Painting your house all by yourself may sound intimidating and challenging at first. But trust me on this, it is so easy and convenient once you get the hang of it! Not to mention it saves you a lot of money! But before you begin you need to prep in advance. Read our ‘Before you paint: Painting preparation checklist’ to prepare yourself for your every painting need!

Any painter who knows what he’s doing will tell you one thing- prep in advance. It’s the most important step of the job. If your prep is done right, the rest should come easy to you.

Let’s look at all the things you’ll be needing!

Before You Paint: Painting Preparation Checklist 

Now before we begin with the endless lists of things you’ll need, let’s first establish the three major steps in any painting job. Of course, some tools will have a multifunctional use (meaning that they will have multiple uses).

But the three main steps to look out for are the following:

1. Painting Checklist Prior To Painting

This is the most important step in any DIY project (or any painting project for that matter). Buying the right equipment and using the right tools will directly affect how efficient the end results will be. 

Let’s look at everything you’ll need.

• Cleaning Equipment 

The first and most important thing to remember when painting your home is to buy the proper cleaning equipment. It’s as simple as buying an effective multipurpose cleaner and a dry rag. You want to thoroughly clean all your walls before you even think of painting them. 

• Leveling Equipment 

The next thing to do is spot any kind of screw holes, dents, nicks, or dings. You want to look for even the smallest bit of rough surface and smoothen it out to achieve a blank canvas to paint on. For this, you’ll need sanding paper, scrappers (both plastic and metal), and a putty knife. 

• Primers and Fillers 

Another important part of leveling your walls is finding the right primer and wall fillers. You wanna choose a filler primer for the bigger dents, and you can choose a quick-dry primer for smaller screw holes and dings. The key is to first press the primer into the holes and then scrape off the excess with a scraper. You can also sand it once it’s completely dry. 

• Painter’s Tape and Caulk

A caulk gun is your best bet for when you want to smoothen the edges and prep all your door hinges and baseboards. While it is a widely debated topic as to what to paint first, my dad always liked to go with the wall-first rule. For this very purpose, you first want to apply the painter’s tape and press it down with the help of a plastic scraper or an old credit card. Then go ahead and apply caulk with the help of a caulk gun, and smoothen it out.

• Drop Cloths and Plastic Sheets  

A good drop cloth is extremely important when you want to protect your expensive carpets and flooring. Choose one with a canvas weaving and that’s a little on the heavier side. For extra precautions, layer a plastic sheet beneath the drop cloth.

For further information, you might wanna check out this video!

2. Painting Checklist During Painting

So now that you’ve properly prepped the room, let’s move on to the actual painting job. 

• Ladder

One of the most neglected, yet extremely important, equipment in the painting process is finding a suitable ladder. One wobbly ladder and you’ll end up spilling paint all over your walls and carpet! And depending upon your requirements, there are unlimited options in the market. If you’re not sure which ladder to choose, head over to this site, full with lots of resources to choose a perfect ladder for your needs!

• Quality paints, brushes, and rollers 

There’s only one thing I would like to add here. The results you get with your paint will entirely depend upon the quality of your painting equipment, especially your brushes and rollers. You can always buy good quality brushes that will do a better job and last you a long time.

• Plastic trays and buckets

When painting with paintbrushes, you will usually buy a lot of paint at once. This is why you may want to mix all of your paint in a large bucket, and then take smaller portions in another bucket while painting. This process is called ‘boxing’ and it ensures that all of your walls do not end up with different shades of paint. Likewise, buying the right paint roller trays is very important to apply an even layer.

• Proper painting clothes

This goes without saying. Painting can be a very messy job, and you’re gonna end up splattering more paint on yourself than you think.

• Hats, dust masks, and eyeglasses

Painters wear hats for a reason. Especially when painting ceilings, wearing the proper eyewear and hats is very important. You don’t wanna go about spraying your hair with paint.

• A dry rag

Having a dry rag handy helps with any unwanted paint mishaps. It also helps when you accidentally spill some paint on your body. Cleaning it right away is a lot more efficient than letting the paint dry and having to peel it off.

3. Painting Checklist For When You’re Done Painting

You’re done with the painting. What next? All that remains is cleaning your equipment and any spilled paint. 

Since we had prepped ahead of time and covered all our floors and furniture with plastic sheets, you save up so much time! All you need to do is clean your brushes and wash off any residual paint on your clothes or body.

For this you’ll need:

• Cleaning brush 
• Soap and Water
• Rubber gloves 
• Detergent and cleaning solutions

And in case you were unable to properly clean your paint buckets, or the leftover paint on your skin, refer to this video for step-by-step instructions on how to do it!

Final Thoughts

Believe it or not, most of us do dread the day we have to get up and paint our homes. And it can be a task at times. But we hope this checklist will make your DIY painting session at least a tad bit better!

If you have any further queries, feel free to reach out to us!