How to complete a DIY painting project over a long weekend

If you have a room in your home that needs a spruce up, a long weekend can be the perfect opportunity to tackle the project.

This Easter long weekend, you won’t need all four days to complete your home painting project. Watching paint dry is quicker than you think. With quality equipment and know-how, your DIY job will be over before you know it.

Painting a room with a time constraint means you have to forego the feature wall and the oil-based wood stains. But with a monochromatic colour across all surfaces, a bit of preparation and some tips from a professional, you can get the job done by the break’s end.

Plan ahead

Working out how much paint is needed, the paintbrushes and even the colour should be done before the weekend arrives.

“If someone wakes up and starts clearing the garbage out of the room, that’s half a day gone,” says Shaun Crocker from Crockers Paint and Wallpaper. “Do a bit of planning a day or two leading into it.”

Sit down with the family in the week leading up to the painting and decide on a colour.

“Make sure you test colours using Dulux Sample Pots. Consider how the colours work with existing fixtures and furnishings as well as under lighting conditions in your own space,” says Dulux colour and communications manager Andrea Lucena-Orr.

Take a trip to the local paint shop and purchase all accessories and paint before the weekend arrives.

A trip to the shop

“Use quality paint accessories to apply the paint. They give a professional, smooth finish and hold their shape, which makes them much easier to use. They also pick up and release more paint, giving better coverage. They actually save you time,” says professional painter and Monarch ambassador Mark O’Connor.

For most standard projects, you’ll need a Monarch Walls, Doors, Trims brush or Cutting & Framing brush, along with a Monarch Ultra Microfibre 12mm-nap Walls & Ceilings roller.

For the doors and trims, such as windowsills and skirting boards, use a Moulding & Skirting brush, along with a Monarch Ultra Microfibre 4mm-nap Doors & Cupboards roller, suggests O’Connor.

Water-based paints like Taubmans Endure Matt and Dulux Wash&Wear Matt only take two hours to dry, on average. Taubmans water-based Semi-Gloss Enamel or Dulux Aquanamel Semi-Gloss can be used for the final touch. If you buy all paint in the same colour, you’ll save time on applying painter’s tape.

Buy 180-grit sandpaper and sugar soap to prepare the surfaces for a slap of paint. Canvas drop sheets rather than plastic will stay in position better and prevent paint from hitting the ground.

Prepare the room

Preparing the room can start before the weekend. So, you can wake up on Friday morning ready to paint.

First, remove all furniture, light fittings and, if possible, electrical covers.

Give all walls and trims a sand with the 180-grit sandpaper. Surfaces will be smooth to create a better paint finish and help the paint stick.

Next, a quick wash with sugar soap removes all dirt, dust, and grime.

“It’s actually ideal if you do the preparation work, sanding and washing-down the night before you start, so all surfaces are perfectly dry,” says O’Connor.

Place tape on areas you don’t want paint, such as windows, and place the canvas drop sheet on the floor. Taping the edges between the ceiling, walls, skirting and windowsills won’t be needed if you’re painting them all the same colour.

Painting walls, ceiling, wood trims and door

Start at the ceiling and work your way down. A water-based paint like Taubmans Endure Matt or Dulux Wash&Wear Matt can be applied to all surfaces for the first coat.

“A lot of people are using a monochromatic colour scheme, so companies like Dulux and Taubmans have bought out a paint that’s suitable for both ceilings and walls. While you’re cutting in your ceilings, if you hit the wall, it doesn’t matter,” says O’Connor.

As the paint is water-based, you can apply one coat in the morning and the next in the afternoon. A general rule is to leave about two hours between coats.

“Over one weekend, you need to use water-based products for the whole job. Old-school people like to use oil-based paint on their woodwork. That takes so much longer because you can only apply one coat per day. Whereas water-based, you could do two or three,” says O’Connor.

When applying the second coat, use the same paint to finish off the ceilings and the walls.

The final coats on the trims, such as the skirting boards, windowsills and door, need a special, hard-wearing paint applied to them, such as Taubmans Water Based Enamel Semi Gloss or Dulux Aquanamel Semi Gloss.

With the trim paint tinted to the same colour as the walls, the paint is going to be easier and quicker to apply.

Cleaning up

In between coats, wrap your brushes and rollers in plastic wrapping and foil and store in a cool, dry place to re-use later that day or the next. When the painting is complete, brushes, rollers and trays can simply be washed in water, the canvas folded away and the job is done.