How to paint the inside of your house like a professional

Paint. An ugly five letter word. Not in regards to liquid colors in cans, but more specifically to "The act of." Nobody likes to paint. Not even painters. Why do you think some of them drink all day! But occasionally it has to be done and somebody's got to do it. I HAD to do it as part of owning a business but in the interim, I became a MASTER painter. So here, now, in this forum, I will share my painting knowledge. (Ladies, at this point, warm up the printer, you'll want to copy this." The following is strictly for painting the INTERIOR only.

1) Tools you will need.
A four foot extension pole. You will use this to paint the ceiling and walls.
An 18" roller holder. This device screws on to the end of the extension pole and adjusts to fit the 18" roller sleeve. Why an 18" roller? It is easily THREE times faster than a nine inch roller AND it covers more evenly leaving less paint 'lines' caused by excessive paint at the rollers ends.
1 wide paint pan that accommodates an 18" roller.
1 9" roller handle and sleeve for small areas like closets and narrow areas.
1 4" roller handle and a bag of roller sleeves. These are fabric sleeves that come with a hole at one end to attach to the roller and fabric covering the other end enabling you to paint both sides of an INSIDE corner at once.
1 2" angled brush. This is a brush whose bristles have been cut at an angle. Here's an important tip: buy the most expensive brush your supplier offers in this size. It performs an important task and you will have it forever (granted you clean it after each use.) What is this important task? You will use it to paint a crisp, clean line between walls and ceilings or between walls and molding.
A ladder comes in handy as does tarps, lights, rags, a radio, some beer. The beer is to celebrate when you are finished. No drinking on the job!

The following is for painting NEW CONSTRUCTION (unfinished, sanded drywall) and REPAINTS (changing existing colors of a room.)

Priming the room. I always suggest priming a painted room with primer. If deep colors cover the walls, primer re-seals them and it will take less coats of new paint to cover them. Here's a tip: have your paint supplier tint the primer to match the color you've picked. It's free and it will take less coats of color in the long run. Use white primer if your ceilings will be white. Let's get started.

When priming a room I always start with the ceiling. By now, you should have your 18" roller all set up and ready to go. Fill the paint tray. Extend the extension pole two feet out and dip the roller sleeve into the paint. Do not excessively cover the sleeve with paint but roll it until it's evenly coated. Start painting in a corner of the ceiling keeping the roller from rolling directly over your head. Having the poles total length of six feet helps accomplish this AND it keeps paint from falling in your hair. Long, smooth, strokes are what you want as you spread the paint over and over the same area until you have good coverage. An 18" roller covers a large area quickly so it's important to keep rolling until all the paint 'lines' are gone. You will find this task much easier than with a nine inch roller.
Time for the walls. Contract the extension pole back to 4' and start the walls. Load the sleeve up and place it on the wall approx. 8" from the floor and roll it straight up to the ceiling in one long movement. Roll back down the same way moving left to right a little bit each time you make a pass. One dip in the pan will cover a swath about 24 to 26" wide so remember to roll until those paint 'lines' are gone. Start the next swath of paint about 3" away from the previous swath starting 8" from the floor again. Roll left to right covering the space between the old swath. Don't forget: long, straight, smooth strokes are what you want. Here's a tip: DON'T ROLL TOO FAST!! Physics teaches us that a spinning cylinder covered in liquid tends to rid itself of liquid in projectile fashion. You'll have less paint splatters the slower you go.

So, now that you've painted the walls and ceiling, it's time to 'cut in' the inside corners. Grab your 4" roller handle and slide a 4" roller sleeve on it. Dip the roller in a small tray making sure to cover the fabric end of the roller sleeve amply. Starting near the floor, position the roller into the corner and move up the walls. Notice how the rollers end paints the wall adjacent to the wall with the 4" body of the roller? Long, straight strokes are what you want. Now, take the roller and reverse it so that the fabric end is now painting the opposite wall. Use a good amount of paint on the sleeve each time you start a new spot. Roll out ALL the inside corners in this fashion.

Now that you've primed and cut the room, it's time to paint with color. If you are painting the ceiling in flat ceiling white, paint it exactly the way you primed it. If you are painting the ceiling the same color to match the walls, skip this step.

After you've painted the ceiling with flat white it's now time to 'cut' the ceiling. You will use the 4" roller handle but with a new sleeve (or wash out the old one thoroughly.) How you 'cut' the ceiling is like this: Dip the 4" roller into the tray but not very deeply. You DON'T want any paint on the fabric tip this time. If a little gets on it's okay but try to keep it as dry as possible. Roll off any excess and place the roller on the ceiling rolling the dry fabric end against against the wall. Again, long, straight strokes and roll the paint smoothly over the already painted ceiling so as to cover evenly. You may get a small amount of paint on the wall, but do not worry about this. 'Cut' the ceiling to all the walls in this fashion. Congratulations, the ceiling is DONE!! Now for the walls!

Paint the walls precisely the way you primed them only this time, make SURE you stop short of getting paint on the ceiling. Get as close as you can without touching. After the walls are painted, it's time to 'cut' the walls to each other. Get your 4" roller and a new sleeve. Repeat cutting the walls the same fashion as you primed them. Keep the small roller from hitting the ceiling too. After the walls are 'cut' it's time to 'cut' the walls to the ceiling. This is where the job gets tough. It requires a ladder, good lighting and a steady hand. Pay close attention to my instructions.
Almost fill a large, round container with paint. The size of a 'BIG GULP' container. Take your 2" angled brush. Dip the brush half way into the paint. Remove the brush and slide one whole side of it against the container removing all the paint from one side. Apply the paint loaded side of the brush to the wall. Note: place the brush about 2" below the ceiling on the wall. The brush should almost be laying flat against the wall. At this angle and by pushing on the brush slightly, the angled bristles fall into line behind each other creating a thin line of bristle. Slowly glide the brush over the wall keeping pressure on it to keep the bristles straight and in line. The paint should come off the brush in a pretty straight line. Practice this on the wall for a bit and slowly get closer and closer to the ceiling. As you get closer to the ceiling be careful not to let the brush touch. The paint you have applied will be dripping by now so take the brush and using the flat part of it, spread the dripping paint evenly on the wall. This technique takes practice, but once you have mastered it, you will never need to tape a wall or corner again. Keep practicing on the wall beneath the ceiling until you can paint almost a straight line. You will do the exact same thing to 'cut' your walls to base molding, or door and window molding. Remember to wash out any brushes, pans or trays in a timely fashion. Good luck, Ray