1) Plan the painting order before you start

It's usually a good idea to start from the top of the room and work your way down – so that means painting the ceiling first before the walls and the floor. This order helps make sure that freshly-painted surfaces don't get ruined by splatter or drip marks.

Having a solid plan in place before you even pick up the paint roller can help put you in a focused mood to boost your productivity levels, working to a step-by-step checklist so you can tick things off as you go and feel on top of all the tasks.

2) Prep the room the day before

Split your days into purely painting sessions and tidy up sessions. Trying to do everything crammed into one day can make you feel deflated and slow you down. The day before you begin painting, take down all the pictures hung on the walls, remove switch plates, unscrew curtain rods, pack away all fabrics and delicate ornaments, and dismantle all the furniture.

Create a safe, clean painting space by getting rid of any clutter and vacuum the floor. If you have a small hand-held vacuum cleaner, it's a good idea to run it along the walls for removing cobwebs and dirt – especially in the high corners of the room because cobwebs can attach to your paintbrushes the next day if they haven't been taken care of in advance.

3) Skip filling in holes if they're covered up by furniture

It takes time to fill in any holes, so if you want to save some time, only put in the effort to fix the visible ones. On the other hand, if you'd like an entirely perfect surface, it's worth having a completely hole-free wall – just make sure you schedule in time to do this the day before so you can get started straight into painting in the morning.

4) Use assembly lines

If you're working with a team, get one person to fill smaller buckets with the paint and another to pass it along up to someone on a step ladder painting higher up. Not only is it tricky to climb without both hands if you are holding the bucket, the time wasted going up and down a thin ladder to keep dipping a brush in paint can never come back!

For those who are working alone, consider investing in a quality, sturdy ladder with a sturdy platform. Place your paint bucket there for easy access and save trips up and down the ladder.

5) Roller extension poles can save time and energy

Rather than getting a sore back from constantly bending over or trying to stretch towards tight corners or high spaces, just let an extension pole do the work for you. There's no point only bringing these helpful tools out when you're painting high ceilings and roofs – you can be productive and use them even for smaller wall spaces.

Another benefit is if you have heavy furniture placed a few feet away from the wall, just roll this down behind it instead of huffing and puffing to move it out of the way. Just make sure there is enough room to work without painting the back of the furniture! Always protect the furniture back just in case the roller goes astray.

6) Buy quality paint

It's not rocket science to realise that if you only have to do two coats instead of three or four, it saves you a whole heap of time. Using Resene quality paint mixed with concentrated tinters can not only make the colours pop more, it can save hours of time!

Last but not least, when you're taking a break or overnight wrap your brush or roller in clear clingwrap so you don't have to keep washing it out. The wrap will keep the paint fresh ready for you to start painting again. Reuse your Resene shopping bag as a roller tray liner so that cleaning up after the painting is just as quick.

May 06, 2015

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