begins. The breathing reminder will be reitirated throughout this tutorial.

Cutting in around ceiling fixtures (circles)

Once you've worked your way around the room and primed the outer edges of the ceilings and the tops of the walls, you may need to paint around light fixtures that are mounted in the center of the room. If your room has no ceiling mounted lighting fixtures, skip this and move on to the next section.

So far, you've developed a brush stroke that accomodates straight edges. How do you handle priming around circular fixtures? Simple! By painting in circles!

After securely positioning your ladder under the fixture, reach up, around, or through the fixture and begin priming in half circles. Start priming six inches out from the fixture's mounting plate and move inward as you go. Quarter circles work well if the fixture is elaborate or otherwise cumbersome. Focus on working carefully, but quickly. On the final pass, place the tip of the brush as close to the fixture's mounting plate as possible and complete your circle. Be careful not to get paint on the fixture.

If paint touches the fixture, reach in your back pocket, grab your clean cloth rag, and wipe it away. It's important you clean paint from fixtures before it has a chance to dry. Generally speaking, primer (and paint) tend to dry very quickly because of the heat light fixtures produce. Even if you are painting in natural light and the ceiling light is turned off, it's best to get into the practice catching and correcting errors as they occur.

With the ceilings, tops of the walls and wall corners cut-in, finish cutting in the rest of the room before moving on to the ceiling roller work. At this point, most of the difficult cutting is done. All you need to do is bring your corner cuts to the floor, then cut-in around door frames and windows. By now, you should have a decent brush stroke down and be able to move quickly.

Priming trim

The next order of business involves priming trim. Again, this is a good time to build and hone your skills. Focus on moving quickly. When priming baseboards, again, start high and work low. Start at the top of the baseboards and work down toward the floor. Don't worry about getting the brush to within a micro-inch of the floor. As close as you feel comfortable working is fine. Priming doors, frames, windows and sills will be handled after the ceiling has been rolled.

With the room effectively cut in, set your brush in your cutting bucket and place it somewhere it can't be stepped in or otherwise knocked over.

Setting up a primer rig

Assembling a primer rig, or any other type of rolling rig, is simple. You should already have a fiver with some primer in it. Grab another new can of primer, open and pour it in with the other so you have close to two (2) gallons of primer in your fiver. Set the empty primer can in a safe place, then return to your primer rig and vigorously start stirring.

Once you've finished stirring, grab your 9" roller handle and a fresh 9" cover. Remove the cover from it's plastic packaging. Do not discard the plastic packaging, you may need it later. Slip the cover over the roller handle's cage. Make sure the cover slides all of the way on to the cage. The outside edge of the cage and the cover should be perfectly flush with one another.

Grab a grid and place it inside the fiver. Grids have hooks that reach over the top and hang down the side of the fiver. The hooks help keep the grid secure inside the bucket.

With your primer poured, your roller handle and grid set up, grab your rolling poll. Screw the roller handle on to the pole and get ready. You're just about ready to start rolling.

Ceiling work considerations

Rolling ceilings is very different from most other projects. As you are about to learn, rolling ceilings is physically demanding work. You must move and work quickly in order to achieve uniform coverage. Working around any furniture that has been moved to the center of the room also presents a unique set of challenges.

Ceilings are rolled either lengthwise or widthwise. Determining which direction you should follow is easy. Simply stand in your room's entry doorway, so you are facing the room's back wall. You always want to roll from left-to-right. You never roll from the back wall toward the entry doorway. Always left-to-right. The reason you roll this way is to visually minimize any roller lines that are created while you are working. Following this rule sometimes means you are forced to roll a room's ceiling lengthwise when widthwise would be much easier. Because we've been there, we certainly sympathise. But there's a right way, and a wrong way, to roll ceilings. We always recommend doing it the right way.

Begin priming ceiling

Always start at the back of the room. Place your fiver in a corner, a couple feet away from the back wall. Take your pole and dip the roller cover in the primer then roll the cover against the grid, then repeat. (Note: do NOT completely submerge the roller cover in primer. Each dip should cover roughly half of the cover.) It will take a few dips before a new roller cover is fully saturated and ready for use.

(To help readers visualize the task at hand, we will assume the room being painted has four walls and is 12' X 10'. We will assume the back wall is 12' long and the side walls are 10' long. Based on information contained in the preceeding section, it is assumed readers will be rolling in 12' sections.)

