It’s safe to say that after 4 years of owning a fixer upper, we’ve done our fair share of painting. With the exception of the basement (we’re taking our renovations one level at a time), we’ve painted every.room.in.our.house.

Whether it’s ceilings, walls, trim, windows, doors, or furniture, we’ve painted it! And honestly, we’ve experienced some trial and error along the way. We want to pass on what we’ve learned to you, to prevent you from making the same mistakes that we made. Without further ado, here are our top 5 painting tips:

1) Use high quality paint

Yes, the paint brand that you choose to buy your paint from really does make a difference! It can be tempting to buy cheaper paint (I get it, we’re all trying to stick to a budget), but it’s seriously worthwhile to invest in high quality paint. We like to use Benjamin Moore paint.

Like people say, “you get what you pay for.” The more expensive paint brands really do perform better than bargain brands. The paint is thicker and has richer color pigmentation, meaning you can finish your project using less paint. This also means spending less time and energy painting! Also, high quality paint is more durable. It will stand up better to cleaning, and resist fading from exposure to sunlight.

If you find a color you like from a cheaper paint brand, that’s OK! Take the paint swatch to Benjamin Moore and have them color match it. Our living room color is from Glidden, but we had it color matched at Benjamin Moore since we prefer their paint. Win-win!

2) Use high quality brushes & rollers

Similar to buying high quality paint, it’s also smart to use quality paintbrushes and rollers. Cheap paintbrushes usually aren’t made that well, and can leave behind stray paintbrush bristles. Also, they tend to give a rougher/textured finish to the paint, instead of a nice, smooth finish. Nobody wants to see brush strokes!

Full disclosure: We actually bought cheap paintbrushes when we painted our deck, with the plan to toss them once we finished. They were fine for an exterior project, but the paint didn’t apply as smoothly, and we had to pick out brush bristles from the paint many times.

Our go-to paintbrush is the Wooster Shortcut Brush. It’s inexpensive, comfortable to hold (it has a flexible rubber handle), and is long-lasting. Plus, it applies the paint so smoothly. We clean and reuse these brushes over and over for our paint projects, so we definitely get our money’s worth!

For rolling paint, we like to buy Purdy White Dove Rollers. They work for any type of paint, and give a smooth paint application. Another bonus: they don’t leave behind lint specks like cheaper rollers do. We always keep a pack of these on-hand so we’re ready to paint whenever inspiration strikes (a.k.a. whenever I convince Pete that we should paint something).

3) Remove painter’s tape with a utility knife

Nothing’s worse than finishing your paint project, getting excited to remove the painter’s tape and reveal your handiwork, only to have it ruined by using the wrong tape-removal technique.

Sadly, this happened to us the first time we painted trim. Our sunroom originally had tons of dark brown trim, so we painted all of it white to brighten up the room. It took days to get all of it painted, and unfortunately, we had to go back and touch up SEVERAL areas where paint was ripped off by the painter’s tape.

What happened?! Well, I was a newbie painter back then, and I pulled off the painter’s tape without scoring it with a utility knife first. In a perfect world, you want to remove painter’s tape while the paint is still wet. In our case, we had to paint several coats to cover the dark wood, so we needed to let the paint dry in between coats. What we didn’t account for was the paint also drying onto the painter’s tape, so it pulled paint off the trim when we removed it.

To prevent this, run a utility knife along the edge where the painter’s tape meets the trim. This will break the paint seal, separating the tape from the dried paint. The result will be a nice, crisp paint edge!

P.S. Here are a few other pointers for removing painter’s tape: go slow (don’t pull it off to quickly and risk damaging the dry wall, or pulling paint off) and remove the tape at a 45-degree angle (this angle helps separate the tape from the paint better).

4) Use liquid deglosser for smooth wood surfaces

Here’s a trick: if the wood surface you’re prepping to paint is already smooth (like a door, trim, or furniture piece), consider wiping it down with liquid deglosser instead of sanding it. This will save time, and eliminates messy sandpaper dust. We use liquid deglosser all the time for our paint projects, and it does a great job of dulling the surface so that paint will stick to it (paint doesn’t stick well to glossy surfaces). It’s also called liquid sandpaper, and for good reason.

5) Save your paintbrush or roller from drying between coats

A painting project is rarely complete after just one coat of paint, unless you’re only doing touch-ups. Between coats of paint, you need to prevent your paintbrush or roller from drying out so you can reuse them.

Instead of washing our paintbrushes every time, we just stick them in a plastic cup with enough water to keep the brush bristles wet. Then, just wipe it off on a paper towel before using it again, and you’re good to go! For rollers, we wrap them in plastic wrap. This seals in the moisture, and keeps the roller wet until the next coat. Keep in mind, these tricks only work if you’re planning on painting with the same color, otherwise you’ll need to wash the paintbrush or use a new roller.

Well guys, that’s it for now! We hope you find these tips helpful as you tackle your own painting projects. Comment below if you have any painting tips to share with us!