Whilst discussing office plans last week, a few of your comments about the blue trim situation in that room were the push that we needed. We were fooling ourselves to think we should paint all that trim by hand (we’re talking baseboards, crown molding, and five windows totaling 66 individual panes). So we decided to bite the bullet, break out the paint sprayer, tape everything off, cross our fingers and toes that we didn’t get any bleed-through on those wood floors, and say hasta la vista to some more blue trim this weekend.
We had painted all of the upstairs trim with the sprayer before we moved in and before the new floors went down, which was an easy no-brainer decision (nothing to worry about ruining). But for the downstairs trim that we’ve tackled (just in the kitchen and foyer so far) we’ve worked by hand – mainly because those rooms needed to remain functional during painting, so we didn’t want to cover them with paper, plastic, and tape while a fog of paint-spray flew through the air. The office, however, didn’t have much furniture to move out, and could easily be sectioned off in a paint quarantine for a few days. So we went for it.
Last Thursday morning we emptied the room (except for the file cabinet, which was heavy enough that we decided just to cover it) and basically took over the dining room and foyer with all of the displaced items. Good thing we’re comfortable with chaos by now.
As excited as we were to attack this blue trim using a new method (we’ve never taped off a room to spray it before) we were both curious to determine if we felt like it was ultimately much of a time saver, since the prep is obviously a lot more intense. Although some things – like wiping down the to-be-painted surfaces and taping off the floor – would’ve happened anyways.
Next we rolled rosin paper out all over the floor since we’ve learned that paint mist gets EVERYWHERE from our particular brand of sprayer (which I’ll admit I’m growing less enamored with – we’ve since switched to this one). We did our tape edging and our rosin paper as separate steps, just so we could focus on getting the taped edges nice and secure (paint on the hardwoods = our nightmare) before shifting our focus to taping each row of paper down. It meant that we ended up using more painter’s tape than we probably needed to, but the extra precaution felt like good nervous-first-timer insurance.
So here’s the room with the floors all taped over. Clara thought it was the coolest thing ever, especially when we let her come draw on the floors while we worked on the next prep step: windows.
I’ll admit I was a bit perplexed about what to do with the windows. I’ve heard lots of talk about “liquid masking film” that you can paint on your windows before spraying, which helps the dried paint just peel off seamlessly afterwards. It sounded awesome, but after reading some message boards it started to feel too good to be true. Lots of pro painters complained that it took 2 or 3 coats of it to work, so most recommended just doing the old fashion scrape technique anyways.
Wanting to save ourselves a bit of trouble, Sherry came up with the idea to roughly cut some rosin paper squares and tape them to the center of each pane. We didn’t meticulously cover every edge, but figured this would at least save us time on the back-end from scraping the entirety of each of those 66 panes. I left one empty just to test if the paper was a waste of time (spoiler: it wasn’t – that uncovered pane was a giant pain!). Oh and that big paper-covered thing between the windows is Sherry’s overflowing bulletin board full of Clara-art that we decided to just cover instead of removing (it was nailed right into the wall at the four corners as opposed to hanging on a hook).
With furniture out (or covered), floors protected, and windows “dressed” our last prep step was to seal off the office from the rest of the house. We carefully taped up a tarp across the doorway (on both the inside and outside of the door frame) and then used this handy instant zipper thing we found at Home Depot (it basically sticks to any tarp and then you slice an opening as you unzip it, giving you a resealable doorway in your tarp. Best $10 we spent on this whole project. That thing was airtight, which meant it single-handedly kept all of that swirling primer and paint dust from sneaking out into the foyer (while still allowing me to enter and exit the room between coats for a lot less hassle than a taped off tarp would provide).
Next, Sherry saluted me and wished me luck as I loaded in all of my supplies: paint sprayer (lately we’ve been using this Wagner sprayer), extension cord, and a can of primer (we used Kilz Premium). I also got dressed in the painters suit and booties that I bought and told Sherry to send reinforcements if I didn’t emerge in a few hours. I don’t know why, but I was actually kinda nervous about how this would go.
Well, it didn’t go great. At least it got off to a rocky start. For starters, my paint sprayer immediately got clogged, so before I could aim it at any blue trim, my hands were covered in primer and my sprayer was sputtering and leaking. About 30 minutes later, I was finally spraying. By this time it was about 4pm, and between clouds rolling in and all the paper on the windows, the room was suddenly pretty dark. And it only got darker as I sprayed the windows with primer. I’m so used to this room being crazy bright that I hadn’t even thought about needing a work light. Oops.
