How do you paint a room properly?

What you need before you start painting a room

To paint a room you need the paint, an angled brush for cutting in, a roller and tray, drop sheets, masking tape, filler, sandpaper and sugar soap. Get it all together before you open a tin, so you're not stopping halfway through a wall.

• Paint for the walls and the ceiling. Dulux makes its Ceiling White with a flat finish, and pitches Wash&Wear Low Sheen at all interior walls. Our guide to interior paint finishes covers which sheen goes where.
• A good roller. Dulux says poor quality or worn rollers can affect the final finish.
• Drop sheets. Haymes says many professional painters prefer cotton drop sheets because they grip better underfoot.
• Masking tape, filler, sandpaper and sugar soap for the prep.

How much paint? Taubmans says, as a rough guide, 1 litre of paint covers about 16 square metres. Dulux lists 14 square metres per litre for its 1Step Prep primer. Work out the wall area, divide by the coverage, then double it for two coats. The can or the maker's paint calculator gives the figure for the exact product you buy.

Still picking a colour? Start with choosing interior paint colours, or choosing a white paint if you're going white.

Prep the walls first: clean, test, fill, sand, then spot prime

Wall prep comes before any paint, and Haymes says it often takes as much time as the painting itself. Here's the order, drawn from the Dulux, Taubmans and Haymes instructions.

1. Clear the room. Take out what you can. Haymes says if larger furniture can't come out, move it to the centre of the room and cover it well.
2. Wash the walls. Dulux says to wash painted surfaces with sugar soap, using a scourer on tough stains. Taubmans uses a mild detergent, then says to rinse well and let the walls dry. If there's mould, treat it before painting. Taubmans uses a diluted bleach solution.
3. Tape test the old paint. Dulux's test is to cut a small X through the paint with a sharp blade, press tape firmly over it and rip it off. If paint comes off, it's unsound and has to be removed. Try it in a few spots.
4. Fill holes and cracks. Dulux's tip is a quick wipe with a damp sponge before the filler sets. It smooths small ridges and saves sanding later.
5. Sand. Sand the filled spots smooth and dust off. Dulux says very glossy surfaces should be sanded to a dull finish with 240 grit sandpaper.
6. Spot prime the patches. Dulux says to spot prime filler repairs with a primer sealer undercoat before the topcoat goes on.
7. Mask up. Haymes says to tape the skirting boards, architraves, switches and powerpoints.

If your home was built before 1970, the Queensland Government says lead-based paint has probably been used, so get the old paint tested before you sand it.

Paint the ceiling first, then the walls

The right order is top down, so the ceiling goes on before the walls. Haymes says to always start painting a room from the top down, starting with the ceiling. Then the walls, one at a time.

There's one variation worth knowing. Another Haymes guide lists a common professional order of trim first, then the ceiling, then the walls. Both orders put the ceiling ahead of the walls. The only difference is when the doors, skirting and frames get done. For that part, see painting doors, skirting and frames.

For the ceiling itself, Haymes says to cut in the underside of the cornice where it meets the wall, then roll. Start closest to the main light source and work towards the room's exit, in square sections, keeping a wet edge. Roll the second coat in the opposite direction to the first. Dulux Ceiling White goes on in two coats, and Dulux notes some colours need more than two, especially over dark colours.

How to cut in and roll a wall without lap marks

Cut in the edges of the wall with a brush first, then roll the open area while that brushed edge is still wet. That's the method Dulux gives in its Wash&Wear instructions. The tips below come from the Taubmans and Haymes guides.

1. Cut in. Brush along the ceiling line, the corners, the skirting and around switches. Haymes says to start 10mm off the edge and work into the corner. Taubmans gives the reason: starting slightly away lets the bristles spread, which helps avoid drips.
2. Load the roller. Roll it on the tray's slope until it's evenly covered. Taubmans says if it sounds dry or the coverage looks thin, reload it.
3. Roll in sections. Taubmans says to roll a W or M pattern over about 1 square metre at a time, overlap slightly, and finish each section with long, light strokes.
4. Keep a wet edge. Haymes says to roll the full height of the wall where you can, and avoid going back over paint that's started to dry.
5. Finish one wall before the next. Taubmans says completing one wall at a time prevents visible lap marks.

Taubmans also says to paint away from natural light. Start near the window and work away from it, to avoid shadows. Pull the masking tape before the paint dries completely, as Haymes advises.

Two coats is the standard, and the wait between them matters

Most rooms need two coats, with the first completely dry before the second goes on. Dulux says exactly that for both Wash&Wear Low Sheen and Ceiling White. Touch dry is not the same as ready to recoat. Here's what the makers say, from their own product pages.

Going over a dark colour? Dulux says covering a dark colour, or a surface that's never been primed or painted, needs an undercoat, and that it can hide better than adding extra topcoats. Dulux also says new paper-faced plasterboard with jointing compound may need a second coat of 1Step Prep for an even finish.

Dry isn't the end of it either. Haymes says paint curing goes on for many days, and sometimes weeks. It suggests keeping furniture away from fresh walls for at least 24 hours.

Common painting mistakes, and the fix for each one

Haymes says many painting problems trace back to a handful of avoidable mistakes, like skipping the wall wash or painting over flaking paint. Here's what goes wrong in a room and what the makers say to do instead.

• Painting over grime. Dulux says the surface must be clean, dry and free from dust, oils and grease. Wash with sugar soap first.
• Painting over flaking paint. Dulux says paint that fails the tape test is unsound and should be removed. Scrape off anything that lifts.
• Rolling straight over gloss. Sand it to a dull finish first, as Dulux says.
• Unprimed patches. Dulux says to spot prime filler repairs before the topcoat.
• Recoating too soon. Wait the recoat time on the can, not just until it feels dry.
• A dry roller. Reload as soon as it sounds dry or looks thin.
• Rolling back over drying paint. That's where lap marks come from. Keep a wet edge.
• Leaving tape on too long. Pull it before the paint fully dries.
• Putting furniture back the same day. Give the walls at least 24 hours.

Stairwells and high ceilings are a job for a painter

A stairwell void, a raked ceiling or any wall you can only reach from a ladder on the stairs is a job for a professional. Stop the DIY at that point. The Queensland Government says over 1,000 Queenslanders are hospitalised each year after falling off ladders, and most of those injuries happen around the home.

For the ladder work you do take on, the Queensland Government's ladder safety advice is plain. Only buy a ladder that meets the Australian Standard (AS/NZS 1892). Don't stand above the second step from the top on a step ladder, or above the third rung on an extension ladder. And make sure it's placed on flat, firm ground.

If the only way to reach the top of a wall is a ladder balanced on a stair, stop and call a painter. That height is a job for a professional with the right access gear.

What it costs to have one room painted on the Sunshine Coast

A standard repaint of one room comes out at $500 to $1,200 in our instant estimate. That's the standard repaint guide range, including GST and rounded to the nearest $100. It isn't a quote. Wall condition, dark colours and high ceilings move it from there.

For bigger jobs, our interior painting cost guide has room-by-room and whole-house ranges. Our interior house painters work from Caloundra to Noosa, including interior painting in Caloundra. Check our locations page for the full list of suburbs. We're QBCC licensed (licence 1281728), and we give the firm price after a free site visit.