How to Avoid Paint Drips and Streaks While Painting

How to Avoid Paint Drips and Streaks While Painting

A drip is a technique problem, not a paint problem

Nearly everyone who comes in unhappy with a finish has already decided the paint was the trouble, and it almost never is, because a drip comes from too much paint sitting in one spot and a streak comes from rolling back over an edge that has already started to go off. Both of those are about how it went on, so both of them are fixable without buying anything different.

So let's go through it in the order you'd actually do it, because the order is most of the answer.

Clean and sand first, even when it looks clean

Dust and grease are what stop paint gripping, and a wall that has had a kitchen behind it or a heater under it will have more of both than you'd think. Wipe it down with sugar soap and warm water, let it dry properly, and run over any glossy or patchy bits with a sanding sponge so the new coat has something to hold onto. It's the least interesting twenty minutes of the whole job and it decides how the rest of it goes.

Mask the edges and cover the floor before you open the tin

Masking tape along the skirting and the ceiling line gives you a clean edge without having to cut in like a tradie, and a canvas drop sheet under you means the odd splash doesn't matter, so you stop being careful and start being quick. The 14 day and 30 day tapes come off cleanly well after you've finished, which matters if the job runs over a weekend.

Load the roller properly, then unload it

Roll it through the paint in the tray and then work it up and down the ramp until it stops dripping, because a sleeve that is dripping in the tray will drip on your wall. On a brush, dip about a third of the bristle length and tap it against the inside of the tin rather than scraping it across the rim, since scraping strips the paint straight off the tip you're about to use.

Thin coats and a wet edge

Two thin coats beat one thick one every single time. Thick paint sags under its own weight while it's drying, and that sag is the drip you find the next morning. Start with a W across the wall, then fill in without lifting the roller off, and keep moving back into the paint you just laid down while it's still wet. That last bit is the whole trick. If you go back over a section that has started to set, you drag the surface and you get a streak, and no amount of extra paint fixes it.

Watch the weather more than the clock

On a hot, dry, windy day the surface skins over before you've had a chance to roll back into it, so the wet edge you were relying on is gone and every join shows. Cool and still is easier. If it's stinking hot, do the shaded wall first and follow the shade around the house, and if it's damp then give each coat longer than the tin says.

Let the first coat dry all the way

Touching a wall to see whether it's dry is the most tempting thing in the world, and it's also how you end up with a thumbprint in a low sheen finish. Go by the recoat time on the tin instead, and if you're stopping partway through, wrap the roller and the brush tightly in cling film so they don't skin over while you wait.

Shop related products

Did you know we also keep the 30 day green tapes and the long life blue tapes on the shelf in store, in 24mm and 36mm. They're not all listed on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's there.

Where to get it sorted

We mix and tint Haymes and Taubmans to order from the range we stock, so you can pick the colour and the gear for it on the same trip. Have a look at the paint mixing service, or just come in and tell us what you're painting.

Keep reading

I am self taught at this like most things, and I'm still the sort who stands back too early and calls a wall finished, so the wet edge rule is the one I have to keep telling myself.

Cheers,

Candeece

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