How Do I Paint My Bathroom?
Painting your bathroom is one of the easiest, quickest and cheapest ways to give it a freshen up. Nothing makes a bigger impact than colour, especially in a bathroom, where there is often limited scope for other decorative touches.
Light or neutral colours make things look larger, while darker colours have the opposite effect. Warm, sunny shades make rooms seem friendly and inviting, while cool colours create a sense of tranquillity and relaxation. It is advisable to choose a special paint, designed to deal with the steamy conditions of a bathroom.
So how do you paint a bathroom? Here are a few tips to follow when painting a room:
Preparation
It is very true that the better the preparation, the better the finish! Good preparation of all surfaces is vital to top quality decorating. This means removing all dirt, grease, flaking paint, killing mould, repairing cracks and holes using filler or if necessary re-plastering.
Protect areas you don’t want to paint
With all their nooks and crannies, small bathrooms can be difficult to paint. Cover or remove all furniture, put something down to protect the floor from drips or spillages and apply masking tape to the edges of areas you don’t want painted.
Remove all hardware
It is much easier to paint when door handles, wall sockets, light switches and door hinges have been removed. Put them back when you have finished painting.
Think quality
Always use the BEST quality tools, brushes, paints and rollers that you can afford. A cheap brush will almost certainly shed its bristles on to your paint, possibly ruining the job, especially if you are gloss painting. It is definitely worth spending a little more on your brushes as this makes the job easier and the end result much more professional. Cheap paint is often a false economy as you may have to apply extra coats to get the proper coverage.
Get yourself ready
No matter careful you are you're bound to get drips of paint on whatever you're wearing so keep some old clothes for when you paint. If painting the ceiling, an old shower cap or hat to cover your hair is a good idea.
Have plenty of rags to hand
You will undoubtedly need to wipe off excess paint, catch drips, clean up spills, or wipe your hands whilst painting so a good supply of cloths is essential.
Use razor blades
Scrape excess paint or drips from windows or tiles with straight razor blades, ensuring the drips won't smear and the surface will be perfectly clean.
The actual painting
Whether you use a brush, roller or pads is a matter of preference. Most people choose to use a roller or pad for large flat walls and a brush for “cutting in” which is a term used to describe painting the corners at walls and ceilings and around skirting boards and door/window frames. The wall areas not cut-in would then be painted with a roller or paint brush. The paint brush is typically used to cut-in because it gives you the most control.
Allow time for the paint to dry
You should give any newly painted bathroom a full 24 hours to dry before using the shower, otherwise, the paint may become soft and run.
Follow this blog to find out how to measure your bathroom.
