Phase 2: Wall Paint
Making my floor look good and last a long time was just the first step - I didn't want my garage to have that horrifically ugly, non-finished look of drywall. Paint is relatively cheap, and your own labor is free. I think it could have cost me about $60 or 70 for both gallons of paint to do this ENTIRE paint job (I have 8' ceilings from the baseboards, btw), if I hadn't bought an extra gallon of the paint thinking I had 10' ceilings on accident...
I tend to like bold, high-contrast colors - many wouldn't think a solid dark or light color to be too exciting, but combined (and with an interesting hue), they can look fantastic. I opted to go with Valspar's "Drizzling Mist" (4006-1C) and "Chimney Smoke" (4010-1) as my colors of choice, in a satin finish. Don't go with a matte finish - every bump and brush you do on the walls will leave ugly marks, likely, whereas satin is the nice compromise without having ridiculous glare.
I opted for two colors also for another purpose: the lower layer is going to be dark, because god knows anything dirty and grimy that's going to hit anything, will likely be hitting the wall at the bottom portion. I intended to hide that as much as possible.
I decided from 0'-3' (measuring from the top of the base trim) would be Chimney Smoke, and from 3'-8' would be the Mist. I've yet to decide on if I want to get some type of center stripe to split the colors, but I'm strongly thinking of doing some type of vinyl and sticking it there for a clean, straight look.
Measuring the painters tape, and then doing it in one solid piece along a long wall practically requires a helping hand. Even then, it will likely not be perfectly straight. It may be easiest to use a string to mark your line, since that wont sag as easily - then you can follow that. In the end, my line is a LITTLE wavy, but I was more than happy with it, since it's a damn work garage anyway.
Tips for painters tape: make sure whatever surface you're putting it on is clean and dry. Take a damp rag, run it over the base trim to get all that gunk off, or it simply doesn't stick.
Trimming up:
Tips to not look lazy: REMOVE YOUR GOD DAMN LIGHT SWITCH AND POWER SOCKET COVERS BEFORE PAINTING. I can't BELIEVE people still try to paint around these - its lazy, ugly, and a pain to remove the plate in the future without causing eyesore damage!
After I trimmed all that, I used my 3" brush and laid down a nice coat around the hard-to-reach areas. I was NOT worried about paint bleeding down a little (it did in the end a little, btw), as I knew my lower coat would be practically black, and would cover it easily. If you are worried about this, I recommend simply using a small roller CAREFULLY, and do NOT load it up heavily with paint. Work on a nice, light coat, barely covering it, and then finish it off with a second coat - this should limit bleed down. Furthermore, a little tip: use a putty knife to put pressure along your whole edge (don't do it so hard that it rips the painters tape...) to get a nice seal. Also use the putty knife to work your tape into corners such as trim around doorways.
First step in painting:
This was definitely a bit time-consuming. I recommend a seat for the lower portions, or risk your back KILLING you. A stool for high places is obvious, and you'll be moving it frequently
. Thankfully the coverage on this paint was EXCELLENT, and I was able to do all the trimming work with a single solid coat (again, wasn't worried about bleed-down).
The rest went fairly quickly - with another clean roller, work your paint on in sections (I generally would do 3' wide sections or so at a time, ensuring full coverage.
Tips for painting: DON'T load your roller up, or risk 1) spraying paint all over, 2) dripping paint all over, 3) putting too much on the wall and missing it, causing it to run down the wall. You'll need to apply good, even pressure, and just work the roller up and down over the same areas a good bit until you get your full coverage. Once you do, move on to the next area, and keep applying as such.
Honestly I learned a LOT through trial and error with painting with a roller - I hadn't done it since I was a kid, that's for sure.
Another tip: if worried about getting your paint in the area below/above your painters tape, I'd recommend at least running a second row of painters tape. I didn't care much since my chimney smoke is so dark, but a lighter color might let that show through or ruin the tint a bit. For my Chimney smoke, I DEFINITELY did a double layer, and it came in handy quite a few times.
I calculated I'd need 2 gallons for 7' vertical of painting surface, but I didn't even need a full gallon in the end due to only needing 5' vertical. I even did a good second coat, and still had some paint to spare.
First coat:
Second and final coat:
Even though Valspar advertises it's "all-in-one" paint (primer and paint mixed in), I still recommend doing at least 2 coats. I'm even thinking of doing a 3rd coat, since my wall was so thirsty for paint, I'm not getting that nice "satin" look on the finish in all locations.
The finish on this color was fantastic, and I've received many comments on how it's beautiful - its not a run-of-the-mill grey at ALL, even though it looks it. I fully intend to use this color elsewhere in my house...
This completed Phase 2.1
Phase 2.2
Next step is the lower half. I first waited a solid 2 days before continuing my painting, to let the top half dry before I put painters tape on it. This half did NOT quite go as expected, but more on that later...
I didn't waste time taking pics of just my painters tape - the long and short? I doubled up on my split point to make sure I didn't go too high. You'll see right away that this came in handy at one point, during my second coat.
So how did this not go as expected? Well, the paint definitely had a different texture - I saw it right off the bat while stirring it. Painting it was a different experience, too - no matter how hard I tried, a good 1st coat with FULL coverage was NOT possible. Don't even bother trying - there were so many little white streaks, it just wasn't happening. I was planning on doing a 2nd coat anyway, and I'm glad - it needed it.
First coat (note, many areas show-through):
Second and final coat (for now):
It looks uneven, but it's really just wet. You MUST wait a good hour or two after the first coat to successfully put the second coat on with this paint! I tried to do it right after I finished the first, and it was still so wet that I had no difference at all. It needs to be tacky to put more paint on.
Will update this tomorrow once I peel the tape off and its dried. Beforehand I'll evaluate on if I need a 3rd coat, but I don't feel I will. VERY EXCITE.
Phase 2.3: Trim/Doors - TO BE CONTINUED AT A LATER DATE