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🎨 Checklist 6 min read

Interior Painting Checklist: DIY vs Hiring a Painter in Australia

Fresh paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to transform your home. But a poor paint job is painfully obvious — and hard to fix without redoing it entirely.

DIY vs Hiring a Painter

Painting is one of the few trades where DIY is genuinely viable for a capable homeowner. Cutting in requires a steady hand.

Choosing the Right Paint

  • 1 Ceiling paint: flat sheen
  • 2 Walls: low sheen or satin
  • 3 Bathrooms and kitchens: semi-gloss
  • 4 Exterior: weather-resistant exterior-grade paint

Surface Preparation

Professional painters say that 70% of a good paint job is in the prep.

  • 1 Wash all surfaces with sugar soap
  • 2 Fill all cracks and holes
  • 3 Sand glossy surfaces
  • 4 Apply primer to bare plaster

Pro tip: Test paint colours with A4 sample patches in both natural and artificial light.

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