How to paint interior walls

Clear the area of any furniture to give yourself ample working space.

Lay down a drop sheet and clean your walls with sugar soap. You may be tempted to skip this step, but a clean surface is your best insurance against a ruined paint job.

Mask your trim for cutting in. Cutting in is a technique where you paint with a brush or application pad in areas that can’t be reached with a roller.

Load your brush by dipping it into the paint roughly half the length of the bristles. Tap the brush on the side of the paint pot to remove the excess. Start brushing a few centimetres from the corner or edge. As you move the brush, you will establish the line of the edge of the paint. Drag the brush into the edge so that the line on the paint follows the edging.

Now you’re ready to roll out the wall. To load your roller push it forward on the tray then lift it to see if it spins evenly. If your roller is unbalanced, it’s because the paint isn’t evenly applied, so continue rolling it over the tray with full rotations to spread the paint evenly.

Start from where you cut in and roll across the wall. For best results, roll as far into the brushed area as possible.

After you have covered a section of the wall, it’s time to lay off to get a smooth finish. This is arguably the most important step in rolling a wall and should be done when you’ve painted a section roughly 3-4 meters. Laying off your wall means giving it a smooth consistent finish and hiding those streaky brush strokes. Simply place your unloaded roller at the top left corner of your wall. Ensure the handle side of your roller is to the right. Then with almost zero pressure roll straight down your wall until you reach the bottom. Remove your roller, return to the top, and slightly overlap where you just rolled so that each panel rubs away the line from the previous lay-off.

And you’re done! Simply clean up according to our recommendations here and enjoy your beautiful new walls.