Painting walls made easy: How to bring colour into your home

Check the surface: Moisture, mould, old paint

To achieve clean results when painting a wall, the surface must be firm, clean, and dry. If you find mould or moisture stains on the wall to be painted, you must treat them beforehand. Remove the mould with specific products, and a damp wall must be completely dried before painting, using methods such as dehumidifiers or a building dryer. Before painting the wall, you should also investigate the cause of the moisture and eliminate it. Cracked and leaky walls, poorly sealed showers, pipe damage, thermal bridges, or leaking roofs are often the culprits. Only by addressing the underlying problem can your wall remain dry in the long run.

Do you want to give an already painted wall a new coat? Then try the following first: Scratch the wall with your finger or stick a strip of masking tape on the paint and peel it off. If paint or plaster flakes off the wall or sticks to the tape, you should not simply repaint the surface with a new layer of paint. Instead, you would need to sand the old paint - and, depending on the situation, the plaster - before applying a new coat. By the way, wallpaper is often easier to remove if you soak it with lukewarm water in a first step. You can use tools like a paint spray system or a cordless pressure sprayer for this.

Technique: How to paint correctly

In general, when painting, it's important to follow the right sequence. Typically, you would start at the ceiling so that any potential paint splatters on the walls can be easily covered later. Whether on the ceiling or the wall, always begin by painting the edges, corners, edges, and narrow areas first. This includes the borders of windows, electrical outlets, and similar details. Then, you can "fill in" the larger areas with wall paint. By the way, it's often recommended to start on the side of the room with natural light, i.e., the window side, and follow the direction of the light.

The following points should be noted when painting:

• Avoid breaks: Always paint a wall in one go without interruption. You can take breaks between individual walls.
• Ensure a thin paint application: Do not linger too long in one place with the paint sprayer. When working with the paint roller, make sure you roll it along the squeegee until no more paint drips.
• Work "Wet on Wet": Always start your paint roller in the already painted, still wet area to avoid streaks.
• Work in sections: Take on approximately 1 square metre sections one at a time. Apply the wall paint in an 'M' or 'W' motion and then perform the final stroke from top to bottom.
• Multiple layers of paint: For dark red, intense blue, or anthracite colours, you may need multiple coats. In some cases, an initial coat with white paint can help the new colour cover better.