DIY painting, is this a reasonable amount of work for us?

[Anonymous]

We've never painted before. How reasonable is it for 2 able bodies adults, one very fit, one so-so to paint approx 900 sq feet? 2 bedrooms, 1 small bathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen/dining room. We are also painting kitchen cabinets.

Can we get this done in 2 weekends? I

am trying to convince DH's 22yo very active and strong brother to help (I am going to pay him) becasue I think this is too much work for the two of us.

[Anonymous]

You should be able to do a room in a day or a day and a half. The prep work takes as much time as the painting. It takes less time if you are just doing walls vs. the ceiling.

[Anonymous]

Are you also painting trim? that takes a lot longer. Kitchen cabinets will take longer also since you might want to do 2 coats to get the best surface.

[Anonymous]

yes to trim, but no crown moulding.

I figured we'd need to do 2 coats on the cabinets. This is going to stink. That's what happens when you are too poor for painters like we are!

[Anonymous]

I would take the cabinets off the hinges before you paint them, FYI. Don't forget that in general, unless you're painting with a very similar color, you're going to want to do a primer coat before the regular paint. You can get the primer tinted to match the "real" paint. Also, if there are any greasy spots on the existing paint, wash down the walls before you prime and the color will stick better. And be meticulous about (a) taping up the trim or walls before painting, and (b) putting down drop cloths and making sure they stay put. And also - remember that you will have to wait till paint on the walls dries before painting the trim, or vice versa, so that you can tape one while painting the other. So you may need to figure in some drying time.

[Anonymous]

Personally I don't bother with tape, I prefer to cut in with a good brush. This can save some time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally I don't bother with tape, I prefer to cut in with a good brush. This can save some time.

This is not good advice for first-time painters.

Use the good blue tape. Buy quality paint (I'm a fan of Benjamin Moore Aura paints--pricey, but you really only need one coat.)

Prime everything--clean the walls (at least dust them off). For the kitchen cabinets, these are going to take a lot of time. Read up on this online.

Have EVERYTHING you need on hand. Don't cheap out on rollers--good quality rollers and sturdy extension poles will make painting a lot easier. Be sure you have a ladder and enough tarp. Buy a little more paint than you need--because every batch is slightly different, and the extra will come in handy.

[Anonymous]

I've been doing a ton of research about cabinet painting and I am praying this works. I have seen painted cabinets look amazing and I've seen them look AWFUL.

We are painting before we move in, so at least we will be painting empty rooms and not have to worry about navigating around furniture.

Silly question- what do I wash the walls with before I paint? Soap and water the night before and let it dry?

[Anonymous]

Definitely buy Benjamin Moore for the trim. A professional painter gave us this tip, and the extra cost is definitely worth it, at least for trim. I would recommend it for the cabinets, unless you're using some other product designed for cabinetry (I've heard of Rustoleum, but haven't tried it). My husband painted our cabinets with Benjamin Moore, and they look great.

Wash the walls with trisodium phosphate (buy it in a box at the hardware store). Use gloves, as it is caustic, but it will definitely strip all of the grease, etc off of your walls. Just scrub down and let it dry.

[Anonymous]

It will probably take two non-professional painters more than two weekends. If you have any spots you need to spackle or cracks to fill, it will take even longer. Even if you don't need to prime the rest of the walls, you'll have to prime any spots you spackled. Prepping and painting isn't too hard, but it is time-consuming. TSP is the preferred cleaning solution for prepping to paint--easy to find in hardware stores. I think you have to wash with a TSP solution and then rinse with clean water. Good quality rollers are worth the extra $. Also, don't buy the thinnest, cheapest plastic drop clothes, or you'll have to deal with tears in them. You probably should sand the cabinets to rough up the current finish so the paint will stick. It's worth taking the time to do things right the first time so that the paint looks good and doesn't peel (it's easy to find instructions for painting online).

I found that Benjarmin Moore Aura paints needed two coats to really cover the walls, so I'm going to try Home Depot brand Behr next time. Behr paints have gotten really good reviews, and are a lot cheaper than BM.

The project overall will be time-consuming, but you'll feel like a rock star for doing yourself when it's finished and looks great!

[Anonymous]

get behr's paint and primer in one from Home Depot. One good coat + one touchup will do the trick for walls. We never wash the walls with anything more than soap and water and that has worked fine. You'll need more than one weekend. Also, but a brush cleaner, not a claening solution, but a little tool you can run over the brush and roller to get the paint out. And if you need to stop painting but aren't done with that color, put the roller/ brush in wax paper in the fridge and you don't need to wash it out and can start using it again (dont wait more than 36hrs though). Good luck!

[Anonymous]

TSP is the abbreviation for trisodium phosphate. (trying to make one less thing to be confusing)

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for all the great advice! We bought all our supplies yesterday and will start tomorrow morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would take the cabinets off the hinges before you paint them, FYI. Don't forget that in general, unless you're painting with a very similar color, you're going to want to do a primer coat before the regular paint. You can get the primer tinted to match the "real" paint. Also, if there are any greasy spots on the existing paint, wash down the walls before you prime and the color will stick better. And be meticulous about (a) taping up the trim or walls before painting, and (b) putting down drop cloths and making sure they stay put. And also - remember that you will have to wait till paint on the walls dries before painting the trim, or vice versa, so that you can tape one while painting the other. So you may need to figure in some drying time.

I second this advice. You can definitely do it- the wall painting is fairly straightforward.

I helped my sister with cabinets- hers look AWESOME now. It was previously sort of a dated kitchen, and they didn't have the money to spend on updating it now. Dated oak, but solid nice wood cabinets. Now they are beautifully painted white, with new hardware- it looks fantastic and wouldn't have been worth paying to replace the cabinets.

We had to do primer, and spend lots of time painting the cabinet doors, letting them dry, painting the other side, letting that dry, etc... then replacing them all, replacing the new hardware , etc. But it looks great.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that is a reasonable amt of time. Do one bedroom and the bathroom and then do the rest as you have time. It takes a lot of time to prep. Remember paint has to dry between coats. You need a primer before the paint. If the ceiling is a different color than the wall, you have to wait for the ceiling to dry before starting the walls. Buy a good book on painting.