What paint is better to paint the walls in the apartment, and how to do it correctly

The color you choose for the walls of your apartment can significantly alter the appearance and feel of the room. Selecting the one that will be most beneficial to you can be difficult with so many choices available. Knowing the benefits that each type of paint has to offer will help you make an informed decision.

To achieve a professional finish, choosing the right paint and applying it correctly are equally important. If you prepare and apply your technique correctly, your walls will appear vibrant and smooth. It can be easier and more efficient to touch up an existing paint job or achieve a completely new look if you know what steps to take.

Type of Paint	Best Use
Latex Paint	Ideal for walls and ceilings, easy to clean, and quick-drying. Best for most indoor environments.
Oil-Based Paint	Great for high-traffic areas and trim. Durable and smooth finish but takes longer to dry and has a strong odor.
Acrylic Paint	Versatile, dries quickly, and is easy to clean. Suitable for various surfaces and ideal for DIY projects.
Primer Paint	Used before the main coat to improve paint adhesion and coverage. Helps in hiding stains and previous colors.

Paint or wallpaper

What are the benefits of having painted walls in an apartment when the wallpaper is the background? affordability of the covering. It goes without saying that superior paint is more affordable than comparable wallpaper.

With a service life and cost that are similar. It goes without saying that washable, wear-resistant paint will last longer than paper wallpaper.

Ease of repair in the event that the walls are damaged. Clearly, it is easier to patch up the flaw and paint over it than to replace the damaged wallpaper strip—which often requires agonizingly coordinating the pattern with neighboring wall sections.

Simple redesign of the room’s layout. Just prime and paint the walls a different color to change their appearance. Old wallpaper does not need to be removed (which is not always easy and quick).

Dark side

Let’s put a fly in the ointment and lessen the enthusiasm and love for paint.

Base preparation is far more important when painting. Small wall imperfections (less than 1-2 mm) can be covered up with relief wallpaper, but paint will make them noticeable.

As Captain Obvious points out, structural paints are an exception. They are applied thickly and artificially unevenly, without any dilution.

Paint requirements

Let’s create our paint requirements before deciding what to paint the apartment’s walls.

It ought to be:

• Resistant to dry abrasion. You will inevitably touch the walls with your clothes, and it is desirable that neither the clothes nor the finish suffer;

• Odorless – both during use and when applying. No one will like to breathe in the fumes of an organic solvent for several days or weeks, and keeping the windows open around the clock is not always possible due to the weather and noise level outside;
• Quick-drying. Waiting for several days for the coating to gain full strength in a small city apartment is, to put it mildly, inconvenient;

As a practical result, we paint the apartment’s walls using water-dispersion paint. It combines no odor with quick drying (1-2 hours "to the touch" and full polymerization in 24 hours).

• In damp rooms (bathroom, toilet, kitchen), and where the walls will be exposed to intense pollution (hallway, children"s room), the coating must be washable. Splashes are an inevitable attribute of the bathroom and kitchen, and children"s love for active games does not leave the coating any chance to stay clean;

• Finally, a reasonable price per kilogram of dye will be a great bonus for the buyer. It is desirable that the owner of the home does not have to bear exorbitant costs for the sake of repairs.

Point your finger

So, considering all the requirements, what paint should I use to paint the apartment’s walls?

We will just highlight a few of the most sensible answers rather than enumerating every possibility:

Note: Because glossy dyes highlight even the smallest flaws with shadows, they are more critical of surface quality. Matte paint, on the other hand, can cover up minor wall imperfections.

This article’s video will teach you more about what to paint the apartment’s walls and how to do it.

Tinting

We decided it would be best to paint the apartment’s walls. We are now confronted with the lengthy issue of color selection (see. How to pick a paint color for walls).

Let’s go off on a little poetic tangent. Vodsulsiones come in white packaging. They tint, combining with one or more water-soluble pigments to achieve the desired color.

There is a computer tint to achieve a particular shade. Still, it is an expensive endeavor. You will never obtain the same shade twice when mixing by hand.

1. If this does not contradict the design concept, use white paint without tinting. In the future, you will have much fewer problems with wall repairs: any defect can be eliminated with acrylic putty and, if necessary, touched up with dye directly from the factory packaging, without wasting time on color selection;
2. If you decide to tint the paint, mix the entire volume with the pigment, not each can separately;

1. Be sure to leave a supply of dye tinted in the desired color for future repairs of inevitable damage.

Now, a few remarks regarding color selection. Naturally, we are unable to suggest to the reader what color to paint the apartment’s walls. However, there are a few general principles of room color design that we can introduce him to.

