Painting a room is a home improvement project that almost every homeowner undertakes at one time or another. For most, the object is to get the job done quickly and efficiently, with as little mess as possible. Here are seven interior paint tips to help you get the job done more easily, with results that you can be proud of.

1. Prepare the Room

Begin by removing all furniture. If you must leave large pieces of furniture in the room to be painted, move them to the middle of the room and cover them with a drop cloth. Remove all hardware and light fixtures, and place them in separate plastic bags. Seal the bags with masking tape on which you label them for later identification. This will make putting the room back together a snap.

2. Make Hardware and Fixtures Sparkle

Use this opportunity to clean and even polish your light and wall fixtures. Carefully remove old paint from hardware, clean glass ceiling lamps and globes, and polish brass or other metal fixtures. Wall painting tips such as this one make your final product even more beautiful.

3. Buy Canvas Drop Cloths

Canvas is superior to other materials for many reasons:

• It absorbs paint, unlike other materials, with less chance of paint tracking.
• It lies flat and is slip resistant, with less chance of tripping.
• It’s durable and rip-resistant.

4. Rubber Cement Your Windows

Here is one of the best tips for painting windows. Using a small brush, paint the perimeter of window panes with liquid rubber cement along each rail. After your paint dries, use a small razor to peel the rubber cement off like a facial mask.

5. Tint Your Primer

Choose a good primer to prevent bleeding and resinous knots in your topcoat. Primers also improve adhesion, extending the life of the topcoat. One of the lesser-known wall painting tips is to add a little of the topcoat paint into the primer. Make sure primer and topcoat are both either latex or oil-based; don’t mix dissimilar solutions. This mixture enhances the primer’s coverage over the existing color, as well as the topcoat’s coverage over the primer.

6. Avoid Unnecessary Cleanups

Don’t clean brushes if you’re going to resume painting the next day. Wrap them thoroughly in clear plastic wrap; the paint on them will remain wet until you remove the plastic the following day. This is also applicable to rollers. You can leave them right on the handles.

7. Make Brush Cleaning Easier

Before you begin to paint, wrap the metal ferrule of the brush with masking tape extending about a half inch down over the bristles. This protects the top of the bristles from absorbing the paint, which will dry there quickly. After painting, wipe and remove the masking tape, and wash the paint from the lower part of the brush.