What is the secret to one-coat painting??

[Moxie]

We bought a "new" house and pretty much every room needs painting. I have NEVER in my life been able to make a room look good with one coat of paint. Am I buying the wrong kind? I use whatever the guy at Lowe's sells me (Behr or Valspar, primer+paint in one, about $34/gallon). Am I putting it on wrong? I use cheap rollers and a pretty expensive brush for cutting in. I hate cutting in and I stink at it; which painters tape is best??

 

Bring on all your best painting tips!!

[charcat13]

My most recent painting job was our bedroom and I used Sherwin Williams Superpaint (yay for 40% off sales). Even the salesman told me 2 coats. I've never heard of a single coat done well. If it can be done, I'm in awe of the person and the paint.

[Forget-Me-Not]

There is no secret. IME all paint jobs require two coats minimum, even with the stuff that claims to be one-coat paint.

[chepyl]

You basically do two coats at once. You have to use a.cross hatching technique, then go back over with a smooth roll top to bottom. I cross hatch over about 5feet, then go back with a smooth roll. There are generally a few little spots that need a touch more paint, bit never a full second coat.

 

Cross hatching: paint at diagonals, crossing over your own strokes. Diagonal to the right a few strokes and then.back to the left. While the paint is wet you get a basket weave look. Do a good size section, then a quick smoothing stroke over the top.

[Catwoman]

Switch to Aura by Benjamin Moore. It's thicker than other paints and covers like a dream. I have gotten away with only one coat of that brand, but have always needed a second coat of other brands (even the other types of Benjamin Moore paint.) It also has NO ODOR, which is wonderful.

 

It's pricey, but it ends up costing less in the long run because it covers better and requires fewer coats.

 

The Aura primer is excellent, too, if you need any of that. You can have it tinted to the same shade as your final paint color, and it covers almost as well as "real" paint, not like a lot of the primers which seem to go on almost like water.

 

Also, buy better rollers and make sure they're on the fluffy side. The super-cheap, skimpy ones don't seem to hold enough paint. (But you don't need the really expensive ones, either -- I tried them and didn't see much of a difference, if any, than when I used the moderately priced ones.)

[Caroline]

We use Porter Paint. It is more expensive than the Home Depot/Lowes paints, but it covers like a dream. All of the professional painters we have ever used use Porter.

[K&Rs Mom]

Don't get fooled by the paint & primer in one - it's thick and goopy, and when I did dd's bedroom it dried lumpy and needed three coats. Later I mentioned it to my uncle who works at Lowe's, and he laughed and said never buy that stuff, in any brand (I had used Ace, but he said Lowes is just as bad). If you need a primer, get it tinted similar to your paint, and wait before painting over it.

[Dandelion]

Some things that have worked well for me (note: I still do primer and one coat of paint at a minimum):

• Tinted primer. Go with either gray primer or a color that's similar to the color you're painting the room.
  
• Blue painter's tape. After putting down the tape, run a putty knife over it to press it down for a good seal.
  
• Paint conditioner. Using a paint conditioner (such as Floetrol) slows down the drying time and evens out the paint, making it easier to get an even coverage without visible lap marks/brush strokes (which can reduce the number of coats needed).
  
• Do one wall at a time. When you completely finish one wall before moving on to the next, your brushed paint (corners/trim) and rolled paint blend together better than if you do all the corners/trim first, let them dry, and then go back and use the paint roller.
  

[Lady Florida.]

There is no secret. IME all paint jobs require two coats minimum, even the stuff that claims to be one-coat paint.

 

This has been my experience too.

[JFSinIL]

Try a more costly roller that will hold more paint? I have never had success with one-coat painting, and I have painted and re-painted almost every room in our house several times (o.k., I like projects like that!)

[Lolly]

I have used a lot of brands and qualities of paint. There is not one single paint that can truly be a one coat job. Just buck up and know it will take two.

[Joker]

I'm stunned by the replies. I've painted every room in my house with a paint and primer in one mix. The only room that required two coats was the living room, and I think that's because it's a shade of red. The rest of the house was beautiful in one coat (and I haven't even had to touch it up in over two years).

[Desert Rat]

My brother is a professional house painter. 2 coats always.

[Joker]

Maybe the difference is that I don't use rollers, just brushes (small ones for cutting and large ones for the rest)? Our whole house is only 1000 sq ft so I just didn't feel a need when painting a room to buy rollers.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I'm stunned by the replies. I've painted every room in my house with a paint and primer in one mix. The only room that required two coats was the living room, and I think that's because it's a shade of red. The rest of the house was beautiful in one coat (and I haven't even had to touch it up in over two years).

 

Same here. Dh complains that I put it on too thick. That's why I paint while he's at work. ;-P

[Harriet Vane]

My dh worked as a painter for several months just after graduating college.

 

There is no secret. One coat rarely looks good.

 

We always use Sherwin-Williams and love the quality, but have never been able to do less than two coats.

[skimomma]

Hmmm.... We hire professional painters because I am terrible at painting. We had our whole first floor done a few years ago. They did it all with one coat. Even the dark red color I have in one room. I was skeptical when the owner of the company did the quote and said they would probably do it in one coat. Even more so because he makes more money the longer this guys are here..... But he was right. They did it all in one coat and I cannot see any flaws. And that was using Harmony Paint (low fume) from Sherwin Williams. The owner was reluctant to use it because he never had before and did not know for sure how it would behave....which is why he was not sure they could get away with one coat.

