How to paint a room like a pro (step by step)

Last reviewed 2026-06-06

The prep is 80% of a great paint job. Here is the order the pros actually work in, from empty room to clean finish.

A good paint job is mostly preparation. Skip the prep and even the most expensive paint looks patchy; do it well and a cheap roller gives a finish you will be proud of. Here is the sequence a professional follows, with the few details that make the difference.

What you need

• Paint (work out how much with the paint calculator below), plus primer if walls are bare, patched or a very different colour.
• A roller and sleeve, a 2-inch angled brush for cutting in, a paint tray and liner.
• Painter’s tape, drop cloths, a filler/spackle and a sanding sponge, a damp cloth.

1. Clear and protect the room

Move furniture to the centre and cover it, or take it out. Lay drop cloths along the walls. Remove switch plates and outlet covers (paint over the screw holes, not the plates). Take down curtain hardware if you are painting near it.

2. Clean, fill and sand

Wipe walls to remove dust and grease — kitchens and hallways especially. Fill nail holes and cracks with filler, let it dry, then sand smooth. Lightly sand glossy areas so the new paint grips. Wipe off the dust with a damp cloth and let it dry.

3. Tape the edges

Run painter’s tape along trim, the ceiling line and anything you are not painting. Press the edge down firmly with a putty knife so paint cannot bleed underneath.

4. Prime if needed

Prime bare drywall, filled patches, stains, or when going from a dark colour to a light one. Primer gives an even base so the colour looks uniform and you may need fewer top coats.

5. Cut in the edges

With the angled brush, paint a 2–3 inch band along the ceiling, corners and trim — the places a roller cannot reach. Work one wall at a time so the cut-in stays wet when you roll, which blends the two and avoids visible lines.

6. Roll the walls

Load the roller evenly and roll in sections, working in a large “W” or “M” then filling it in without lifting off. Keep a wet edge — always roll back into the area you just painted. Two thinner coats look far better than one thick one.

7. Second coat, then finish

Let the first coat dry as long as the tin says (usually 2–4 hours), then apply the second. Remove the tape while the last coat is still slightly tacky for the cleanest line. Reinstall switch plates once everything is dry.

How much paint will you need?

Run your wall length, height and number of coats through the paint calculator — it subtracts standard doors and windows and tells you how many tins to buy, so you finish without a second trip to the shop.

Calculators for this

• Paint Calculator — How much paint to buy for a room or set of walls.
• Wallpaper Calculator — How many rolls of wallpaper for a room.