Interior Painting in Toronto & the GTA

What paint finish should each room have?

Flat paint suits ceilings, and matte or eggshell suits bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms. Kitchens, halls and kids' rooms suit eggshell or satin, and bathrooms suit satin, because those walls get wiped often. Trim and doors take satin or semi-gloss.

One trade-off sits behind every choice. Each step up in sheen wipes clean more easily, but it also shows more dents, patches and roller marks. That is why ceilings stay flat while busy walls go a step shinier.

Choose the sheens with your colours, room by room, before the start date. Our paint sheen guide explains each finish, with a room-by-room table and the prep for changing from one sheen to another.

What should you do before the painters arrive?

Clear away the small, fragile and personal things, and leave the heavy lifting to the crew. The crew moves and covers the furniture and protects the floors. The rest is yours:

• Pack away ornaments, photos, electronics and valuables from shelves, dressers and tabletops.
• Take down art, mirrors, curtains and blinds in the rooms being painted.
• Empty any closet that is on the list to be painted.
• Point out wall-mounted TVs and shelves when you send photos.
• Decide where pets and young children will stay while the paint is wet.
• Settle your colours and sheens before the start date.

If your home was built before 1960, have the old paint tested before anyone sands it. Health Canada says a home that old probably contains lead paint.

Do your walls need primer before painting?

Only where a wall is new, patched, stained or glossy, or where the colour changes a lot. Sound, clean latex paint in a similar colour usually takes its two finish coats with no primer.

What the wall has	What goes on first
New drywall	A drywall primer, or a self-priming paint in two coats
Patched holes, cracks or nail pops	Spot-priming over each repair
Water, smoke or marker stains	A stain-blocking primer
Glossy or oil-based paint	Sanding, then a bonding primer
A deep new colour, or light over dark	A tinted primer suited to the new colour

Paint makers write these steps into their instructions. Benjamin Moore's data sheet for Regal Select says to spot-prime before and after filling nail holes and cracks. Sherwin-Williams lets its Emerald paint prime bare drywall in two coats, but sends stains to a primer-sealer.

So a "paint and primer in one" label saves a step on clean drywall, but stains still need their own primer. Priming where a surface needs it is part of the prep in every price. Our guide on whether you need primer covers trim, cabinets and every other surface.

How soon can you use a freshly painted room?

Usually the same day, once the last coat is dry to the touch. The walls need gentle treatment for longer, because paint that feels dry within hours takes weeks to cure.

Most latex wall paint is dry to the touch in about an hour. Reaching full hardness takes roughly 2 to 4 weeks. Paint makers' data sheets give their times at 25°C and 50% relative humidity, and cooler or damper rooms take longer.

Until the paint has cured:

• Wipe marks gently with a damp cloth, and save scrubbing for later.
• Keep tape, adhesive hooks and picture strips off the new paint.
• Keep furniture a few centimetres away from the walls.
• Keep fresh air moving while the paint dries, as paint labels ask.

Our guide to how long paint takes to dry and cure has a day-by-day timeline, including bathrooms and cabinet enamel.