Painting - Repainting room the same color

We just bought a house, and purchased paint in the same color as the room to give it a fresh coat. Turns out it's a slightly different shade (they don't make the original color anymore so this is the closest match possible). Not realizing it wasn't the exact match, I didn't do the best job, and now have to redo the whole thing, including the ceiling which is the same color as the walls. Here are my questions: What is the best way to cut in and is a brush better than a small roller? How many inches on the ceiling/walls/corners? What technique should I use to redo the walls (zig zag or other)? Is there an easy way to paint around a ceiling fan without removing it? What tools do I need? Thanks

Welcome to the forums!

Even if you used the same batch of paint - it might not be an exact match several years later. The enviroment can change the color on the wall a little over time.

First it's important to use quality tools; a good brush, [I'd recomend a 2.5 purdy sash brush [or quality equivalent] for most diyers], a good 1/2" nap roller cover and a roller pole. I prefer to roll out of a 5 gallon bucket but a deep roller pan would be ok.

Cut in and paint your ceiling first. I usually brush the corners/edges out about 3" basically you need enough so the edge of the roller doesn't hit the other wall/ceiling.

Generally 1 stripe about 7'-8' long is plenty for one roller full of paint. I apply 1 stripe and then take the now dry roller and reroll the last stripe, repeat until done :D

Ceiling fans are never fun to paint around. You could remove the blades but that's a lot of work :eek: I usually cut in and move the blades as needed. Brushing out 6" or so will make it easier when you roll above the fan.

For cutting in, use a sash brush as suggested.

as for the ceiling fan, if you can lower the just the outside cover that touches the ceiling without lowering the fan, do that, if not, run a piece of tape around the top of the metal where it meets the ceiling and cut in. Brush around the ceiling fan a foot or more so you can roll up to the fan without hitting it. Since most ceilings are textured, I generally would use a larger nap size, at least 3/4 inch, but usually a 1". If it's not textured use a smaller one. Ceilings tend to soak up paint more, and the larger nap will cover the texture better. And use the 5 gallon bucket with roller screen instead of the pan as suggested. It is much cleaner and faster.

As for the walls, if textured you can use a 3/4 nap, or 1/2. Make sure you have plenty of paint on the roller nap. You shouldn't have to apply a lot of pressure when you are rollling, just slightly more than the weight of itself. If you find yourself pressing hard to cover, you don't have enough paint in the roller nap.

There are plenty of techniques to rolling. The one I like is to roll up and down, slightly diagonal to create a continuous coverage. Once the first roll gets low on paint, (go over it to get out any heavy lines if there are any) the next line I will actually start about a foot or so (the width of my first lines) away from the painted area, and roll toward the wet paint. That way seems to allow for a nice even flow of paint. Every time I rewet my roller, I start rolling on a dry part of the wall, and make my way to the wet areas.