Skip to Content

Tips and Tricks for Interior Painting

Douglaston Property Owner on Ladder Painting Interior Walls with RollerEach Douglaston rental properties need to have regular maintenance in order to stay in good condition. Part of this maintenance includes painting the interior walls. It sounds like a pretty simple task to roll or brush some paint on wherever needed. But an easy painting job can easily become a nightmare if you’re not properly prepared. Regardless of whether you are getting your rental home ready for a new tenant or giving your property’s walls a much-needed facelift, there are certain tricks the professionals use to ensure a better outcome. By utilizing these pro tips and tricks, you can create your next interior paint job both look better and become easier to accomplish.

Prep the Right Way

As anyone with experience painting interior walls will tell you, preparing your surfaces before you start to paint is half the battle. You will not only need to prep the walls to be painted, but you also need to protect any adjacent surfaces, furniture, and light fixtures. To prepare like a pro, start by removing all light switch and outlet plates, window coverings, and anything else on the walls. The next thing is, use a tack cloth to clean your walls and trim. Tack cloth is a specific kind of cheesecloth designed to remove dust and debris from painted surfaces without water. After you’ve wiped down your surfaces, it’s important to take the time to mask off adjacent surfaces using low-stick painter’s tape and masking film. When used together, you can effortlessly cover windows, light fixtures, and floors. It will be easier if you also used several larger drop cloths to cover furniture and to protect your floors from drips and spills.

Use Quality Materials and Paint

Same as Douglaston rental property owners, you are also budget-conscious. However, trying to cut costs by purchasing cheap materials and paint is not a good idea. To achieve a professional result, invest in good-quality brushes, rollers, and paint pans. You also need to buy quality paint. Cheap paint may seem like a deal, but chances are you’ll end up needing multiple coats to get the same coverage that a better-quality paint can achieve in one coat. You’ll probably end up buying more paint and spending more time painting your interior walls to see a good outcome than if you had originally purchased a higher quality paint.

Paint Like a Pro

When you’re ready to begin painting, make sure that you have everything you’ll need on hand. Mostly pro painters will wear latex or nitrile gloves to keep their hands clean. It is essential to cover your hair and clothes, also. Paint rollers tend to splatter slightly, especially while painting ceilings. Start with the edges of the room and work your way toward the center. This will help avoid roller marks. Ultimately, if your paint job will take more than one day, wrap your brushes and rollers in plastic overnight. Only make sure that the wrapping is airtight. In that way, it will guard them against drying out and save you time cleaning them in between painting sessions.

Or Hire a Pro

Of course, one of the easiest ways to achieve a professional result is to hire professionals to paint your rental property’s interiors. It can be a challenge to know who you can trust to do a good job, and simply picking a name off a list is not a good idea. You can find a quality painter by asking around, especially at your local paint or hardware store. Other excellent sources include local real estate professionals and experts at Real Property Management Innovation. If you have received a shortlist of names, you need to get at least three bids for the job. You may be pressed for time, but that is not to suggest that you ought to pay over the market rate for quality work. As a final point, never pay the painter upfront. That is a huge red flag and may mean they are trying to scam you. If the painter you hired asks for payment in full before starting the job, find another painter.

Painting your rental property’s interiors doesn’t have to be overwhelming. This is exactly true if you know all the tips and tricks the professionals use to get beautiful results in no time.

We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.

The Neighborly Done Right Promise

The Neighborly Done Right Promise ® delivered by Real Property Management, a proud Neighborly company

When it comes to finding the right property manager for your investment property, you want to know that they stand behind their work and get the job done right – the first time. At Real Property Management we have the expertise, technology, and systems to manage your property the right way. We work hard to optimize your return on investment while preserving your asset and giving you peace of mind. Our highly trained and skilled team works hard so you can be sure your property's management will be Done Right.

Canada excluded. Services performed by independently owned and operated franchises.

See Full Details