My Best Paint Advice in One Place!

Yes, my inbox and post comment section is filled with lots of paint questions. Here is my best paint advice in one place!

If you are new to Porch Daydreamer, you may be wondering why I get so many questions about painting things?

After 5 years working for a paint manufacturer and being on the team that trained Lowe’s Home Improvement paint desk staff, I’ve learned a lot and even how to make paint!

My friends have coined me the “Paint Queen” and I wear the crown gladly.

So I can more easily answer your top paint questions, I gathered the most common questions and am answering them in one place.

Learning to Make Paint in the Lab

At the end of the day I am a total nerd and love all things paint plus the chemistry behind what makes one paint outperform another!

Luckily, I’ve been trained by the best and can simply explain things about common paint project struggles.

Pin It for Later!

One thing you will notice is that most of my room makeovers are done using paint!

Read this to see all of the Before and After: 10 Year Before and After Home Tour with PAINT COLORS!

Contains hand selected products, with affiliate marketing links where I may make a small commission if a purchase is made. {full disclosure here}

How to Choose a Paint Color

This is usually where people get stuck or paralyzed because there are SO many paint colors and brands to search through.

My recommendation is to find one paint manufacturer or store you love and stick with it, so you limit how many paint colors you have to look through.

Then, after searching through your go-to brand, if you can’t find the perfect color try another paint brand! That’s what I do 🙂

Stop Worrying and Pick a Paint Color

The bottom line is please don’t find a color in an Instagram post and run out and buy it.

It is the surest way to be disappointed.

If you want to match a color or find out what color is closest to a piece of fabric or home decor there are cool new apps to help you.

Seriously Cool Ways to Find Out Paint Colors

Did you know you can custom match any paint color?

Yes, just bring a paint chip swatch to your paint store and they will scan it or find the formula in the computer. Easy!

This is what I do when I find a color outside of the Valspar palettes, but want to use their Cabinet Enamel.

How Do I Test a Paint Color to Make Sure It’s Perfect?

Honestly, this is the BEST piece of advice I can ever give you around paint color.

ALWAYS buy a paint sample before you paint to make sure it works in your home.

This one I’ve learned the hard way and have had to repaint rooms the next day.

This process can be used for walls and furniture!

The Best Way to Test a Paint Color Before Painting Furniture

Now I always buy a sample and since putting this in practice have not made any mistakes in choosing a color.

It’s under $10 to buy paint samples, which can save you hundreds of dollars and lots of time1

What Does 50% of a Paint Color Mean?

The real #1 question I get is “What paint color is your room?”

Recently, I’ve been choosing Benjamin Moore paint colors and I find they are very saturated.

That means I think the value is too dark or there is too much tint strength in the paint color, so I want to make it lighter!

Here is an example of what I mean, from my recent bedroom makeover.

The color I selected was Quiet Moments, but as it is on the paint chip sample I felt it was too dark for my bedroom.

To lighten the color, I asked the person who was tinting my sample to give me one as it’s recommended and another sample at 50% tint strength.

That means they took the paint color formula and reduced it by 50% to make the paint lighter…I chose the one on the right to lighten up the room

Here is the same method used for my recent Master Bathroom remodel and the color Wales Gray.

The sample painted on the left is at 50% of the regular tint strength.

You can ask the paint store to modify the color tint strength by 75%, 50%, or 25% for the lightest look or value.

When I get the question on Instagram “What does Wales Gray at 50% mean?” I hope this explains it!

What is the Best Paint for My Project?

This is a little more complicated answer to what seems like a fairly simple question.

The truth is that most of the time paint sheen will be used to decide what paint is best for your project.

In this post, I do a deep dive on paint sheens and have a table of sheen by paint project to help you narrow down the selection process.

The Best Paint Sheen by Interior Project

Now you will never be frustrated, when you walk up to the paint counter with your perfect color choice and they ask “What sheen do you want?”

Which Primer Do You Recommend and When Do I Need One?

The magical world of primer and all it can do to ensure you get great results on your paint project.

When I was at Valspar, my mind was blown when I learned about a specific primer call “Bonding Primer”.

It is an amazing product that sticks to just about anything other than concrete, to prep your surface for painting.

When Bonding Primer is a Must Before Painting

This is STAPLE in my paint tool kit and I always have a quart or gallon on hand.

Here are the features and benefits:

Heavy-duty stain blocker
Superior hide
Seals glossy surfaces
Improves top coat glide, adhesion and durability
Ideal for tile, glass, metal, trim and cabinets
Covers and seals wood knots
Sandable for smooth finish
Tintable for dramatic color changes
Mildew-resistant finish

When do you need a primer?

The benefits of primer are multi-faceted, so there aren’t many times that I won’t recommend a primer…even with chalk paint, which some manufacturer’s say you don’t need one.

Anytime you are painting over these surfaces use a bonding primer:

Polyurethane, lacquer, or shellac
Stained wood
Tile
Metal
Dark paint color
Bare wood
Glass…yes, you can paint glass after applying bonding primer
Mold or smoke stains
Painting latex/water-based paints over oil paint
Painting over a hight-gloss sheen moving to a lower sheen

Paint in general won’t adhere to a slick surface, so this primer will make it rough and also cover color or stains.

If you are just re-painting, with the same sheen paint and similar color, NO PRIMER IS NEEDED.

Now that we’ve covered primer let’s talk about roller application.

Best Roller by Paint Project?