I actually didn’t own any work lights that we didn’t mind getting misted with paint spray (between this and just recently buying a dolly, you guys are probably questioning our preparedness) so I ran out to Home Depot after I was done with the primer coat and bought a couple, along with the trim paint that I’d need the next morning (Simply White in semi-gloss by Ben Moore – but here are some other top white paints you could use instead). The lights revealed that my priming wasn’t perfect, but it’d do the trick.
After letting the primer dry overnight (and thoroughly cleaning and de-clogging the sprayer) I woke up early the next morning (Friday) ready for my first coat of paint. This is the room right after I finished that coat. Note the paint fog.
After cleaning the sprayer once again, I let that coat dry the entire day since we had showhouse stuff to do that afternoon in Northern Virginia. I was hoping the next morning (Saturday) would just be a clean up day, but we weren’t entirely satisfied with that single coat of paint. It did a great job covering, but it didn’t get all of the various nooks and crannies of the trim.
This was one of my fears about spraying this room because it’s virtually impossible to get all of the angles and sides of the trim in one swoop, and you can’t just go back right away and spray from a new angle because you’ll apply too much paint and get drips. So instead of getting to dive into clean-up with Sherry on Saturday, I did a second coat of paint in an effort to get those spots that the first coat missed.
So now we were on Day 3 of paint quarantine in our office, which was also looking not so pretty from the outside. Luckily by now I think the neighbors are used to us always being the middle of a project, so it doesn’t really raise many eyebrows anymore.
We let the second coat dry all day Saturday, and started the clean-up process yesterday morning. You can tell by the photo above that our homemade window coverings were far from perfect. We learned just how imperfect they were as we started to peel them off… leaving chunks of rosin paper stuck behind in various places. I was ready to curse our decision, and the time we had invested, in those quick little coverings.
Sherry and I tag-teamed window scraping, since neither of us had the stamina (or the hand strength) to scrape 66 windows clean ourselves. The coverage was so thick (one coat of primer, two of paint) that it took lots of effort to peel it off, but some serious scraping did the trick. In the end, the best method we found was using straight razors to get most of the windows clean, and then going back to scrape the corners with an exacto (we also tried using a putty knife for those corners, which was a little bigger and harder to control, but also worked semi-well).
This basically ate up half of our Sunday (with breaks to feed Clara, hand her a few new activities, take bathroom breaks, etc). It sucked. I won’t lie. The whole time I was brainstorming what I’d do differently and it mostly boiled down to not owning windows, which I don’t think is a great solution.
But I said above that we don’t regret the rosin squares. That’s because the pane that we’d left completely uncovered was ten times worse. Maybe even a hundred times worse. My fantasies of this one magically peeling off in one giant sheet were far from reality. It was hard and grippy, so we could only chip it off slowly. It took Sherry a good 30 minutes to do just this one pane.
But by around one in the afternoon we had them all cleaned and enjoyed a nice celebratory lunch. It was glorious to have our bright office back (and even brighter).
We considered calling it quits from here (our hands were both aching) and we thought it might be nice to leave the paper down while we painted the rest of the room (walls & ceiling), but I was getting paranoid that our rosin paper on the floor had only performed as well as it had on the windows (I was picturing giant blobs of paint having leaked through) so we went ahead and peeled it up. And it was PERFECT. Phew!
So here’s the room as of now (Sunday afternoon, when I’m writing this). It’s looking a bit gnarly with all of the over-spray beyond the trim on the walls and ceiling… but there’s no blue in sight!
We’re excited to go ahead and paint the ceiling and walls, since we figure it’ll be easier with all of the furniture still out. And we’re used to painting without the floors being completely covered, so there was no harm done by pulling up all that rosin paper.
But our trim-painting task isn’t quite over. For some reason my second coat of paint was especially drippy (once again, I’m less enamored with our sprayer than ever – we now use this Wagner sprayer), so we had to sand down a bunch of spots that are still in need of some paint touch ups by hand.
But before I break out the touch-up paint, we still need to do some caulking. I didn’t realize how rough some of our trim was looking until it was all painted white. So there are a bunch of spots where the moldings and walls meet that need some filling.
