Spray painting has become quite popular in recent years. The use of rollers and brushes is slowly fading away, especially when it comes to painting a house interior. A few years ago, spray painting was considered as inefficient and wasteful when painting large surfaces. However, advancements in technology in equipment and paints have made spray painting a viable option.
When you have a large house interior to paint within a short period, using spray paint is the best option. Now, the interior of the home includes the wall and ceiling. In this article, we will take an in-depth look at how to spray paint house interior.
How to spray paint ceilings and walls
When you are a beginner in spray painting, you have to set up an area to test out your equipment. A piece of wood or old newspaper will create an excellent canvas to try out spray painting. A little practice will ensure that you get the work done effectively and faster.
Understand that how to spray paint interior house will recur a bit of a learning curve. You must get used to how everything works before you can start spray painting your house interior.
Spray painting the walls
Step 1: Preparation
If you are planning to spray paint the interior walls only, then start by masking the ceiling properly. Use paper in masking the ceiling, doors, windows, and all other fixtures. Move all furniture to the center of the room and cover them adequately.
Step 2: Prepare the wall surface
You need to prepare the wall surface before you can start to interior spray paint house or rooms. Use a soft cotton cloth to clean your walls thoroughly.
Doing this ensures that all grime and dust is removed from your walls. Proper preparation of your walls ensures that you get a professional finish. Use a high-quality putty to fix uneven places and cracks on your wall. Understand that uneven surfaces will look awkward after the paint job.
Step 3: Preparing the paint
Painting interior walls with paintbrush and roller are entirely different from when using a sprayer. This means that your paint needs to be prepared differently, as well. Your paint needs to be thinner than what you would typically use with a roller or brush.
Take your paint and pour it into a large bucket. To every gallon of paint, you need to add ½ cupful of water. Stir the mixture thoroughly using a clean stick and check the consistency of the paint by pouring it through a funnel.
Step 4: Painting your interior walls
When painting the interior walls, you need to start in one corner and work across your wall. Ensure that you hold your sprayer at a distance of about 300mm from the wall. You will get even strokes when the sprayer is held at a comfortable distance from the wall.
The corners are usually the most difficult areas to spray paint, making it essential to start here. Try holding your sprayer sideways to give you better control. Ensure that you paint all your corners first before we can move to the walls.
Start with your walls once you are done with the corners. Focus on one wall at a time, and don’t worry about the other walls that you have not started working on. Keep your spray paint machine at a 90 degrees angle and spray as far as you can.
Ensure that you overlap your strokes both horizontally and vertically when moving to the next section. This guarantees that you get an even coat and smooth finish in the end.
Once you have completed all your walls, you will need to let the paint dry for a few hours. Once your paint is all dried up, you can do a second coat to get you a better finish.
Spray painting the ceiling
With the right technique and procedure, spray painting your ceilings can be more relaxed and quicker. In case you are interested in painting the ceilings only, then mask off the upper walls. Runs and drips will, therefore, not affect your wall painting once you do this.
When spray painting your ceiling, ensure that you move slowly while overlapping the strokes for a better finish. Ensure that you don’t set yourself directly underneath your paint sprayer to avoid drips getting on your outfit. When painting your ceiling using a paint sprayer, start with a low-pressure setting and slowly increase it until it feels right.
Using high pressure from the get-go will create runs along your ceiling, making it impossible to get a professional finish. If your ceiling is about 9 feet high, then you could complete the entire project from the floor. You will not need to use any ladders because your sprayer can get the paint to the ceiling effectively while you are standing on your floor.
A higher ceiling will require the use of a ladder—exercise caution when using the ladder to avoid any accidents. Moving the ladder around may be a bit hectic, but you could always get an assistant to help you out.
Cleanup
Let your walls and ceiling dry up for a few hours before you start removing tape from the trim. You will get clean lines when you let the paint dry out thoroughly first.
Proceed to remove all the covering from the furniture and any other areas. You can then proceed to replace all the light fixtures that you had removed when you started the process. Ensure that everything goes back exactly as it was once you are done with spray painting your house interior.
Your paint sprayer needs to be cleaned after every use. Your user manual will have detailed instructions on how to clean the paint sprayer. The standard cleaning procedures include the use of either a bucket or water-based materials.
Cleaning your paint sprayer after every use ensures that you get a quality finish when working on your next job. You will also get prolonged use from your paint sprayer when you clean it regularly.
Pro tips
Spray paint walls before the ceiling
When working on any home interior spray painting project, you must start with the walls before moving on to the ceiling. Paint your walls and let them dry for a few hours, then proceed to begin spray painting the ceilings.
Cover the walls using plastic and tape to ensure that no paint drips or runs get to the walls. Understand that if you start with the ceiling, you will have to mask the ceiling upside down. This can be quite difficult, and you will not get a smooth, professional finish.
Mix all your paint at once
When you plan on using two or more gallons of the same color paint, you must strain them all together in one plastic bucket. Understand that there is always a slight color discrepancy, even in situations when you have the same color paint.
Mixing all the paint ensures that you get an even tint. Sometimes you might notice the color discrepancy right away, and you might only see once you are done with the entire project. In some cases, you might find yourself starting the whole project because you didn’t mix all your paint together.
Wear a respirator when using oil-based paint
Oil-based paints contain fumes that can be dangerous to your health. Understand that your sprayer sends out small particles into the air, making it more dangerous that when using a roller or brush. The tiny particles will lead to coughing and asthma-like symptoms.
When you expose yourself to the fumes for a prolonged period, you will get permanent damage. You don’t want to end up sustaining severe health problems when spray painting making a respirator essential.
A proper respirator ensures that your lungs are protected from the small paint particles. All chemical fumes will also be filtered out, ensuring your health is safeguarded. Open up all the windows and doors whenever possible to get fresh air into the room while spray painting.
Use a spray gun extension for the ceilings
When working on our ceiling, a spray gun extension will come in handy. This extension is screwed onto the spray gun, making it easier for you to get the paint to the ceiling. Over-spray is reduced significantly when you use the spray gun extension for ceiling painting.
Using an extension also ensures that you can complete painting your ceiling quickly and with reduced fatigue. Understand that painting your ceiling can be a rather tasking project, especially when you can’t get to all the areas easily.
Final Verdict
Using a paint sprayer for home interior projects is effective and efficient when you incorporate the right technique and procedure. Ensure that you practice first before you begin applying spray paint to your home interior.
To get a professional finish, ensure that you buy good quality paint. Proper thinning and adding a second coat will also help you get a smooth finish. Take your time when painting the interior of your home, and let the paint dry properly. This extensive guide on how to spray paint the interior of a house should help you get that quality finish that you deserve.
Hopefully this guide helps you on how to spray paint the interior of a house for you next home improvement project.
