Painting a rental ?

[Oldtom]

Good evening. I just found out my tenant is moving out in February 2019. Even though the tenant is really clean, I want to freshen up the rental by repainting it. I usually use a 5 gallon bucket, bucket screen, and roller with extension to paint and cut in with a brush. I have heard that Wagner makes some kind of paint stick which greatly speeds the process. I have also seen power rollers that pipe the paint to the roller with a flex tube.

Do any of these high tech whizz bangs actually work? This is going to be a quick and dirty landlord paint job using Lowes flat white for everything. I will probably skip the ceiling if it looks OK. This is a large 4 bedroom townhome.

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[PimTac]

The power roller is a great tool to speed up the process. It eliminates the need to load up the roller. The only con is that you need to relax every 5-10 minutes to take a load off the shoulders and neck. I've used it and compared to a regular roller setup it's much faster.

 

[pandus13]

I heard about people using those:
-repeated use depends on cleanup and seals status, something about using grease on them
-usually they where using it once and trow away
-you have to be careful not to push too hard since you're dealing with "constructed of plastic"
-you have to use the special roller covers...

have you thought of using eggshell finish? not that shiny and wipeable.
flat is cheap, but is going to scratch just by looking at it the wrong way

 

[AZjeff]

If you paint the walls a bright flat white most likely you're going to end up painting the ceilings when you compare. Been there done it, walls brighter than the ceiling doesn't look good! Something slightly off-white is good.

 

[Leo99]

I was afraid you were going to paint a rental car. Those gadgets seem cool but do professional painters use them?

 

[KneeGrinder]

When I do a complete apartment, I spray! The prep sucks, but I can usually spray kills and a semi gloss top coat in 2 hours. I do roll and cut w/brush bathroom and kitchen. That's for a 2 bedroom.

I only spray when I remove the carpet.

I would suggest a semi gloss because it cleans the easiest. I use Swiss Coffee for all of my apt's.

 

[tomcat27]

Another recommendation for an eggshell finish. Much more durable and cleans easier.

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by KneeGrinder
When I do a complete apartment, I spray! The prep sucks, but I can usually spray kills and a semi gloss top coat in 2 hours. I do roll and cut w/brush bathroom and kitchen. That's for a 2 bedroom.

I only spray when I remove the carpet.

I would suggest a semi gloss because it cleans the easiest. I use Swiss Coffee for all of my apt's.
I'll bet the prep does not make you as sore as rolling the ceiling!

 

[nthach]

I wouldn't use flat white if I was a landlord. Probably satin Behr in a off-white for scrubbablity and warmth.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by tomcat27
Another recommendation for an eggshell finish. Much more durable and cleans easier.


I use a linen white. And I use either an eggshell or satin. I'd never use a flat again. Picks up fingerprints and dirt like crazy and you can't clean it. A semigloss is too shiny. That's basically for trim and maybe bathrooms and kitchen.

 

[Oldtom]

Thanks to everyone who posted. I will buy a power roller and use that for all rolling. Even if I use the tool once and discard it, it should save a lot of time. I will run your paint color and gloss suggestions past Wifezilla and see what see says. She has a good sense of what looks good from the female point of view. Will post on how the power roller works.

 

[Wolf359]

I never really bothered with a power roller. I just use a good roller, the cheap ones don't really do a good job putting the paint on the wall. Usually something like a Purdy white woven. Sometimes if I catch it right, I just use Superpaint from Sherwin Williams, their Dover white in a satin. Sometimes you can get away with just one coat. It's not the price of the paint, it's the labor. I repainted an entire apartment once in just two hours. Used the same color so all I had to do was roll the walls that had all the scratch and dirt marks, no need to cut in. Looked fine after it dried.