Interiors: Painting 101
To make the job really easy, you might want to spend the money and invest in a rolling kit, which includes a roller and a paint pan. Most pans have little grooves where you rub off excess paint from the roller. Some rollers are made of lamb's wool, but you should not use these if using water-based paint. Use the cheap yellow spongy rollers instead. Rollers also come in different roughness and naps. Choose a longer nap for textured wall surfaces. You can also buy rollers with patterns carved into them. These are great to paint borders along the top of the wall or to create interesting patterns in the wall itself. However, if you intend to paint patterns into the entire wall be forewarned that this takes a long time and quickly becomes a pain in your wrist. To reach ceilings or the tops of walls, you might want to buy a roller brush with an extender pole. Most hardware stores and paint retailers sell an all-in-one kit that includes a roller brush, a pan, an extender, and a small touch-up roller.
Of course, the quickest way to paint entire walls is to rent or buy an electronic paint blower machine. But, these usually cost a lot of money and may be prone to clogs.
If you intend to sponge-paint your walls (whereby you use a sponge to apply the paint in order to make interesting textures and patterns), buy some plastic gloves.
Some other things you might want to keep handy include wet towels (to wipe up any drips), painter's tape, a stepstool or ladder, and a small brush to touch-up hard-to-reach spots or holes.
Preparing Your Walls:
If you are living in an older apartment, you may want to wash the walls with mild detergent soap before starting. Simply soak an old towel in water and scrub over the walls you want to paint. This will get rid of any dust, mold, mildew, spider webs, flaking paint, or whatever that may ruin your new paint job. Make sure you wipe all the trim too. Remove everything from the wall you are painting, including light swtich plates and plug outlet plates. Of course, if that is too much effort, you can always cover the plates with thick painter's tape to prevent accidents. Cover all the trim with painter's tape too. Now, you may choose regular cheap masking
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