I also never noticed how yellow the paint was in there until now. Sherry and I are still debating colors. We’re both thinking of something nice and light, but not white – and maybe with a hint of color. Not sure yet. Though you can see below that we’re starting to tape off where things like the built-ins might go, just to try to picture everything and make a final call on layout/placement.
Oh, but the verdict on spraying vs. painting by hand? I’m not totally sure yet. Spraying was definitely WAAAAY faster when you just measure the time spent painting. It took me just about 30 minutes to do a single coat, so one primer coat and two paint coats were a total of just 1.5 hours spent spraying – versus a single coat probably taking around 4+ hours by hand. But we’ve still got some kinks to work out in our prep/clean-up system before I’m convinced it’s less trouble overall (for example, when we paint by hand, we don’t get nearly as much on the windows so it’s a lot easier to scrape, and we don’t have drips in the trim that we later have to sand and touch up).
I’d love any tips or suggestions from those of you who are more well-practiced in the art of paint spraying. We plan to spray the dining room when the time comes since, like the office, it has little furniture and can easily be sectioned off. So I’d love to work out some kinks before taking that room for a spin – and then share all the “this worked better” tips when we get ‘er done. Can you believe that room is our last room with blue trim?! It’ll be a big day when it’s done.
Fahlon says
I get so excited when you guys paint the blue trim. The before and after photos are so dramatic! Would you consider a light/bright green in the office, something like BM Easter Hunt, or BM Sweet Honeydew Melon?
I love using GooGone on paint overspray. It saves your hands from scraping by softening up the paint so you can pretty much wipe it off. I put it on the edge of the scraper so it doesn’t get all over the place, ie. places I want the paint to stay.
Good Luck, Can’t wait to see those office built-ins since you did those amazing ones for the barnacles room!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we definitely are thinking about something like a soft mint or a honeydew! Sounds pretty! And thanks for the Goo Gone tip!
xo
s
Christi Hoehn says
It’s a labor of love! I can’t help but be secretly glad it’s you and not me :) Have you tried some removable vinyl cut into the window pane dimensions? I’ve often seen “off colors” discounted and they could easily be cut on a paper cutter. My experience has been to use the blue painter’s tape and burnish the edges as I go to get the proper seal. You were smart to remove the tape around the baseboards so that the paint doesn’t set before removing. Maybe next time 2 layers of tape so that the top layer can be removed (to eliminate any need to score with a knife) and the paper on the floor still remains intact for the rest of the painting.
Keep up the beautiful work, I love peeking in on the progress!
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds like it would be really smart! Thanks for the idea Christi!
xo
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Stephanie says
We are just finishing up spraying all of our trim white. We have the same sprayer. It is a lot of prep work, but I prefer it sprayed over hand brushed. One thing is that we caulked all the trim after the primer coat but before the top coat so you get a nice edge. It’s an extra step but worth it for a nice final product. Also when we were spraying we were constantly changing the angle of the tip and the way we were holding the sprayer so you could get in all those nooks of the windows and doors. And one thing to remember with this sprayer is that the tips wear out after a while. A fresh one may help with the clogging. But spraying is not a perfect science, there’s always going to be small imperfections that are going to need to be addressed by hand. Good luck, and remember you are almost done! That’s the best part!
YoungHouseLove says
Great tips Steph! Someone else said we should change the nozzle, so we’ll definitely give that a try!
xo
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Hillary L says
I was watching HGTV and I saw painters use this goo-like stuff on the glass of the windows when spray painting the exterior. I’m sure it’s probably toxic or not for use inside or something, but do you know if there is such a product for interiors? It seemed counterproductive at first, but looked like it peeled off much like a thin rubber type product rather than the painful process of paint. Ever heard of something like that?
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Hillary!
xo
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Annelise in Edmonds says
Wow!! What difference with the blue trim gone!! Looks awesome!
Did anyone else think Breaking Bad with the plastic zipper door and John’s white protective coveralls?!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, someone else said Dexter. Love them both.
xo
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Amanda @ All Day Activewear says
Oh my gosh, you guys! It looks so amazing with the white trim — it compliments your house style so well! And THANK YOU for showing all the pictures of the imperfections you have to fix — I always feel like I must have done part of a project wrong when that happens — it’s great to see it happens to well-seasoned pros too :) But I have to say I’m not envying all the window scraping :( Great job as always! :)
Ashley says
I recently painted a big kitchen full of cabinets and a few pieces of furniture using the Wagner Flexio sprayer and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I bought the kit with two different guns – one is a regular mist, and the other is a fine mist, which offers more control for things like window panes. Once you get the hang of how it works and how to control the flow & spray, it is incredibly easy to use, refill and clean up. And I rarely have a clog or leak – normally if I do, it’s my own fault because I’ve painted too long without wiping the tip to keep it clean. It was only about $150 from Home Depot, and I honestly would’ve paid double. It’s lightweight, quiet, and honestly so easy to use & clean. And, while there is some over-spray, you can adjust the force, width and direction of the spray, giving you SO much control. I would highly highly recommend trying the Flexio sprayer for your next project!