With the outside edge of the roller cover two (2) inches away from the back wall, start rolling. Focus on making long, straight passes. Be sure to overlap the primer band you created while cutting in. Always roll from one end of the room to the other. Using the example above, your first full pass should be exactly 12' long (the length of the room) and 9 inches wide (the width of your roller cover). The second pass should also be 12' long and 9 inches wide, and so on.

Make sure the primer is being distributed evenly as you work. As you become more familiar with how rollers distribute primer, you will get a better idea how often you need to reload the cover with more primer. Generally, one dip should be good for one ten foot pass. You may get a little more or a little less coverage out of a single dip, but 10 feet is a fair guide. Remember, it is important that you work quickly. Also remember to focus on applying even coverage as you work. Once you start rolling, do not stop working until the entire ceiling has been primed.

When rolling a ceiling, or a wall, or a door, basically anytime you are using a roller, you always want to maintain what's known as a "wet edge." A wet edge refers to the outside edge your roller creates as you work. Once the outside edge of your work starts to fade, it's time to dip and reload your roller cover. Maintaining a wet edge isn't as important when priming as it is when you're using finish paint, but it is wise to use this time to develop your painting technique, so when you begin rolling actual paint, you'll be able to work much more efficiently.

Once you reach the center of the room, you may need to roll around a lighting fixture. The six inch (circular) cut you produced earlier makes this a simple task. You may need to remove the roller handle from the pole and grab the ladder if the lighting fixture is ornate or cumbersome. Otherwise, simply roll past the light fixture as you work your way across the ceiling. When your roller approaches the fixture head-on, slow your speed then simply roll up to your cut marks. Remember to continue rolling in a straight line. If you accidentally bump the fixture with the roller cover, grab your ladder and a clean cloth rag and quickly wipe it clean.

After you've finished rolling, start checking your work. Walk around the room, look for any obvious missed spots or hanging globs of paint. If you find either, simply grab your rolling pole, and, without dipping it, roll over the errors. While checking, also inspect the tops of the walls. Check for globs made by the roller cover. If you find one, grab your brush and ladder, leave the cutting bucket on the floor, and quickly run the wide edge of the brush over the errors. Also look for any black or other discoloration marks that the primer didn't cover. Where appropriate, apply additional primer over those areas until they disappear. And finally, don't be alarmed if the primer coat doesn't look consistent throughout the room. Primer is a very thin material, much thinner than paint. Its function is not to provide complete coverage. Its function is to provide a stable surface that is ready to receive paint.

Congratulations! You've just completed quite a task! Not only have you established a solid, professional base coat for your ceiling paint, you've also begun developing a skill that will only get better as you continue to work. Next, we move to priming the walls.

Priming wall space

Now may be a good time to add another gallon of primer to your fiver. Once that's done, you're ready to begin rolling the walls.

Rolling walls is similar to rolling ceilings. You always start in a corner, and you always move the roller in a straight line. When rolling walls, always work from the top of the wall, down. Your first roller pass should start three (3) feet below the ceiling. Begin by rolling up to your cut line, then back down toward the floor. Your initial pass should move up the wall three feet then all the way down to the top of the baseboard. Two fluid moves, one short move up, then one long move down. Always begin each new pass in the same way. Rolling in this way makes sense because the highest part of the wall is the most difficult wall space for a painter to see. We want to make sure the entire wall has been properly primed. Pushing a loaded roller over the highest part of the wall is the best way to make sure primer is being applied in an even and consistent manner. As you work, monitor how much primer is in the bottom of your fiver. Once it starts to get low, add another gallon. Never let the fiver get to the point where it is holding less than a half a gallon. When you hit the half gallon mark, its time to refill.

Beware of roller marks

At this point, we will assume you are comfortable working with a roller, we'll skip the step-by-step instructions and instead offer a few tips. First, as you roll, be aware of creating roller marks as you work. Roller marks are created several ways. Sometimes they are created when you apply too much pressure to the roller handle itself. Always remember to let the weight of the tools do most of the work. Your hands simply guide them up and down. Another way roller lines are created is when you roll over the same areas too many times. When working with primer, two smooth, consistent passes over any 9 inch wide strip should suffice: move up three feet, then down to the floor, then back up then back down then move on to the next 9 inch strip. The last and probably most common reason rollers create lines is because the roller is loaded with too much primer. As you refine your application technique, this will become less of an issue.

