Every painter has his or her unique painting style. However, there are some trade secrets that pros often use to ensure quality finishing. Check them out.

1. Sand the flaws away

If you want to end up with a perfectly painted wall, you must start with a smooth surface. Sanding levels the joint compound patches and makes the ridges around nail holes flat. It will also get rid of rough spots and burrs on the trim. Use a grit sanding paper to sand the surface. Do so horizontally, and avoid putting a lot of pressure as it might damage the walls.

2. Cover furniture

The best is to move furniture from the room. If you cannot do this however, just cover the fixtures. When you do this, you will be able to protect both paint and sanding dust from getting to your furniture.

3. Use a tinted primer

Before the expert paint walls, they first patch cracks and fill holes using joint compound. However, painting directly over it will make the compound to suck moisture out of the paint. The result is a dull look that is known as flashing. The spots will look different from the other wall parts. That is why experts use a tinted gray primer or a color that closely resembles the finish coat.

4. Get rid of lap and brush marks using paint extender

The secret to a finish that is free of brush and lap marks is mixing paint with a paint extender, like floetrol. This has two results. First, it slows the time the paint takes to dry; thus allowing you a longer window to repaint areas you feel need more paint without getting the unpleasant lap marks. Secondly, the paint extender will level out the paint such that the brush strokes are not easily noticeable. Pros use the extender when painting doors, drywall, cabinets and woodwork.