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds amazing Ashley! Thanks so much for the info!
xo
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Rosie B says
Since you mentioned the file cabinet, is that still the Effektiv from Ikea? How is is holding up through your moves?
We need something for paper file storage (our cheapie particle board cabinet basically fell apart as it was moved, plus it’s u-g-l-y), but I am loathe to drop some $$$ on something from PB or a similar store. And, our current office is becoming a bedroom for Baby Sister due in July, so something that could blend into another room without screaming “FILE CABINET!!!” would be a plus.
If anyone has any suggestions for where to shop, I’d love it!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s really great! Still holding up well, although I’m not sure they still sell them. Someone said they were discontinuing it a while back, which made me sad!
xo
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Noelle says
Saw something on Rehab Addict, not sure of the exact brand, but it was like the product Jasco Liquid Mask and Seal. I saw Nicole using something on the windows that just peels right off, and this stuff does that too. Haven’t tried it yet because I’m not brave enough to paint the exterior of our rental but one day… one day I will.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Noelle!
xo
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Jill says
re: windowpanes. It looks to me like the tape seal was the problem — not sealed enough and let paint seep under. I recommend cleaning the glass with rubbing alcohol, or maybe vinegar, next time. Not a regular glass cleaner like Windex bec those can leave residue. Get the glass really squeaky clean and your tape might seal better.
On an unrelated note, I love the yellow/white combo… just need some touch up on the yellow, LOL.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jill!
xo
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Alyssa says
I’m not sure if you guys have heard of this product or even if it’s safe for interior use, but they make a spray-on product (think a can like spray paint) but it sprays a thin coat of plastic on your windows to protect them from painting. At the end of the project, you just peel it off all in one sheet so no scraping! Unfortunately, I’m not sure what it’s called- I actually saw it on Rehab Addict on the DIY network the other day!! Hopefully that helps a future project!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Alyssa!
xo
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Tracey says
As I was reading I could almost smell the wet paint. How weird is that???? Looks great. i think the prep work takes longer than the actual spraying. It’ll be a wonderful place to work in. Can’t wait to see what subtle color you’ll choose.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! Smell-o-vision, in blog form!
xo
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Sheralyn says
And this is one of the reasons I love your blog – learning what works best and what works (but could be better!) KUDOS for all the taping and scraping…wow.
You probably already have a colour in mind, but when I read “something nice and light – but not white” I immediately thought of “CLOUD COVER” by Ben Moore; most of our house is this neutral shade and I love it in every room. It has a certain ‘moodiness’ yet is still fresh and is a subtle contrast from Simply White (also our trim!)
Love you guys!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds really pretty! Thanks for the tip!
xo
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Brooke says
looks great!! Have you thought of a nice blueish mint… Just painted my room Aqua Smoke by Behr… I LOVE it… so fresh and bright… just a thought :)
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds pretty!
xo
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Nikki Kelly says
I’ve never used a plug in paint sprayer before, but I love my HLVP sprayer. It’s a cheap one from Home Depot ($50-60). It hooks up to an air compressor (which you have), and you need to thin your paint with water a bit, but I love it! I would probably practice on a scrap something (I have an old door in my garage that I test out my sprays on before I get going. You can adjust the amount of paint that comes out, and how large the spray pattern is to get it just the way you like it. Good luck with the dining room when the time comes.
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds awesome!
xo
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Laura says
We have the same sprayer and my husband is a lover of it, but I’m not as big of a fan. After spraying the trim in our whole house about a year ago there are so many areas that are peeling and chipping off because of drips and overspray that we didn’t catch at the time (too many late nights spent painting). I’m curious to see your next attempt and what you guys would do differently because I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to explain to the hubs that there is more paiting and trim work to do :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Laura!
xo
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Jessica says
What a difference! What kind of caulk do you use to close the gaps in the trim? Our 75 year old house has several cracks in the baseboards, crown molding, and trim that could use some touch- ups. THANKS!!
