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6 Tips to Save up on Paint

 Photo by: Bigstockphoto

Photo by: Bigstockphoto

Most times, a fresh coat of paint is all it takes to transform a space. But re-painting even a small space costs money. A high quality gallon of paint costs anywhere between $20 and $30. A medium-sized bedroom will require around 3 gallons of paint. If you want to give your space a fresh coat of paint but you don’t have the budget to splurge, consider these tips:

1. Buy in Bulk

Don’t just buy paint by cans, buy in bulk. Buying in bulk will cost you less. Agallon can of paint is more expensive than a five gallon can of paint. You could spend the same amount of money if you buy a five gallon bucket of paint as opposed to four 1 gallon buckets of paint. This means you get extra one gallon of paint for free. This tip works only if you’re re-painting the entire home.

2. DIY Paint Mixing

Instead of going to a store to mix or shade match the paint for you, why not do it yourself? You could create unique shades for your home. The possibilities are endless!

White is the cheapest paint color. Get a tester pot, using white as the base color, start experimenting with different colors. Once you settled on a specific color, mix enough paint to cover the space you will re-paint. If you bought a large can of white paint, mix colors into several batches. Of course, you don’t have to stick to a specific color. Be creative and start mixing different shades for every room of the house.

3. Practice Makes Perfect

The most common mistake inexperienced painters make is they apply thicker paint on the surface. You want to use a light touch when painting to save up. Professional painters do it this way too. Make sure you work lightly and evenly to avoid mistakes. Practice several times before moving forward with the project for a professional outcome.

4. High Quality Paint

Yes, quality counts. Poor quality paint is often thinner in texture. You need several passes to achieve an opaque, even coating. Higher quality paint might be more expensive but it’ll be worth it. You will save more because it only takes a couple of passes to achieve full opacity. Also, the paint job will last longer and this will save you even more money.

5. Prime the Surface First

Never skip the primer. You might think it’s a waste of cash but it’s really not. The last thing you want is for the paint job to peel away within months of re-repainting.

The primer creates a sticky surface for the paint to adhere to. This will make the paint job last longer. It will also require less passes of paint to achieve full opacity. Primer is essential especially if you’re painting rough surfaces, raw wood or dry wall.

6. Don’t Rinse the Rollers or Brushes

If say, you didn’t finish the job in a day, don’t wash the rollers or brushes just yet. Just wrap them with plastic bags and secure with twine. Washing out the brushes and rollers will waste more paint. Wash the brushes and rollers only after the paint job is completed.


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