Some levity: we're not sure exactly how or when it started, but somebody somewhere began promoting a crazy painting technique that, oddly enough, has managed to gain a fair amount of traction.

The so-called technique is derived from a letter-based painting system. According to some unknown, painting the letters "N" and/or "W" in the middle of a wall, then rolling sidewise and diagonally and up and down and all around to fill in the wall space surrounding those letters is the best way to paint.

Again, the origin of this alphabet soup method of painting remains, at least to us, a total mystery. Less of a mystery is whether or not the method's creator was a professional painter. The answer to that question: a resounding, NO.

We could easily list many reasons why the letter system is, let's just say, less than ideal. But it is our opinion that doing so would only fuel the mystery huckster's quest to deceive. So, instead, we will be brief and simply say: don't use it.

Priming doors and sills

After you finish priming the walls, you should begin priming door faces and window sills. How a door is primed depends on its basic construction. If you have a simple flat panel door, use your 3" inch roller handle to prime it. If the doors have panels, still use the same 3" roller, but a few extra steps are involved.

To prime a flat panel door, first cut-in around the door knob. For beginners, it's best to protect the hardware with a piece of 2" blue tape. Cut a single piece of tape from the roll, then apply the tape to the outside perimeter of the door knob casing. Get as close to, without actually covering the surface of the door, as you can.

Once the hardware has been taped off, grab your brush and cut a circle around the door knob. Then cut in around the door hinges. To play it safe, you may want to tape off the hinges before you start priming any doors. Next, use your brush to run a one inch line across the top and bottom of each door. Then take the 3" roller and start rolling the door itself.

Work in nine (9) inch section. Make three vertical passes, start the very top of the door, and down to (without hitting) the floor. Once you are finished rolling your first 9" strip, grab your brush and start "back brushing" the fresh primer.

Back brushing

Back brushing does two things: first, it helps spread the primer evenly. It also gives the door a finished look.

To back brush a flat panel door, take your brush, and, starting at the very top of the door, slowly (and lightly) drag the brush straight down. Focus on moving the brush in a perfectly straight line. Again, the brush movement should be fluid and seamless. One move from top to bottom, then move to the next section until you've back brushed the entire door. Continue priming in 9" wide strips until the door has been completely primed and back brushed.

Six or more panel doors are handled a little differently.

Use the 3 inch roller to cover the inside of each panel with primer. Once each of the panels has been rolled, take your brush and begin back brushing each panel. Don't focus on making the primer coat look perfect. You just need to make sure all surfaces inside all panels are primed. Lengthwise panel indentations and the faces themselves should always be back brushed vertically. Short indentions should be back brushed horizontally. Once the panels have been primed and back brushed, prime and back brush the door's cross sections. The long (vertical) sections are back brushed vertically, the short (horizontal) sections are back brushed horizontally.

After you roll and back brush the window sills, the priming portion of your project should be complete. Make a quick pass through the room, look for any misses or errors, correct them and you are done!

Spot priming

Spot priming is an option for those who chose not to prime their entire work area prior to painting. The task may include priming an entire wall, or it may be limited to priming only those wall or trim sections that show significant discoloration. In most cases, a brush and a cutting bucket is all that is needed to spot prime. Simply pour a small amount of primer into your cutting bucket then proceed to spot prime using your brush. Apply the primer in thin coats, just enough to cover any existing discoloration. If an entire wall requires primer, use the detailed instructions above to learn how to set up a rolling rig.

Work, material, and tool review

Up to this point, assuming you've primed your entire work area, you have learned how to use every one of your painter's tools. You've learned how your brush holds and lays out primer, you've learned out to use a sanding sponge and how to caulk, you've learned how to assemble a rolling rig, you've learned how to make minor wall repairs, you've learned how useful a 5-in-1 tool is and how to properly set-up and use a ladder, and you've become well acquainted with your roller handle and pole. By design, the priming tutorial is necessarily comprehensive. Learning the tools and tricks of the trade, developing a linear brush stroke and a consistent rolling technique while working with primer is exactly how every new employee at Riverside Painting is trained. Equipped with this knowledge, you are now truly ready to begin working on producing your first professional paint job.