YoungHouseLove says
We like Dap window and door caulk (make sure it’s paintable and white).
xo
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Margaret says
I like to paint trim by hand. Just me, no help. Maybe the radio. I get to think without interruption. It’s a calming experience. I know, weird!
YoungHouseLove says
You’re a special and rare breed, Margaret!
xo
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Izzy says
So sorry it was a pain, but it looks LOVELY with the white trim, soon that blue will be a distant memory :)
Question – did I miss an announcement changing from 2 to 1 post/day? I’ve been missing my second YHL dose each day in the recent months!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, thanks Izzy! We announced right on this post (at the top in red) that we’ve shifted the giveaway from Monday afternoons to Tuesday afternoons, so tomorrow we’ll have two for you – it’s just moving back by a day. Other than that, our schedule for the last four months has been one post every other day except on giveaway day (here’s the post with that announcement at the top) for ya :)
xo
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Dave says
Apply WD-40 to the window before painting next time. Also, spray it on your paintbrushes before using them to prevent the paint from sticking to the brush.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip!
xo
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Leah says
I just completed my first paint sprayer project using a Wagner Flexio 590. I was a bit intimidated at first, but once I got into it, it was easy and the sprayer worked well. The first go around it was pushing out too much paint, but re-looking at the manual was able to fix the issue and got nice clean coats after. No clogging or sputtering–easy to clean. I would highly recommend the Wagner if you think you will be venturing into more paint sprayer projects.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds awesome Leah!
xo
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Melissa says
I have that exact same trim in my living room and it is just biding it’s time before it gets sprayed! Thank you for the lessons learned. I will definitely be trying some different methods on the windows to see what we can do to avoid getting gnarly-scraper-hand-syndrome! Oh so many panes of glass… At least fresh paint will give us the look without replacing the windows!
Jace says
Something to try. I have had luck with coating glass or metal with petroleum jelly before painting in order to keep the paint from sticking to areas I don’t want painted. I guess it’s kind of the same idea as the liquid masking film. The petroleum jelly is slick and well, provides a barrier between the surface you don’t want to paint and the paint. Of course it has its own problem in that it can be a bit of pain to fully clean that jelly off of the area when you are done, but to me it’s easier than scraping paint off.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jace!
xo
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Mrs. A says
Soooo much better! I’m so excited to see the end result.
And, I’m so glad that you share the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s so frustrating to see before and after pictures without the in-between process, and a discussion of how long it takes to get things perfect. :)
Melanie says
Better Homes and Gardens suggests lip balm on the glass. Whaaat? I’m so glad I saw this before reglazing and repainting my 1950s double hung windows. I will stock up on lip balm for sure! http://www.bhg.com/decorating/paint/how-tos/how-to-keep-paint-off-windows/
YoungHouseLove says
So funny!
xo
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Kristin says
I have used vaseline to protect windows! Far easier than tape. However, I have never used a paint sprayer…
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Kristin!
xo
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kipper says
I read somewhere (ages ago) that if you roll ChapStik on the interior perimeter of window it will prevent paint from sticking to the glass. I tried it and it worked.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Kipper!
xo
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Emily @ Life on Food says
So good to see the blue trim gone. I cannot wait to see the wall color.
RachieP says
My dad is a painting contractor and always keeps a can of Dirtex around. I think you can find it at Home Depot, it’s a cleaner. If you ever get paint on your hardwoods it’ll come right off with a spray of Dirtex.
YoungHouseLove says
Smart!
xo,
s
Courtney Baker says
Have you tried this gun? http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-best-and-easiest-to-use-spray-gun.html
We got it after reading about it on the Little Green Notebook! So far it’s been great. Way better than the first one we bought from Lowes.
YoungHouseLove says
We heard it was awesome from Jenny at LGN too! A few commenters here said they tried it with “meh” results, so I’m glad to hear you love it!
xo
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eva says
Do your windows open OK? when we sprayed our trim out windows were sealed shut! It was a nightmare.
