How to Cover Red Paint

A red wall can be a design statement or a nightmare, depending on your tastes and decorating sensibility. When you want to cover red paint on walls, take into consideration primer, paint quality, and paint sheen.

Red walls are dark and saturated with color. It is important to understand that you will need more than one coat for full coverage. Karl Crowder, a 20-year veteran painter based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, suggests that primer can be used to cover darker shades although it is not always necessary. An acrylic or latex-based primer will cover any kind of paint to seal and smooth the surface for the new application. Today's primers also are available with stain blocking capability, are thicker for better coverage, and clean up easily.

The quality of paint affects the end result of your painting job. Crowder notes that a good quality paint is heavier, so it requires fewer coats to cover your stubborn base color. Quality paint lasts longer and creates a professional looking base for future application. Behr Process Corporation suggests that a premium primer or paint can increase the adhesion of your topcoat as well as prolong the life of your new painted surface. Painters and paint companies want you to buy their paint, but as experts in the field of paint quality and application, their reputations are on the line when you use their respective recommendations or products. Price point is a different matter, however, and keep in mind that quality and price often increase at the same intervals. Use the best product you can afford, and don't skimp on coverage.

"The ability for a paint to cover an existing color is directly affected by the sheen of the new paint. A general rule is that flat paint covers the best while gloss is the worst. Example; if it takes two coats of flat paint it will take three or more coats of semi-gloss or gloss before perfect coverage," (Crowder, http://www.house-painting-info.com). As a professional painter, Crowder notes that flat paint is best for the application of covering a color like red in that it has a matte or flat type finish. Even coverage with the fewest number of application is your goal, and flat paint delivers. Crowder cautions painters to read brand labels in paint stores carefully before buying, as different paint companies define the sheen of their paint with varying criteria. Just be sure that the flat you choose is as low-sheen as possible, and you are well on your way to covering that bothersome red wall.