Guide

7 Painting Mistakes That Waste Money

Small painting mistakes waste paint, time and often the whole finish. Avoid these seven and your project goes further for less.

1. Skipping preparation

Painting over dust, grease or cracks means the paint doesn't adhere and the finish shows every flaw. Prep is the least glamorous and most important stage.

2. Not measuring before buying

Guessing leads to either over-buying tins you'll never finish or running short mid-wall. Our paint cost calculator gives an exact figure so you buy once.

3. Using the wrong number of coats

One coat over a different colour looks patchy and you end up doing three anyway. Plan for two from the start, or three over dark colours and bare plaster.

4. Cheap brushes and rollers

Bargain tools shed bristles and leave a poor finish, and a bad roller wastes paint. Decent tools, cleaned and reused, are cheaper over time.

5. Not boxing your paint

If a colour spans several tins, mixing them together (“boxing”) avoids slight shade differences appearing between walls.

6. Ignoring the mist coat on plaster

Fresh plaster needs a thinned first coat to seal it. Skip it and your topcoats peel or flake, wasting the whole job.

7. Overloading the brush

Too much paint drips, runs and dries unevenly, using more paint for a worse result. Thin, even coats always win.