Tips for Painting Your Garage

Increasing the physical appeal of the interior of a garage can seem like a challenging task. Garages are often less maintained than the rest of the home, but that does not have to be the case. While garages can certainly be used to store outdoor belongings such as lawnmowers, bicycles, and garden tools, there are ways to spruce up the area and make it an attractive entry into a home. Painting the interior of a garage is a great way to accomplish this.

Preparing The Garage For Paint

Homeowners who take on the task of painting the interior walls of their garage often do so for aesthetic reasons. Therefore, it is incredibly important to take the necessary preparatory steps so that the final look meets expectations.

Garages are generally less clean than the inside of a home and walls should be cleaned before painting begins. Utilizing brooms, shop vacs, soap, and water can help to ensure that all dust, debris, water damage, and oil stains are removed. It is critical to allow the walls ample drying time before moving forward.

Other necessary steps an individual should take before beginning the painting process include:

• Provide the garage with proper ventilation as breathing in significant amounts of paint fumes can be harmful.
• Prepare the walls for painting based on what you will be painting on: old paint or unfinished drywall.
• Protect flooring and any hardware in the garage.
• Decide what paint you want to use.

Best Types of Paint for Garage Walls and Ceilings

Before deciding on paint type or color, you should consider what purposes you want the paint to serve. Obviously the paint should look nice, however, other factors you may want to consider are durability, climate suitability, surface suitability, and dry time.

There are two paint categories most commonly used in garages and each has distinct advantages.

1.) Latex Paint

Latex paints are incredibly beneficial when used in a garage or home as this type of paint dries quickly, is easily thinned with water, and has minimal odor.

2.) Oil-Based Paints

While oil-based paints are a viable option, this type of paint is seen less often for interior walls. Not only do oil-based paints take longer to dry, but they also contain a high amount of volatile organic compounds which can be harmful to inhale over stretches of time. This high quantity of VOCs also means that the paint will have a much stronger odor. However, some oil-based paints provide a hard-sell coating when dried which is more resistant to scratches and scuffs.

Contact Our DuPage County Custom Garage Builders Today

Garages are an extension of your home, therefore, it is not uncommon for homeowners to want to make their garage an aesthetically pleasing environment. Adding a fresh coat of paint is an easy way to freshen up your garage.

Alternatively, if it is time to build a new garage, our Chicago area garage builders are here to help. To learn more about our services, contact our team by calling 630-852-8485.