[Momof3littles]

The only paint we've done one coat and been successful has been BM Aura. We love it. Read the instructions though, as application is a bit different than other paint. It is a bit pricey, but you also need less of it. It is quite durable, scrubbable, self-levels small drips, so great for families.

 

edited to add that while I think a paint "warranty" is pretty much useless, SW says you must use two coats to have the paint warrantied.

[StartingOver]

I have never just painted one coat on anything in over 30 years of painting. ( Dad has a remodeling company, we worked as teens.) It just takes 2 coats. If it isn't flat paint, make sure to cover a whole wall and cut it too before moving to another, the sheen is different on egg shell, and gloss paints. I hate, hate, HATE anything but flat. LOL Clean up on the others paints is easier though. I always buy an extra gallon of flat for my own house, so I can touch up as needed.

[Cera]

The only situation that I paint with one coat is if I am doing a light color over another, similar color (and even then I usually have to touch up a bit).

[Susan C.]

Hey all,

 

How much time between coats? Do you paint the second coat right after first, or let first coat dry (and how long is that?)?

[Donna]

My husband paints for a living and always uses Sherwin Williams paints. He also always paints primer and at least 2 coats, more if painting a light color over a dark color.

[catz]

The key to ONLY doing 2 coats is a high quality paint like Sherwin Williams! 2nd coat is an easy coat. We just did a few rooms. So much nicer than the stuff at Home Depot, etc.

[FriedClams]

2 coats.

 

But I do think Sherwin Williams is the best paint and worth the extra$.

[Moxie]

Zombie thread!!!!

 

We've lived in this big, ugly house for over a year and I've painted most of it at this point.  Floors are next!!

[Gil]

Secret to one-coat painting: Doing one coat and using poor lighting that doesn't show its imperfections. A "whatever, man" attitude towards home-decor.

[Susan C.]

.

[mamajag]

I do the cross hatch technique and don't need 2 coats unless it's a dark color I'm covering. I've used a lot of different brands, though I do miss the Kilz paint/primer. It was awesome and covered some truly obnoxious wallpaper in 1 coat.

[Corraleno]

I've painted several rooms with one coat, with these factors in common: light color over another light color, good quality paint in matte or eggshell, and careful technique with a small (6") roller with thick pile.

 

Two days ago I painted a yellow bathroom off-white (Swiss Coffee) using Behr's Premium Plus Ultra paint, and a very thick roller designed for "semi-smooth to semi-rough walls." It covered perfectly in one coat; the only place I needed to go over again was a small area between the cabinet and the door, where I had to get into a really skinny space with a brush. (The walls had the standard "splatter texture" you see in a lot of newer houses; that particular roller probably would have left somewhat of a "roller texture" on perfectly smooth walls.) I have also painted one coat of off-white over beige, and one coat of light gray over off-white, using Benjamin Moore Regal Matte and a thinner pile microfiber roller (also 6") on lightly textured walls, and I have painted bright blue (Behr Premium Plus Ultra) over dark tan and only needed to touch up some areas with a second coat — I'm pretty sure I could have gotten away with one coat if I'd used a smaller, thicker roller.

 

Here's why I prefer a short roller with thick pile:

 

(1) It eliminates almost all cutting in at the corners, and if I'm painting the ceiling the same color, it eliminates cutting in between the the walls and ceiling, because I can get the roller right up to the edge and into the corner. It eliminates the need to use a brush in a lot of small areas, like above doors or windows, and sometimes I will even use a 4" roller for those areas if they're particularly small. And even in places where I can't eliminate the cutting in (like right up against a window or door frame or baseboard), I can get very very close, so I only need to cut in a very thin line up against the woodwork. I never tape window or door frames or most other woodwork; I use a special angled brush with a rubber handle that I can hold like a pencil, so I can get a very straight, controlled line. Occasionally, if it seems less time consuming to tape the baseboard vs cutting it in, I will tape it and then just roller right up against it. I find it easier to get full coverage with a thick roller vs a brush, so maximizing the area I can paint with a roller minimizes the need for a 2nd coat.

 

(2) With a small (4"-6") microfiber or high-pile roller, I can just "lay" the paint on the wall instead of pushing it around. I find that with a standard 9" roller, with thinner pile, people tend to load the roller with more than it can really hold, stick it on the wall, and then try to roll a large area, so they end up really squeezing the paint out of the roller at the edges of the area they're working on. This leads to uneven coverage (thick where the roller first hits the wall and thin when it's being squeezed) as well as ridges and drips. A smaller, thicker roller holds the right amount of paint to evenly cover a smaller area, so I never end up trying to squeeze the last bits out. It means more dips in the paint tray, and more trips up & down the ladder, but IMHO it provides a much better finish, and if it saves me a whole second coat it's more time efficient — and cost-effective— in the long run.

 

ETA regarding drying time... most modern paints are dry within a couple of hours; when I've needed a second coat, I can usually start it as soon as the first coat is finished. I can paint even a pretty large room, with two coats, in about 8 hours.