# Tips for painting with dark colors



## pjm (Apr 11, 2008)

I'm redoing my kitchen and it's painting time. My better half picked out a nice cherry cobbler (red) color for the walls and it's driving me a little crazy getting it up smoothly. Are there any special considerations I should use when painting with a dark color like this (sanding between coats, rolling patterns)? I've never painted with anything this dark and it seems every little drip,roller edge, and other imperfections in my painting skill is showing up. I just finished the second coat and it's looking better, but I want to make sure it looks nice when i'm done. 


Any suggestions or tips would be great.

Thanks in advance.


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## sirwired (Jun 22, 2007)

Just keep doing what you are doing now. Use the absolute highest quality paint from a paint store, and nothing but the finest rollers and brushes. Apply heavily, and don't over-work the paint.

Showing perfections easily is just something that comes with using deep paint.

As far as rolling patterns go: ignore all the W/M/N pattern stuff you see in just about every DIY book/website. A full 3/8" nap roller load is enough for about a single 8' floor to ceiling stripe. Apply with one stroke, backroll with another, back-roll the previous stripe, and then re-load and move on.

When using a brush, apply with one stroke, back-brush once, and move on. Over-brushing just thins out the coating, and red requires your coats to be as thick as you can get without sagging or dripping.

SirWired


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

*One word...*

"Aura"


You'll find it at your independant Benjamin Moore retailer


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## pjm (Apr 11, 2008)

I'll give your suggestions a try. One other question. With another two coats (i think i will need at least two more) will that cover my imperfections? Or is there another way to smooth them out (sanding?) 


Thanks again.


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Paint colors, it doesn't fill

You'll want the walls to your desired quality before applying color

In your case I suspect that will require some sanding


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## pjm (Apr 11, 2008)

slickshift said:


> Paint colors, it doesn't fill
> 
> You'll want the walls to your desired quality before applying color
> 
> In your case I suspect that will require some sanding


 
What I meant was painting imperfections such as roller marks and such. Turns out after the third coat it looked better and after the fourth coat it's just about perfect. I guess with darker colors it takes a few extra coats before it really starts looking good.

Thanks for all the help.


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Roller marks are generally caused by three things:
1) Poor quality product
2) Poor quality tools
3) Poor technique

As for 1, the cheaper paints show more roller marks, they just don't flow and level like the good quality ones do
The premium lines by most of the major manufacturers (Ben Moore, Sherwin Williams, Pittsburgh, California, Muralo..etc...) that supply painting contractors are pretty good
In regards to 2, it's incredible how a poor roller sleeve will leave lines (and make more work for you)
Go for at the Purdy White Dove or Wooster Pro/Super-Dooz for a good staring point
As for 3, the most common bad technique is to try and squeeze every last drop out of the sleeve
The roller should be well loaded, and the paint "applied"
No squeezing, squooshing, or mushing

Though with dark colors it can take more coats than two to get enough color on there, each coat should be free of lines
The latter coats shouldn't be attempting to hide roller lines from previous coats


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## MinConst (Nov 23, 2004)

The last dark color (burgundy) job I did I tried a Gray primer from Gliden I forget the name of it. 2 coats of the color and it was absolutely beautiful. I don't rush these jobs. Primer and one coat first day, second coat the next. You want the first coat to dry well. Don't wash the roller and reuse it the next day. One drop of water will ruin it.

Slick has the best advice. Good paint, good tools and good technique make the job. But the right primer helps too.


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## pjm (Apr 11, 2008)

slickshift said:


> Roller marks are generally caused by three things:
> 1) Poor quality product
> 2) Poor quality tools
> 3) Poor technique
> ...


 
Well I used purdy white dove rollers so I don't think that was the problem. My technique my have contributed to it as well as I used Behr paint from HD, but I've never had any problems with that paint before. Maybe there just not as good with the darker colors. I'm planning on re-painting my lr/dr in the fall maybe I will try some BM paint and see if I notice a difference.

Thanks again.


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## yummy mummy (Sep 11, 2006)

We painted our living room a number of years ago with a cranberry colour, and I remember my husband putting on 7, yes 7, coats before it was perfect. 

He said he will never paint a dark colour again..:laughing::laughing:


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

pjm said:


> ...purdy white dove rollers
> ...My technique
> ...Behr paint from HD


Yes, the Behr is pretty good at roller marks, the darker the paint the more noticeable
With even a seasoned technique it's hard to not get them


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