• Light colors visually increase the volume of the room, dark ones – reduce it;
• The combination of white walls and a black ceiling will make the room look wide and low. The combination of dark walls and a white ceiling will make it seem higher;

By the way, highlighting specific areas painted in the same colors will produce the same effect. Walls or ceilings that are well-lit appear farther away than those that are completely dark.

• Colors that promote relaxation are appropriate in the bedroom – shades of blue and green. Beige, yellow and orange are ideal for the living room, brown and gray – for the study;
• In one room, you should not combine more than three main colors – it will look unpleasantly motley. Different shades of the same color, black, white and mirror surfaces – do not count.

Practical lessons

Let’s put theory into practice now and learn how to apply water-dispersion paint to apartment walls.

Preparing the walls

The wall that needs to be painted needs to be sturdy, spotless, and moderately absorbent; otherwise, the paint will just not adhere to the surface. Thus, start by cleaning the walls’ surfaces of any thin and poorly adhering coatings (see. How to remove plaster from a wall. How would one go about doing that?

Instructions for a few common scenarios are as follows:

• Chalk whitewash can be washed off with plenty of water;
• Lime is removed with a spatula after abundant moistening (twice with an interval of 10-15 minutes);

• Old water-based paint can often be removed with the same spatula, after wetting the surface with hot (75-80 degrees) water or penetrating acrylic primer;
• Alkyd, oil and nitro enamels are removed with a spatula after applying a universal wash. Alternatively, the paint can be heated with a building hair dryer or a blowtorch – after softening, it will also be easily removed from the base.

Surface defect elimination is the next step. Large flaws are fixed with gypsum or cement putty (or plaster with subsequent puttying), while small flaws are fixed with acrylic putty following priming with a penetrating primer.

In the most sophisticated instances, the entire surface of the walls is puttied. Mixtures based on gypsum are used in dry rooms, while cement-based mixtures are used in damp rooms.

The walls are primed with acrylic penetrating primer over their whole surface after the repaired areas have dried fully. Sanding and dusting are then performed on the walls. By filling the base’s pores, it will adhere any leftover dust, strengthen the wall’s surface, and use less paint.

Painting

In an apartment, painting the walls calls for the most basic tool:

• A roller with medium pile;
• A paint tray;
• Brushes for painting internal corners.

The paint should have the viscosity of very fatty milk by the time work begins. If it has become thick, thin it out with water and stir everything well. Overly thick viscosity will increase consumption, prolong the drying time of each layer, and probably result in streaks on a level surface.

Be advised that walls are painted between +5 and +30 degrees. The paint dries before you can evenly apply it over the surface that needs painting in extremely hot or cold temperatures, and it thickens or even freezes onto the walls.

How should water-based paint be applied to apartment walls?

Here are some basic guidelines to help you complete this task as quickly and effectively as possible using your hands:

• If you are painting drywall, start painting at least two weeks after filling the seams (see. How to fill drywall seams). Otherwise, they will stand out in shade after any number of layers of paint;

• When applying each layer, first paint the inner corners with a brush, then move on to the planes of the walls by painting the surface with a roller;
• Dip in paint and roll the roller only in a paint tray. Rolling on the wall will give an uneven coating thickness;
• Do not take breaks when painting one wall: the paint will have time to dry, and a thickening of the coating will be noticeable at the border of the previously painted area;

• Apply each new layer perpendicular to the previous one. This will hide the inevitable roller stripes;
• A new layer is applied after the old one has completely dried. Drying takes from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the humidity level and temperature in the room;
• If you notice flaws when the paint has already begun to dry, do not touch up the wall. Wait until the surface dries and apply another layer;

It is recommended by manufacturers to apply water-based paint in two layers or more. According to the author’s observations, the fourth layer is necessary for the surface to become uniform.

• It is advisable to apply the last layer parallel to the rays of the prevailing light (from a window or from lamps). In this case, the stripes will be the least noticeable.

Selecting the appropriate paint for your apartment walls can have a big impact on their durability and appearance. Whether you like a satin, glossy, or matte finish, each has advantages and works well in various settings. For example, because they are easy to clean and long-lasting, glossy finishes are ideal for high-traffic areas, while matte finishes perform well in low-traffic areas.

To get a result that looks professional, proper application and preparation are essential. Before painting, make sure your walls are primed, clean, and dry. Applying several thin coats with high-quality brushes and rollers will help to achieve an even finish and prevent streaks or uneven patches.

You can improve the appearance and feel of your apartment and create a space that both reflects your style and can withstand normal wear and tear by choosing the appropriate paint type and adhering to these guidelines. Have fun with your paintings!

When selecting paint for your apartment walls, you should take durability, color, and finish into account. Choose high-quality paint that fits the needs of your room and use the right preparation and application methods for the best results. This guarantees a stunning, long-lasting finish that improves your living area.

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