Use of tape, caulk, smaller brushes, craft brushes, etc.

There are a lot of painting techniques out there. Not even the professional painters agree on the best way to get a painting job done. So what does that mean for you? It means that you have a lot of options. If you are really nervous about painting, try a variety of methods to find the one that works best for you. Make sure that you have drop cloths, a variety of brush sizes and textures, smaller brushes for detail work, and a water and rag handy to quickly wipe away mistakes. Just to give you one example of a helpful painting technique, while using painter's tape is a great idea, there are situations where tape alone simply does not do the job. If your wall is textured, or you are taping off the wall where it meets the ceiling, chances are that the paint you are using will seep under the tape and give you a messy line. To solve this problem, all you need is a little painter's caulk. Use the calk to form a barrier between the tape and the wall or ceiling. A very thin layer is all that you need. By taking a few minutes to calk the edge of the tape, you will not only save yourself a lot of trouble when it comes to touch-ups but your finished product will be much cleaner. This same strategy applies to decorative painting techniques like putting stripes on the wall. Clear lacquers will also do the job that caulk does, but may cost a little more.

Different rollers for different colors

What many people fail to consider when starting a painting job, is just how big of a role clean up plays in the whole process. By spending a few more dollars to buy different rollers for different colors of paint, or at least one roller per gallon of paint you have, you can save yourself a lot of trouble. If you have ever painted a large area before, you know that after about a gallon of paint, the consistency of your rollers start to change. When the roller has been saturated with that much paint, the application begins to get clumpy and it becomes much easier to drip. Cleaning these paint soaked rollers is a mess. Harmful chemicals in the paint make it so that using an outside hose is not an option so you are left with washing your rollers in the bathtub. In the end, you may have been able to get your roller clean, but now you have a paint splattered bathtub to clean. It is much easier to just spend an extra couple of dollars, throw away the old roller and use a brand new one instead.

Take time to prep

By taking some time to thoroughly prepare a room for painting, you will save yourself a lot of time and trouble. Use tape around the door, baseboards and window frames, lay down drop cloths around the room, remove electrical plates, and make sure that you have all of the tools that you will need in the room. By taking extra time in the beginning, your paint job will go faster, be cleaner, and the end result will be better.