Painting looks simple, but the pros you admire win on preparation, not on the brush. About 80 percent of a lasting paint job is prep: cleaning, scraping, filling, sanding, priming and masking. This roadmap teaches you to think like that. You will start with safety and surface prep, build clean cutting-in and rolling, learn to spray, and then learn to read a job, measure it and price it. Most painters get in with a high school diploma or GED and learn on the job as a helper, and about a third add a post-secondary certificate or apprenticeship. Everything below uses free resources and drills you
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Every stage from beginner to expert, with lessons, practice drills, projects, interview questions and free resources. Free with a Rolearch account.
Stage 1 of 4 · about 8 weeks
Work safely and prep surfaces properly. Learn the OSHA basics: ladders, fall protection, ventilation and respirators. Know your tools (brush, roller, scraper, putty knife, caulk gun, sandpaper grits). Practice taping, drop-clothing, patching holes, caulking and priming. Cut in a straight line and roll a wall with no lap marks or roller tracks.
Job-site safety: ladders, fall protection, ventilation and respirators
Falls are the leading cause of death in construction, and painters work on ladders daily and breathe fumes and dust. Safe habits protect your body and make you someone a boss wants to hire.
Knowing your tools and what each is for
Using the right tool saves hours and gives a smoother result. A painter who knows the difference between a scraper and a putty knife, or 120 and 220 grit, looks like a pro on day one.
Surface prep: masking, patching, caulking, sanding and priming
Most paint failures and callbacks come from bad prep, not bad painting. Prep is often half the job and what separates a professional finish from an amateur one.
Cutting in and rolling a clean wall
Clean cut lines and a uniform wall are what customers see first. These are the core hand skills of the trade, and they only come from repetition.
Then 3 more stages (about 88 weeks in all) with lessons, drills, projects, 10 interview questions with strong answers and free resources.