YoungHouseLove says
Weirdly enough they opened right up (we scraped them while open so we didn’t have to crouch down as much), but when we hand paint them they get stuck sometimes and we use an xacto to cut them open.
xo
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Jayme S says
Looking good…..I remember watching an episode of “Rehab Addict” and she had found this stuff that you paint on the windows with a paint brush and when it dries, it gives it a protective rubber like film. She stated that you didn’t even need to clean the windows first. I’m afraid I didn’t get the name of the product. It’s supposed to come off in big strips. Something that might be worth looking into with all those windows of your. Keep up the great work….I think your both awesome!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jayme!
xo
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Anna [Directions Not Included] says
Even with the hiccups, I think you made the right choice. Our family room has 2.5 full brick walls that were an awful, dirty off-white over orange (yes, orange). When we first moved in my darling husband thought it would be too much work to tape up the space and spray it since we had an exposed beam ceiling and tons of windows. We tried painting it by hand and nearly killed each other. We came to our senses, taped up the room and sprayed. The result was worth the extra prep for sure. Good luck with the patch work.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Anna!
xo
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Megan says
Y’all are seriously my heroes! I sing the “have patience” song to my 3.5 year old daughter pretty much everyday, and let’s be honest – its really to remind myslef to have patience… but after reading this I know you guys sure do have a lot of that!
Danielle says
Love the even coverage of spray. No brush strokes is great, but don’t just consider time, consider cost too. There seems to be more waste with spray.
I hand painted four French doors. It was a pain, but not the worst project ever. I like tedious, meticulous tasks though.
Tardevil says
I’m a Carolina girl, but not sad to see that blue go! It looks so much better, even with over-spray. Sorry it was a pain to paint. On a brighter note, love the blue and light fixture in the show house on Insta today.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Tardevil! We can’t wait to write up an update – there’s lots of progress over there!
xo
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Hillary @ The Friendly Home says
I’ve been wondering about that Graco; thanks for your honesty! I tried it once and it didn’t go well for me so I returned it. I ended up buying the much more expensive Fuji Mini-Mite to use on furniture that I custom finish for clients. I love it (LOVE it) but I always wondered if maybe I just screwed up with the Graco. I love all the light in your office. It’s going to be gorgeous when you finish!
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds awesome!
xo
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Kimberly says
My husband and I were discussing other options for the windows. How about coating them with car wax?
Just a thought! Love watching the improvements :-)
YoungHouseLove says
I was thinking that some sort of wax would be awesome, as long as it’s easy to remove afterwards. Maybe with dish soap to cut the grease?
xo
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Keila says
My husband and I used a paint sprayer when we painted the walls in our house…biggest purchase mistake ever! It was a nightmare! We even searched Amazon for one with good reviews, but paint got everywhere, it dripped down the walls, and took at least two coats because the paint had to be thin for the sprayer to work correctly. So I can totally sympathize with you guys about your frustrations of using a paint sprayer! Painting with a brush or foam roller is the way to go imo.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that sounds like a nightmare!
xo
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Kelsey says
Congrats on accomplishing a huge job. Especially doing it solo with no help. I think after doing a big (nightmarish) project like that I would never want to paint again and it would take me 4-5 months to finally get around and paint the room. Paint is hard to deal with. Good luck with future plans and you seem to enjoy painting walls so it seems all downhill from here! So goodluck and may the paint gods be in your favor!!
Paula says
I am curious to know exactly how long this whole project took. From prep to finish. You guys seems to work really fast. Is it just the two of you. When I decide to paint a room it seems like the prep takes forever and then days to paint and then more days to clean up. It’s only me, myself, and I doing it. So can you give me an idea on time wise.
YoungHouseLove says
Sure thing Paula! Yes, it’s just us doing this stuff unless we indicate that someone else helped (for example, we showed John’s dad helping him push the fridge outside last week for that to be painted). As for the timeline for this specific project, John tried to outline that right in the post for you (we prepped the room on Thursday and that’s the day it got the first primer coat (which took about an hour to apply), on Friday it got a first paint coat (that took about 30 mins), on Saturday it got another paint coat (another 30 mins). On Sunday we both scraped the windows (which took about half a day) and then cleaned up the room. Hope it helps!
xo
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Rocky says
I can’t remember which sprayer you have, but we have been having a heck of a time with our Graco sprayer (it’s blue). My husband is the son of a painter so he spent his childhood painting for his dad. He is constantly having to fix this sprayer and clean it due to the tip getting clogged. It broke half way through his spray job last time…thank goodness my father in law had the patience to fix it the next day.
