6 Pro tips for painting new drywall

If you are painting new drywall, there are a few things to know before you grab your brushes and rollers. 

New drywall needs to get prepped before it can get painted. If you do not take the time to prepare the drywall, you will end up with a pretty ugly paint job over your brand new drywall. 

In this post, we will give you six professional painting tips and tricks for painting drywall for the first time. We will also explain how you should prep new drywall and give you suggestions for primer, paint, and materials. 

Here are the top 6 tips for painting new drywall

1. Smooth those rough edges

Use a pole sander to smooth the surface and get rid of any rough edges. Use 150-grit sandpaper or finer grit. It’s important to smooth out any gouges and rough edges because they will be visible under a coat of paint. 

2. Wipe the dust off the drywalls

New drywall can be chalky and dusty, which will make it challenging to apply primer to the walls evenly. Usually, you can use a broom or soft-bristled brush to wipe the dust off of the wall. Follow up by wiping the walls down with a damp rag to gather any remaining dust. Others prefer using a vacuum with a brush attachment to clean the walls to help keep dust in the air and on the floor to a minimum. 

3. Use a drywall primer

Once your walls are smooth and clean, you can gather your painting supplies to apply a coat of drywall primer to the new walls. A drywall primer will help the paint go on evenly and ensure the walls get coated completely. New walls have taped and mudded seams along with screw holes covered with drywall compounds that will absorb lots of paint. 

Do not think you can cut corners and use an all-in-one paint and primer blend. Drywall primer is formulated for new drywall, which is much different than paint and primer combos. Look for a formula that’s labeled as specially designed for fresh drywall. A high-quality polyvinyl acrylic drywall primer usually works best.

4. Use the right materials

Use a synthetic bristle brush designed for latex paint with tapered bristles for applying primer and paint around the edges and trim before moving on to the large part of the wall. For the large part of the wall, use a lint-free paint roller that doesn’t have a very thick nap – about 1/2-inch or 3/8 inch nap is ideal to avoid roller marks.

5. Work from top to bottom in good lighting 

Be sure the room you’re working in is well-lit so you can ensure the primer and paint are going on evenly. Bring in work lights or wait until the room has enough natural light during the day. 

Roll the primer onto your walls working from top to bottom. You’ll likely need a roller attachment to reach the full height of the wall. 

6. Plan on using more than one coat of paint

New walls are extra porous, so they’ll soak up lots of paint – especially if you don’t use a primer first. When you’re buying paint, plan on needing at least two coats. A drywall primer will prevent too much house paint from soaking into the walls, but you should still plan on using quite a bit of paint for the first time a wall gets painted. 

In conclusion

Take time to prepare new drywall for painting by sanding, dusting, and applying a high-quality drywall primer. A drywall primer is critical to the process because it helps the paint go on evenly, equalize the paint color, and reduces the wall porosity, which helps you use less paint – which is usually much more costly than drywall primer. 

A professional team of painters will be able to get the job done quickly and save you the hassle of purchasing extra painting supplies that you probably won’t need to use regularly. 

Spectra Painting Contractors is based in the greater Boston area. Our team of experienced professionals can assist you with prepping and painting your new drywall walls. Visit our website where you can learn more about our services and read more blog posts about painting and home improvement.