I'm just about to start painting every single internal wall and ceiling of our 3 bed semi and as I haven't done a lot of painting before I'm looking for some tips.
I've put the undercoat on in one room and whilst it looks pretty good it does look a bit stripey. This is because I rolled it in vertical lines doing approx 4-5 feet in one direction and then the opposite direction before applying more paint to the roller and doing the next section. Where the vertical lines overlap the paint is thicker and this shows in the finished product.
Any tips to avoid this or will this disappear when I apply the finishing coats.
Alternatively do you know any good decorating websites I could look up?
I think he will have seen by now that it was a major problem.
What happened was that he allowed the edges to dry out as well as tried to cover too much with one loading.
Run some fine sandpaper quickly over everything. This is just to find snots so don't waste more than ten minutes on that. (Twenty and you will go around the whole room.)
Fill in any dents or crack that magically appear and snd them down, brush away the dust then go and have a cuppa.
Regardless of whether the floor is to be covered, put a sheet on it. Someday you might want to show the boards. Besides, a couple of rolls of masking tape and a sheet will speed you up exponentially.
With the edges masked, you can slip through the job of "cutting-in" in no time as you won't worry about going over the edges. (Nor will you pick up any dirt or fluff.)
Next, do all the edges with a paintbrush (the "cutting-in") giving yourself a 2" margin. (Don't be too fussy. You only need to get one edge of that job right, the other is covered.) Time for another cuppa, and a wee wee. (You won't have any time to stop with the next bit) so get everything ready:
With the roller:
Start at the most inaccessible section and work down and along at the same time. The idea is never to let the fresh edge dry out.
This means that you are working left ot right or right to left and top to bottom as fast as you can in one sweep per wall.
If you keep loading the roller as soon as you have covered a couple of square feet or so, it should be thick enough to stay wet as you work along the column.
You always start at the top and work down, as that is the way that the paint runs. It doesn't splash onto the new paint that way.
If you haven't loaded the roller often enough, that will slow you down
-as you will keep going over the bits you think you have missed. (Eventually as the paint dries, you will start lifting large sections of it as skin. So, get away from the tacky stuff asap!)
You will cover a section of wall about 6 ft wide in about 5 minutes or less and have covered a 12 ft section, or more, before the other side of that section is tacky/dry. (Aim for that -or give the job to the wife.)
Time for another cuppa and the next two walls. (Paint the ceiling first then the two opposite walls one after the other. You'll be amazed how quickly you will do it. (And at how much gets on your hair and clothes.))
Sorry if this is the second time this appears. Usual thingie.
Personally, I roll randomly, avoiding vertical and horizontal lines that way. I also work very, very quickly, which helps.
Also, what do you mean by "undercoat"? This is normally a paint applied to woodwork before the top coat. Walls are painted with emulsion and don't require undercoat. New plaster should be sealed with diluted emulsion.
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