For big jobs my husband always uses a professional sprayer that hooks to an air compressor. The beauty is that you don’t constantly run out of paint (like he does in the little Graco) and there is a little less overspray. To avoid the “drips/runs” my husband always does more coats. He says it is better to dust the surface let it dry then paint again. He also has more patience for painting than anyone I’ve ever met…so take it with a grain of salt ;)
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds so much nicer!
xo
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Sarah says
About how much extra does it cost to paint with a sprayer? Between the extra paint and extra supplies does it cost a lot more in the end?
YoungHouseLove says
I’d say the added cost is definitely noticeable. The rosin paper and tape were around $20 and the extra paint was around $20 as well. We already had some trim paint leftover that we would have gone through by hand, but did have to buy some more for the sprayer (about half of which we used, and half of which we have leftover). So all told it was around $40 more to use the sprayer.
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Beth Chesak says
We have 77″ long windows throughout our brick house ( 12 over 12 panes). We taped off the inside, because we don’t have a sprayer, and it was tedious and still requires touch up. As you said, unfilled nail holes and gaps in trim that don’t show up in stained would, really show up when the same window is painted. On the outside, a professional painter suggested quick painting of the windows without tape and scraping them after. He told us that a mixture of a few drops of Dawn soap and water in a spray bottle would clean the windows and protect the window from being damaged with a straight razor blade. It took about four hours per window to clean and scrape the 24 Boxes of each window. I checked into the liquid masking and read very mixed reviews too. Either way, painting paned windows is a pain, but so worthwhile when finished since it takes ten years off the age of the house.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tips! Thanks Beth!
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Deborah HH says
Um. I am guilty of painting the woodwork blue. It was a color between teal and turquoise, which was very popular at the time, especially paired with shades of yellow. It was in 1985, and the original bathroom wood was 25 years old and mostly beat up by then (we were the third owners). Only one window, with a vanity and some cabinets.
To paint the window, I used my favorite high-dollar water color brush—a flat 1-inch sable—which I have used for everything since I turned out to be not such a hot water-colorist! The brush laid the paint beautifully and the results were gorgeous. But blue :-/
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! I love that you used a watercolor brush!
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Susan T says
You might try taping the window with one large sheet of the paper, spraying the trim around the window and then paint with a brush around the panes. It all looks great, thanks for sharing.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Susan!
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Vicki Cornelius says
There is no way I would have spent the time, energy, and frustration painting that room’s trim w/all the windows…would have just bitten the buttet and had it professionally done…preferably on day/s I could have been out of the house…
more power to you J…
One trick I have read (not used) when painting rooms with glass to worry about is to just use lot of Vaseline and smear it all over the glass…
supposedly that will catch anything that comes its way and you can simply wipe it off after you are done…
I guess you could try it on sample piece of glass or mirror to see how well it holds up to big projexts…but I thought it make sense…
you just need a heavy enough coating..
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Vicki!
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Casey says
Just wanted to share a tip we learned over the weekend for getting that paint off your glass windows….use easy off oven cleaner. Spray it on the paint, it will bubble up and you can wipe it right off…usually no scraping required!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Casey!
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Momlady says
You know, it’s kind of interesting that once the blue trim is gone the pale wall “color” (barely there yellow) looks kind of good with the beautiful white trim. You probably want to get as far away from it as possible but, please don’t discount something in that color group just because you feel the room needs a change.:)
YoungHouseLove says
I actually think we’re leaning towards a light honeydew or a very soft pistachio color right now, so it might be somewhat close!
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Lo says
I didn’t see it mentioned in the post, so just wondering what you did to prevent the windows from being painted shut? The previous owner of my home had painted all the windows and it is a nightmare. My windows are old and have vertical rods that the windows slide up and down on and those were painted as well. Many of them can’t open because of the paint. Also what do you usually do to prevent this with brush painting?
YoungHouseLove says
Oddly enough that didn’t happen with the spray (we opened them all to scrape them so we didn’t have to crouch down and none of them were even a little stuck). When we paint them by hand they do tend to get stuck sometimes, so we just use an xacto knife to carefully cut them open when the paint’s dry.
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Lo says
But even if you cut them open, when they sit closed and the the paint cures over time, they will start to stick, no? Especially since you guys always use latex paint…
YoungHouseLove says
Thankfully we haven’t had to re-cut any windows (even from the ones we sprayed 9 months back upstairs). Sometimes you have to yank on them, but they slide right up.
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