Trust me when I say I know how you feel when you stand in front of the roller aisle, with no clue what to buy.

Fortunately, at Valspar, we trained with Wooster staff so I quickly learned the ins and outs of applicators.

I told you I was a nerd, right?

Choose the Right Paint Applicator: Roller Covers

PAINT BRUSHES: 9 out of 10 times I recommend a nylon/polyester brush.

Do I Need to Sand Before Painting?

You may be surprised by my answer, which is most of the time NO!

Remember the bonding primer? That is what you use to avoid sanding for almost all projects.

I’ve got LOTS of examples of projects from around my home where I don’t sand before painting.

No! You Don't Have to Sand Before Painting Over Stain

People LOVE to argue with me about this one, but all I can tell you is my cabinets and furniture still look amazing years later WITHOUT sanding.

Once, I tried liquid sandpaper and didn’t use bonding primer. It was a disaster of epic proportions.

Read about why I can’t recommend liquid sandpaper: How-To Prep and Paint Stained Stairs White

What Paint is Best for Cabinets?

My favorite makeover project is painting cabinets. Especially when they are a dark stain!

I’ve found the best paint that is durable and requires NO TOPCOAT for easy touch-ups, if you ever get a chip.

The Best Cabinet Paint You Need to Know About

So many people have written to me about this paint and the great results they get on their cabinets.

Painting with Valspar Cabinet Enamel requires specific applicators:

Foam Roller
Nylon/Polyester Brush
Foam Brush, where drips are an issue when hand applying

If you use a regular roller, you will over apply the paint and get an orange peel effect.

Also, you MUST wait AT LEAST 8 hours between coats and if you don’t the paint may never fully dry and be tacky.

If you make this mistake and your paint is tacky, my best advice is to run an oscillating heater fan over the paint overnight to see if you can dry it out.

We will talk about painting cabinets later in this post.

What is the Best Furniture Paint?

You may be surprised by my answer of my favorite, but it works and I’ve used is for MANY projects!

Guess what it’s NOT chalk paint either.

My Favorite Furniture Paint and Why

Check out a recent project using my favorite furniture paint: French Blue Paint Nightstand Makeover

What Are Those Brown Streaks in My Paint?

Those pesky streaks that not only come through chalk paint, but water based paint usually happen when you are painting over stained pieces.

They magically keep appearing no matter how many coats of paint you apply.

Want to know how to avoid and cover those streaks?

My Solution to Stop Chalk Paint Bleed Through

Sometimes the brown streaks don’t show until you apply a wax or water based clear topcoat.

I’m sorry to say if it happens with wax, sanding down to the wood is the best way to fix the issue.

With a clear top coat, you can apply bonding primer over the top to cover and then add additional paint or sand to the wood and start over.

Your best defense is a good offense and test for bleed through BEFORE you paint an entire piece OR apply Bonding Primer first.

Can I Use Spray Paint on Wood, Metal and Plastic?

You bet you can! I don’t write about spray paint as much, but I use it a ton to makeover items in my home.

One item I’ve made over, but didn’t blog about was a metal table that I use out on my front porch.

It used to be brown and now the tray is white and the base silver.

The planter behind it used to be black and is now silver too!

They’ve weathered beautifully over 2 seasons no peeling. Click here for the silver spray paint used.

I’ve even spray painted the vinyl tubing of my drip irrigation system white, with no issues.

Spray painting outdoor plastic chairs comes with mixed results, so I can’t recommend it.

See how I updated my bedroom gallery wall with a little spray paint.

Easily Update Picture Frames with Spray Paint!

Spray paint is the most inexpensive way to change the color of anything…even drain covers in your yard.

Yep, I’ve sprayed my white ones black in my landscaping to make them disappear.

What is the Best Way to Paint Cabinets?

I’ve written a couple of posts on painting cabinets, so I’m going to share both.

Since I’ve been in the paint world, I knew the best way to get a smooth finish on cabinets was going to be done using a paint sprayer.

Of course like you, I was intimidated by using a spray.

Seriously, once you try one you’ll avoid hand painting.

How-to Paint Cabinets and Get a Smooth Finish

Here’s a quick video to show you how it’s done.

If you’d like to know which is better hand or sprayer applied paint, read this post:

Hand Painting or Spraying Cabinets: What is Better?

In my home, I’ve paint over stained cabinets and changed the color of existing cabinets.

You’ll find what you need between these two posts!

When Should I Invest in a Paint Sprayer?

Seriously, so many people ask me “Do I have to buy a paint sprayer to paint cabinets?”

The answer is clearly no, but there are times when the investment will be SO worth it.

When It's Time to Buy a Paint Sprayer

Sprayers save both time and money plus give you the best paint finish possible.

Here is a great example of a paint project that was so much easier because I had a sprayer.

Paint Sprayer Turned a Dreaded Project into the Best Ever!

Many single women have written to me thanking me for giving them the confidence to use a sprayer.

I promise it’s easy you just have to practice on cardboard a bit first to get the hang of it…no big deal!

What Do I Use to Get an Antique Look on Furniture?

First, there are two key ways to create an antique look on furniture or cabinets:

Manually by sanding
Applying a glaze

Since my home has a more formal look to it, I prefer applying glaze versus sanding.

It’s a personal preference…that’s all!

All About Antiquing Glaze for Cabinets and Furniture

Plus glaze also can be used for faux driftwood finishes and I’ve developed three techniques using it.

You’ll be surprised by what you can do with glazes.