Clean up

If your brush is still sitting in a cutting bucket full of primer, pour the primer back in one of the empty primer cans. If you need to clean out your fiver, now's the time to do it. Because you are working with latex, warm water and some mild detergent is all you need to clean up. Apply a few drops of mild detergent to the bristle end of your brush, work the detergent into the bristles, rinse and resoak, then let it run under warm water for a few minutes. Taking the time to thoroughly clean your brush will help ensure it lasts for a long time. For the casual painter, a well maintained, quality brush will last for many years. Fivers can be cleaned outdoors, or in a slop sink. Warm water and a drop or two of mild detergent and you should be good to go. Don't forget to clean your grid and your roller handle.

You did save the plastic bag the roller cover came in, right? Good. With the cover still on the roller handle, pull out the plastic bag and blow inside it, so it inflates. With the plastic bag inflated, slowly slip it over the used roller cover. This requires a little dexterity but is not entirely impossible. Once the plastic bag slips over your roller cover, simply slide it down the length of the roller cage. The plastic bag should fit perfectly over the used cover, just like when it was new. Simply grab the covered roller cover and pull it off the cage. After removing the cover, push the open end of the plastic bag inside the cover body so no air can get inside. Store it in a safe place if you have another room to prime. Otherwise, pitch it.

PART IV Cutting and rolling, ceiling paint

Who's ready to paint? Thought so! Now it's time to get serious. Make a quick pass around the room. Make sure the tarps are all covering what they are supposed to be covering. Make sure whatever you have covered with plastic is secure. Set your ladder up in a corner. Check to make sure you have a clean cloth rag in your back pocket. Your 5-in-1 should also be on your person, too.

Pour the appropriate amount of ceiling paint into your clean fiver, stir. Then grab your clean cutting bucket, pour out some ceiling paint, grab a clean brush and start cutting in the ceiling.

Unlike before, now you want to focus on painting in a straight line. As you cut in the ceiling, overlap the crease where the wall and ceiling intersect so you cover with paint just the very top edge of the wall. The ceiling paint should not extend down the wall by more than one quarter of an inch.

You may have to slow your brush stroke some. That's okay. As long as you work at a consistent speed and use long, smooth brush strokes, you'll be fine. Remember to use the wide side of the brush as you work.

Once the ceiling has been completely cut-in, start setting up your rolling rig. Slip a clean roller cover over your roller handle cage, drop a clean grid in the fiver, grab your pole and start rolling.

Remember to work from left-to-right, in a straight line, using long passes. Remember to overlap your cut and try to keep the roller away from the wall. Move quickly and maintain a wet edge as you roll. Don't stop until the entire ceiling has been painted.

After you finish rolling the ceiling, walk around the room and inspect the top edge of every wall. If you see a spot that was hit with the roller, grab the ladder, climb up and lightly wipe the ceiling paint off the wall. If you discover a "holiday" (<-- painter lingo, means "missed spot") while inspecting your work, grab the roller. Run the roller over the grid a few times to remove any excess paint, then lightly roll over your holiday(s) until it disappears. Now stand back and admire your work. Looks great, right?

After you finish cleaning up your rig and other tools, now's a good time to take a break. You want to give the ceiling a chance to dry before you start cutting in the walls. Give the ceiling at least two hours to dry, longer if the room is humid or there is significant moisture in the air.

Applying blue tape

Before you start cutting-in, tape off the baseboards. Grab your roll of 2" blue tape, pick a corner, any corner, and start taping. Taping is another task that takes some dexterity but can be learned relatively quickly. When taping, you don't want to stick a bunch a little pieces of tape along the top of the baseboard. You want to try and apply one long, continuous piece of tape that runs the length of the wall.

Start in a corner, pull a two foot section of blue tape free from the roll. Do not separate the section from the roll. Leave it in tact. Using your thumb and index finger, gently place the tape on the top edge of the baseboard then press down on the tape. Apply pressure until the blue tape adheres to the top edge of the baseboard. Make sure the tape covers only the baseboard and not the wall. The bottom edge of the tape should not touch or stick to the face of the baseboard. With the lead piece firmly in place, start laying out the remainder of the two foot section. Once the first two foot section is in place, run a finger along the top edge of the baseboard to ensure the tape is properly in place. Then use one finger to hold the tape in place while you pull another two foot section of blue tape free from the roll. Continue on around the room until all baseboards have been taped.

