Step 1:

repairs including caulking cracks in the baseboards
Be sure to use an elastomeric caulk and wait at least 4 hours prior to painting.

Step 2:

sand (what grit?)
A #150 grit in screen cloth is best for walls.

Step 3:

vacuum

clean - he has a dog so we are going to go with a phosphate free T.S.P like cleaner
If you can find Dirtex, it works great to clean and also
de-glosses the paint.

Step 4:

he had some adhesion problems in the dining room so we are priming all the walls (one coat) with Zinsser 1-2-3 (not the ceiling)
Excellent idea! After washing and priming, the adhesion problem should be corrected.

Step 4:

tape off trim
If you are going to paint the trim, it's best to paint it first, then cut-in along the trim for best finish. No tape required then. :)

Step 5:

paint the ceiling
When painting the ceiling, be sure to bring the ceiling paint down onto the wall surface about an inch. It makes for a much easier cut-in over the new paint. You'll know what I mean when you do it. :)

Step 6:

tape off ceiling and cut in and roll on wall paint (2 coats)

enjoy the project!

Great suggestions. Thanks for the assist!

After 3 and before 4, I'd suggest a quick wipe off with a tack cloth. Dog hairs turn up in the darndest places. No matter how careful I am, there's always at least one or two that lands on the wet paint on the wall or in my tray and then I have to stop and get rid of it. Gotta love them furballs!

Unless you have an industrial clean air vacuum with a superior HEPA filter, then the dust from sanding will only blow out the back vent of your household vacuum and end up all over your walls.

Wiping down the walls with tack cloth is a must after sanding.

If you tape, I would recommend 1) the blue with the orange core if you are going to tape over fresh paint (the orange cord blue tape adhesive is more delicate and is less likely to damage fresh paint); 2) even though you tape, paint with care and get as little paint as possible on the tape; 3) remove the tape as soon as possible.

DIYs mistakenly believe they can paint all over the tapeÂnot so, there is always a chance paint will seep under tape and/or the paint hardens on top and makes it near impossible to pull the tape up afterward.

When you tape, gently press the edge of the tape down with a putty knife or other straight edge; this will help prevent paint from seeping under tapeÂbut understand that paint may still seep under the tape.

Ceiling Tips:
Ceilings are the most challenging of all "walls" because so much light (from windows and light fixtures) reflect off the ceiling and highlight every imperfection. If the builder did a lousy jobÂwhich is often the caseÂthe challenge is almost insurmountable. Indeed, homeowners often blame painting contractors for poor quality work when the actual problem is the ceiling itself.
-- Direction: ALWAYS roll the paint in the direction PERPENDICULAR to the MAIN SOURCE of LIGHT ENTERING THE ROOM. If you have two sources of light pick the one that you see as you enter the room and paint perpendicular to it.

-- Sheen: Use a dead and I mean a dead flat paint for the best resultsÂI know this isnÂt always possible in kitchens and baths. If you use a paint with a sheen, then, tools, technique, and speed will help minimize any imperfections.

-- Nap: For as smooth matte look use a 3/8" cover (roller sleeve) like a Elder and Jenks dual-coater roller sleeve or a Purdy White dove sleeve on the final coat. Too long a nap, means too much paint; too much paint means a lot of backrolling; a lot of backrolling means going over the same area way too many times and allowing the paint to dry and the roller to leave lap marks.

-- Quality Covers: Stay away from the cheap covers--you will get lint and they donÂt hold any paint so you wonÂt keep a wet edge. Consequently you will get lots of lap marks, lots of frustration, and lots more work, and very sore neck and shoulders.

-- Cover size: Speed is of the essenceÂuse an 18" cover, and paint quickly to keep a wet edge (you will need a Wide Boy 5 gallon bucket for an 18" cover). If you donÂt think you can handle an 18" cover, then a 12" cover. But a 9" cover for a ceiling is really too small unless you are painting a really small closet ceiling.

-- Extension pole: Keep your feet on the ground. Use a quality extension pole (again, quality tools make all the difference) and paint using your shoulders and armsÂnot your wrists. Do not waste your energy climbing up and down a ladder to load a roller and do not kill your wrists, neck, and eyes by painting 2 feet from the ceiling. Worse mistake DIYÂs make is not using an extension pole for the ceiling. Use your shoulders and arms, not your wristsÂI know you will forget the minute you start painting, so write it on a piece of paper and tape it to the ceiling.

-- Load that roller: The most common mistake we DIY painters make is we wipe all the paint off the roller after we dip it in the paint trayÂso ditch the tray. DIY ugly lap marks are more often than not from a dry edge due to our applying too thin a layer of paint. DonÂt be afraid to load that roller. Too much paint on the roller and it will drip on the floor and splatter all over you; not enough and you will have a dry rollÂwhich is what the majority of DIY get. Using a 5 gallon bucket and grid will help you load the roller properlyÂpaint trays encourage you to wipe all the paint off. Besides, using a 5 and a grid is so much more convenient--why would any use a tray? Did I mention with a 12" or 18" cover you need a Wide Boy bucket?

IÂve yet to select the colors to paint our newly constructed home (all walls and ceilings are currently white). Still, IÂve decided it is worth the cost of bringing in my master drywall repairman to redo some areas on the ceilings as no paint techniques on my part will hide some of the imperfections. Ceilings are my obsessionÂI want perfect ceilings.

Extension poles.

Be careful when using extension poles. A DIY, first time use will usually result in roller marks or uneven application. Practice with it to get the touch. Don't force the paint on, lay it on (evenly)

Michael

Hi Michael,

What's a good method for practicing with the extension pole?

I'm planning on using one when I paint my walls. I can practice with brushes and paint on spare pieces of dry wall, etc--but I'm unsure on how I'd practice the extension pole & paint application adequately.

If I used the pole to roll on a 3x3' square of dry wall, do you think that would give me enough to practice the touch? Or should I find a spare wall somewhere in town that could use a new color? :-)

Hey! I wrote quite a long follow-up a while ago but Gardenweb and Netscape were not getting along - not sharing cookies - no matter what I did. I finally gave up and have now down loaded Firefox.

I appreciate all the advice (we followed a lot of it) and has happens with these things not all went according to plan. Homeowner is still working on the stairwell and hallway. We washed the walls with a phosphate fee de-greaser from Simple Green (recommended kind isn't sold in Canada). Sanded as suggested, filled etc and then washed again with just water. The Zinsser wouldn't adhere to the areas that bubbled with the old paint so I finally dug them out with a screwdriver and patched them, sanded the patches, washed and re-primed the areas, which did work. Sent the homeowner to get the paint but he didn't get the 100% acrylic Beauti-Tone Designer Series that was $9 off instead he got their mid-line Signature Series (I tried). I have painted a fair amount with low to mid line paints for my work and for a mid range paint it had a nice texture and was easy to work with (it also had good cover). How it will wear and clean up remains to be seen. We used cloth rollers - which I am a big fan of. Might not look like a pro did it but it isn't a hack job either. The colors turned out great.

I did find the white primer hid a lot and might consider a bit of tint next time so it would be easier to see the flaws in the walls. Other than that I thought what was recommended was spot on. Thanks again.

. We used cloth rollers

What are those???

I'm not a pro (I'm not a novice either) but I find a cloth roller is much easier to work with and gives a nicer finish. Maybe for a pro they don't need the extra help but my results have improved since I started to use them. Lots of different companies make them.