Painting questions - daughter's bedroom

[namsag]

My 13-yr-old daughter has talked me into painting her bedroom. Will be going from a very light blue to a light gray. The old paint looks like it was a good quality and as far as I can tell it's latex. Sheetrock walls are in good shape with nothing to repair except picture hanger holes, and a couple of furniture scuffs. No stains or water damage.

I have not painted a room since I was a teenager. I usually "pay the redneck" as we say here in north Mississippi but my daughter watches all these home improvement shows on HGTV and we have decided to do this ourselves as a "family bonding experience." Back in the chicken coop I grew up in I would not have cared what it came out looking like. But this is my daughter's bedroom, it's the nicest house I have ever lived in, and it needs to be as perfect as I can make it.

We are going to "work slowly and carefully" as it used to say in my plastic model instructions when I was a kid. We will wash the walls, let them dry, fix the holes, give a light sanding, tape it off, put out some drop cloths, cut in a section at a time, and start painting. Not sure whether I need a primer or can we go straight to the new color?

It will be interesting, I am looking forward to it. we all may kill each other but in the end we will have fun with it.

Any advice appreciated, thanks, namsag.

 

[alabamatacomaguy]

Enjoy it
Might not seem fun now but looking back will be something nice to remember you did with your daughter. You'll make her a better person by spending time with her.
I'm no expert but I'd say get some candy and take a break in the middle to sit back with her and have a treat.

 

[Redgrrr]

Empty room, clean high traffic walls and grease with TSP cleaner, tape off/cover floors, Fill holes, sand, vacuum, tint primer with final wall color, trim, roll and done!

 

[e9999]

Let her do little personal touches to the job. If they work out she'll be proud and appreciative. If not, good learning for her.

 

[Weedhopper]

Believe me, get good paint from a paint store. It seems more expensive until you put the first coat on and wonder if you need a second coat. You will.

Home Depot type paint, Behr or whatever, is half water.

My daughter and I painted her room at home and her condo.

Get your iPod rockin and paint away !

 

[AJP]

Empty room, clean high traffic walls and grease with TSP cleaner, tape off/cover floors, Fill holes, sand, vacuum, tint primer with final wall color, trim, roll and done!

Yes ... this ... as for paint I think the Benjamin Moore Aura interior paint is pretty good - did my cottage interior with it and it looks good (daughter demanded that her bedroom be pale blue which she apparently loves - I dont get it!) and I have also been very impressed by Farrow&Ball paints....they are a British company which I would normally steer very clear of despite my connection (mother, relatives, school etc) however the exterior Farrow and Ball paints I have used have stood up very well (in one case 15+ years of nasty Canadian winters and hot summers! and the high end interior designers seem to like it ... I believe it has a lot of clay in it - but the colours are excellent and the pro's I have talked to like it a lot - isnt cheap ...but you dont paint a room every week

 

[PADDO]

Grab some Floetrol latex paint additive. Brilliant stuff and is only $6 quart. It makes a huge difference in keeping your roller edge wet to avoid edge ridges and helps eliminate brush marks too. Slowing the drying down with Floetrol is a good thing if you're planning on going slow and steady and it's been a while since you used your painting skills. Most paints are formulated for fast drying, immediate gratification and recoat in an hour or whatever. Trouble is if it's drying as you're applying it then you get ridges and brush marks and the tacky paint pulls off the roller for an unsatisfactory finish. Use premium roller skins and premium brushes for cut in as they just perform better than the budget ones. Wet your brushes and roller skins and shake out excess water before use, makes them much easier to clean when you're done. When rolling start in one corner and do full floor to ceiling vertical strokes, reload with paint and 1/2 roller overlap as you work towards the walls' end. Don't start randomly rolling in the middle of the wall at all angles, like some of those happy shiny people in the renovation shows cause the end result will look like crap. I used to use Benjamin Moore (excellent) and have been just as happy with Behr Premium Plus Ultra. As you're not doing a significant color change you probably don't need a stain blocker+primer+sealer but if you choose to go that way then Kilz Quick Start is an excellent product at a reasonable price and can be tinted close to your final color.

 

[Weedhopper]

And after all that work the walls will be filled with posters.

 

[namsag]

Thanks for the comments guys, got it finished yesterday and we are very pleased with the results. We started with the bedroom door entry wall on the theory that it would not be as visible when you go into the room. Like I said it had been a long long time since I painted anything and of course my daughter had to help. That first wall was looking pretty rough at first but it dried beautifully. By then we had the hang of it and the room looks great now. Used Sherwin Williams Superpaint, it is great stuff and apparently very forgiving! Thought about the Floetrol but the Sherwin Williams guy assured me we would not need it and it looks like he was right.

Then my daughter had to "update" the receptacle and light switch faceplates (thank you HGTV) so it was another trip to the store. Now she is planning where to hang all the pictures and posters....

Estimate to paint the room was $800 from our usual painter. All told I spent about $300 including some equipment we will use for my 9-yr-old's room.... Saved some good money and had a great couple of days with my daughter, now the 9-yr-old is raring to go....

 

[Weedhopper]

Ya, that's about right in the money department.
Paint is expensive but not as expensive as a painter for sure.