Are you one of the 70% of Americans who prefer do-it-yourself home improvements?
If so, re-painting is probably right up there on your list of DIY to-dos. If you are smart, you are already asking yourself how to fix painting mistakes on walls.
Painting often looks like the easiest and simplest of all DIY tasks, but this is not always the case. There is a lot that can go wrong while painting, leaving you with a mess after you’ve finished the job.
Fortunately, if you do run into any problems, there are (almost) always ways to fix them. If you want to know what these fixes for painting mistakes are, read on.
Getting Rid of Paint Runs/Drips on Walls
If you over-soak your roller with paint, this can lead to paint drips running down your walls. Once dried, any paint drips or runs will mess up the look of a nice paint job.
The good news is that if you come across any drips after painting, you can get rid of them with a little elbow grease.
First, use a scraper and scrape off the bulk of the drip or run. Then sand the area until it is flush and smooth. Once finished, you will need to repaint the area.
How to Get Paint out of Carpets
Repainting is one of the home improvement projects with a high ROI, but it’s all for naught if you happen to spill paint and ruin an expensive carpet in the process.
Fortunately, there are ways to get even the most gruesome looking paint splotch out of a carpet. If the paint is still wet, the best thing to do is to blot it up with a damp paper towel. Be sure not to rub at the spill, as this will push the paint deeper into the fiber of the carpet.
Instead, keep dabbing until all the paint is gone.
If the paint has already dried when you discover the spill, you will need to mix hot water and detergent. Pour a little of this mixture over the spill and let it sit and soften the paint. Once the paint has softened, you will need to scrape it out of the fibers using a table knife.
How to Fix Uneven Coverage on Walls
There is nothing as annoying as inspecting your finished paint job and realizing that it is uneven and looks blotchy. Fortunately, this is one of the easiest painting mistakes to fix.
All you have to do is haul out your paint and rollers once more, and get to work painting on another coat. An additional coat will generally clear this problem up and leave you with beautiful evenly painted walls.
Getting Rid of Paint Smudges on Windows
One of the best ways to make a paint job look shoddy is to leave paint smudges on the windows.
It can be easy to smudge a bit of paint onto a window or two, but how easy is it to remove? Very easy, as it turns out!
If the paint is still wet, you can wipe up the smudge with a cloth.
If the smudges have dried, you can use a razor balder scraper and scrape off the dried paint. It comes off easily and the whole job shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes.
Cleaning up Over-Painting on Trim
Another easy mistake to make is to brush paint onto the trim. If you notice the mishap while the paint is wet, you can wipe it off with a damp cloth.
On the other hand, if the paint has dried, you will need to sand it off and then touch up the area with the right color of trim paint.
If you wish to shorten this step, you can try removing the paint using denatured alcohol and a rag or scraper. Beware, however, that the alcohol can soften the underlying trim paint, and the scraper can gouge into it if you aren’t careful.
How to Rectify Paint Splotches on the Ceiling
Whether you are painting high up on a ladder or brandishing a roller on a painting pole, one wrong move can land you with a big blotch of wall paint on the ceiling.
If you spot the paint while it is wet, you can spray it with some window cleaner and then wipe it off. If the paint has dried, you will have to touch up over it with some ceiling paint of the right color. To do this, take a brush and feather the paint outwards so that it blends into the old paint.
How to Fix Missed Spots
Depending on the lighting, how tired one is, and the difference between the old and new paint colors, it can be easy to miss spots while painting.
Once the paint has dried, these missed spots then tend to show up with revealing clarity! The good news is that this is another quick and easy problem to fix.
All you have to do is get your paint back out and touch up the spot with a brush.
As you can see, missed spots (or ‘holidays’ in painting lingo) are nothing to stress about and are easy to fix. There are several reasons to call in the professionals on certain paint jobs, but missing a spot or two is not one of them!
Now You Know How to Fix Painting Mistakes on Walls
If you have been wondering how to fix painting mistakes on walls, you now have the full array of fixes at your fingertips to ensure that your next painting project is a neat success.
Remember, if you have any painting in the pipeline that you do not want to do yourself, and you live in South East Florida, you can always check out our services or contact us for a free painting quote.