Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners OT: Texturing is done, now onto priming/painting..

Just wanted to let you know that we just completed all the mudding/taping/texturing in our basement, I'm getting excited. Now it is time to move onto priming/painting everything. It will take some time, as we finished about 1500sq ft of our 2100sq ft basement.

I guess I'm looking for some advice from all of you paint guru's....I'm planning on just using the good ole roller method, but am curious if there are any new products/techniques you would recommend to make the job easier or faster. I even thought about renting/buying a power roller or sprayer. I have heard spraying is faster, but very messy.

Thanks guys.

ps: hope to update my website with some new pics asap...

Randy

the only 'techniques' i know, is all the stuff my wife learns on the home improvement shows.. but, most of them use long, time consuming methods. i know dab techniques, drag techniques, sponge techniques, roll techniques, and taping techniques.. but, none of these are quick, or fast.

good luck with it.. and stay away from any beige color.. they look pink in the sunlight!! i always add that .02 cents in!!

bigjohn

Hey Randy,

Random thoughts on interior painting.

I hate it.

I've tried cheap sprayers (Wagner, et. al.) and found them unsatisfactory. Noisy, technique-dependent, and provide poorer results than good, old-fashioned rollers. I like how the roller shoves paint into the surface instead of just laying it on there.

Likewise, any sprayer requires much more meticulous masking procedures than using a brush and roller. I like that part of the job even less.

Are you painting the ceiling a different color? Purists will tell you that you need just a steady hand and good technique to cut-in the edges of the ceiling and the wall where they meet. Apparently, I do not possess the painter purist gene.

One technique that a friend told me (that I have used effectively) is regarding masking tape and bleed-through. This only works on relatively smooth surfaces and only if you buy good tape (3M Blue tape is okay - not the cheap beige kind) and only if you adhere the tape well. When you are taping off an area (say you have painted the ceiling white, and have extended that white a bit onto the wall to ensure you get a good line) and you want to then paint the walls a different color. After you tape the edge of the ceiling and before you paint the new color, you paint the important edge of the tape again WITH THE OLD COLOR (white, in this case). That way, IF you get a little bleed-through under the tape, it is the color that is already on the area that you are trying to retain. Then, you paint your new color, which is much less likely to bleed under the tape.

My favorite technique, however, is to just avoid it until my wife can't stand it any longer so that she does it.

How long does it take everybody else to decide on which color to use? I think last time, we spent three trips standing in the paint aisle getting paint chips followed by considerable consternation at home before picking one of the three finalists out of a hat. The result was great, but man, getting to "which color red" was tough. btw, plan on about 4 coats if you are painting anything red.

Good luck on your project, Randy. I'm happy for you, and eager to see the results.

if i were to have a dedicated ht room i would use a flat paint to keep down the glare when watching a movie,benjamin moore has a washable flat paint,also it hides imperfections,ben moore is my favorite,also sherwin williams is good,and american tradition (lowes brand)has come a long way,-imo-...anyway ,have fun painting,i know i hate it

I let my wife do all the preliminary choosing and when she's got it down to a shortlist of 3-4 colours she asks my opinion. I'm not sure why she bothers. I guess it is more a courtesy or something. I'm not a risk taker in the coloured wall department (i've no eye for such stuff), so invariably I go with the most "safe" colour (subdued or beige). She almost always says "really, that is my least favourite. I think we need something more bold to bring out the.... in the room.". So we always go with her choice and I do most of the painting. It always looks good and we both know it is better she makes the colour decisions.

Tried and true rollers and a good brush for the trim are my instruments of choice. I try to get away with taping as little as possible (takes too long), so where I can I'll use latex and have a rag handy to clean up the odd slip of the brush.

I used some of this stuff when I redid the ceiling in my bedroom a couple years ago. It comes in different texture styles for different applications. It was easy to work with and the results are fantastic.

It was super easy to work with. Application requires only two steps:

1. roll on with a texture roller
2. go back over it with a wide trowel to achieve the desired effect (light pressure = more texture, heavy pressure = less texture)

Hmm. It's available in a "popcorn" finish and you put it on the ceiling in your bedroom. Was there butter or any other deliciously slippery topping etc. to add to the mix?

thanks guys for all of your input, believe me I am very excited about finally being able to start painting, then carpeting, trim, doors, yada yada yada.....

I saw this in the store the other day, Wagner Paintmate Plus Looks like this might be a time saver?

For the HT area, I will be painting the back wall flat black, as well as part of the side walls/ceiling about 5-6 ft out. Not sure what the rest of the rec room colors will be yet. I have a Sanyo Z2 projector, so I want to diminish any scattered light.

Well guys I ended up buying the Wagner Power Pro roller system. You can hook it up to a 5 gallon pail and paint/prime to your hearts content. I has a control to select how much volume the pump sends to the roller or attachments. It is a heck of a lot faster than using a manual roller. Thanks guys for all your help...randy

Hey Randy:
I was looking at that very unit, as it seems like 2/3 of my interiors are all due to be painted shortly!

Any other comments besides it being fast (which was my first concern)? Messy to clean up, unweildy in tight spots, etc?