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All professional painters have a little bag of painting tricks that they have learned over the years.  Many of these techniques can even be helpful to learn for your very own do it yourself projects.  Some painting contractors stick with the general painting techniques while others dabble a bit with specialty paint finishes otherwise called faux finishes.

Here is a list of several painting techniques used by professional painters:

•    Basic brush and roller techniques. When using a paint brush to paint, be sure to use the proper brush for the project.  There are synthetic brushes that are used for latex painting jobs and there are natural hair brushes that are used for oil based paints and stains.  The best size for a trim brush is no more than 2 inches.  And the angled brushes can really help give you a lot more control.  There are also different types of nap on paint rollers.  You will use a thinner nap for rolling smooth walls and a thicker nap for rolling over textured walls.  

•    Don’t put too much paint in the roller pan. Of course you don’t intend to knock over a paint tray filled with paint, but it can happen.  By keeping the amount of paint to a minimum, every professional painter knows it is a lot less mess to clean up later on.

•    Tape your trim and your baseboards. True, professional painters rarely use tape on those areas.  However they do have much more control over their brushes.  They take their time while cutting in and this allows them to work much quicker on the wall.  You might have the skill to do it but it is better to be safe than sorry, so using painters tape might be a good idea.

•    High gloss paint is hard to touch up. In a perfect world, your paint will go on perfectly every time, but this might not be the case.  Take your time when using high gloss paint.  The mistakes don’t tend to show till the paint dries and at that time it is harder to touch up.

•    Two tools a professional always has. There are two things every painter must carry.  One is a small damp rag.  This is for cleaning small messes.  The second is a 5-in-1 tool.  This is for larger messes or scraping.  If you don’t know what one is just ask at your local paint store or local home supply store.

•    Faux Finish Techniques. Many painting professionals are adding these specialty painting techniques to what they offer because they are hugely popular and fairly easy to do.  A faux finish gives walls depth and dimension through manipulating the glaze over the painted surface.  There are many different options, but here are three of the most common ones:

• Colorwashing. This top painting technique is used by many professional painters, partially because of its ease.  A base coat is applied and then on top of that, a paint/ glaze top coat is applied.  A brush is used to wash the walls with the glaze.  You can also use wool or even cheesecloth to wash the walls.  This is a very soft and subtle finish.
• Sponging. This technique is what most people think of when they think of faux finishes.  Like most of the top techniques used by professionals, it is not nearly as hard as it looks.  As the name would imply, the top coat is “sponged” over the bottom coat.  For the most part it is just blotted on.  One important thing to remember is to use a real sea sponge to get the proper effect, don’t use an artificial sponge.
• Ragging. Ragging is very similar to sponging.   Like the name would suggest, the top coat is applied with a rag, but using the same paint /glaze mixture over the base paint.

Professional painters have lots of tips and tricks that they have learned over the years to make their job easier and to produce great looking results.  These are only a few of the top techniques used by professional painters but the list goes on.  

Are you looking for a professional painter to utilize some of the above techniques in your home?  Check out our online directory of top quality painters in your local area!