With the baseboards properly taped, grab a couple gallons of wall paint and a clean fiver. Give both cans a good shake before opening them. After shaking, pour both cans in the empty fiver and stir. Pour an appropriate amount of paint into your cutting bucket. Place a lid on the fiver when you're done pouring. If you haven't set-up your ladder, now's the time to do it. Make sure you have a clean cloth rag in your back pocket.

Cutting-in wall paint

Start your paint cut two (2) inches below the ceiling. Paint a two inch band of paint. Your first cut move should be approximately two (2) feet long. Remember to use long, smooth strokes. Breath in, and breath out as you paint.

After you have cut a line two inches below the ceiling, reload your brush with paint. Your next cutting move should also be two feet long. This cut should come to within one half inch of the ceiling. At this point, you are still not painting the crease where the wall and ceiling meet.

Once the second cut move is complete, use the wide side of the brush to smooth out your work so the paint is distributed evenly from the beginning to the end of your cut. Just a couple of even, smooth brush strokes is all it should take.

Using wall space as a palette

When cutting in walls, it's good to get into the practice of using wall space as a material palette that functions similarly to your cutting bucket.

When cutting in below the crease, your first move after loading your brush is to begin painting. When cutting a straight line with paint, your first move is still loading the brush, but before you actually begin painting, pick a small piece of wall space two or three inches below the crease and lay some paint off your brush, and onto the wall. This should load the small piece of wall space with an extra heavy coat of paint.

As you begin cutting your straight line, you will return to this area to add more paint to the tip of your brush as it is needed.

You've seen the way artists work with handheld palettes. It's the same concept.

The technique is useful for two reasons. First, it helps remove any excess paint from your brush and ensures you don't accidently jam a loaded brush into a crease. It also cuts down on the amount of time you spend reloading your brush. Instead of going to the cutting bucket each time you need more paint, now you can go to your palette for more paint. Don't get carried away with creating massive palettes all over the walls. Each area should be 2" x 2". And make sure you brush over the palette and remove any brush strokes before you move your ladder.

To cut a perfectly straight line, load your brush with paint, lay some paint off on the wall. Then place the tip of your brush one half inch below the crease where the wall and ceiling meet. With the tip of your brush touching the wall (just below the crease), apply a small amount pressure to your brush. The bristles should slowly begin to fan out. Slowly push your brush up so the very tip of the bristles just barely touch the crease where the wall and ceiling meet. Now start painting a straight line across the top of your cut. Remember to breath out, exhale as your brush begins moving.

Once your straight line cut is complete, run the tip of the bristles along the length of the wall one final time to smooth out an heavy brush strokes. Your first few cuts may not come out perfectly straight. That's okay. This is a skill that takes a while to master. Remember to take your time. This is not a race. Don't get frustrated. Any errors can be corrected later on. For now, focus on moving your brush in a straight line, at a comfortable and consistent speed.

Before moving out of the corner, you need to cut two lines from the top of the wall, down toward the floor. The vertical cuts should start at the very top of the walls and run down then stop about halfway between the ceiling and floor.

Start by cutting in the corners where the walls and ceiling meet. As before, do not try to jam a loaded brush into the crease where the wall and ceiling meet. Load your brush with paint, work your palette, place the tip of the bristles an inch or so below the corner where the wall and ceiling meet. Slowly apply pressure to the brush so the bristles begin to fan out then slowly push the brush upward, so the tips of the bristles just touch the corner. Cutting in around door and window frames is handled the exact same way. Start your cut a couple of inches away from a door frame. Use long, smooth brush strokes.

Unlike ceiling cuts, your last cut move should just barely over lap the narrow edges of all door and/or window frames. The overlap should not be more than 1/8" wide. Don't worry about creating perfectly straight cuts around door and window frames. Just be sure to observe the 1/8" overlap rule.

Cutting in a typical 12' X 10' room may take an hour, or longer. Again, this is not a race. Use this first effort to focus on developing your brushing technique. Pace yourself. Remember to breath in, and breath out, as you work.

With the walls, doors and windows cut-in, start setting up a fresh rolling rig. A fiver, a grid, roller handle and cover, pole, etc.

To be continued...

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