How to paint a room cheaply!

I used to be embarrassed when my wife told me to paint the bedroom or redecorate the living room; doing any of these would cost me a lot of money to get favorable results. That was one of my first assumptions about painting a room.

Now I really look forward to the task because I don’t have to call in a painting contractor to do what I could have done more cheaply a long time ago. Here are some things you can do to keep your painting costs to a minimum and still have a beautiful result on your painting job.

Keep your costs to a minimum. If color isn’t really important to you, check with your neighbors to see if they have a few partial gallons of paint taking up space in their garage. Take them off your hands and mix them up until you have enough to paint your room. This way you’ll get some color ideas that otherwise wouldn’t have crossed your mind.

You’re better off getting the same types of paint to mix; matte, satin, semi-gloss and glossy. Sometimes I have tried to mix the different types and have never gotten a superior coating on the walls. It is best to mix plains with plains or satins with satins. Do that and you’ll get better paint coverage than when you mix different types.

Another way to buy paint if you’re not picky about color is to buy mismatched paints at local paint stores. Paint stores like to make a few bucks on wasted product, so they will sell it for three to ten dollars a gallon instead of the $20 to $30 a gallon of new paint.

Don’t get caught up thinking you need a lot of things for your project that you don’t. It’s easy to believe you need a new putty knife or a better sanding tool to smooth out the putty paste you use to patch holes.

Try using a spatula if you don’t have a spatula. They’ll work for most small projects, even if they’re not quite as manly as a real spatula. Sanding tools can be made by simply wrapping a piece of sandpaper around a block of wood.

If you don’t want to borrow one from the neighbors, you may need to buy a wheel frame. If you are only going to paint one room, then a cheap one from the dollar store will work. For larger projects, spend the extra two bucks and get a heavy-duty roller.

Buy a package of roller covers for contractors. You’ll probably use one per room unless they break before you’re done; That’s why you buy the cheap ones. I don’t buy the high priced rollers because like everyone else in the world I can’t seem to get all the paint off the deck. After it has been set for a while, it is too stiff to use.

Brushes should be tailored to the type of paint you’re using. Oil paint is priced out of the market, so you will most likely be using latex paint. Buy a brush, if you don’t already have one, that contains latex paint. Some people use paint pads to cut around the ceiling and openings. These cost almost as much as the brushes and for me they are more difficult to use. Their great advantage is that they do not stain the paint as easily as a brush.

The trick is not to buy things you don’t need. With a little imagination you can paint a room without spending a lot of money. It is true that you will not have many things left over, but you can be proud of the work you have done. Don’t forget to return the spatula to the kitchen where it belongs.