A fresh coat of paint brings a new feeling to your four walls in a flash. A new coat of white will make if feel like you've just moved in. And fresh colors give your home that very special touch. You can choose harmonious and relaxing color combinations – or exciting contrasts. And if you observe a few simple tips, you can achieve results like a pro.

Before you get started, get all your tools together. This saves you from hunting around in the middle of your work. You will need:

• A radiator brush to pain the corners and edges
• A roller to paint the ceilings and walls
• tesa® painter's tape to mask edges, corners, door frames, outlets, light switches, etc.
• tesa® EasyCover to cover larger areas and furniture

Preparation is key. Once everything is prepared, you have done almost everything right. Start with the adhesive tape test: Press and a strip of tesa® painter's tape on the wall, then pull off.

If paint or sandy, chalky dust sticks to the tape, you will have to wash the wall (some liquid dish detergent in water helps) and also prime it. First, sweep the wall and ceiling thoroughly. Otherwise, dust and pieces of plaster will stick to the roller and prevent an even coat of paint. Remove any old paint that can no longer be painted again with plenty of water and a brush.

Remove all old remnants of wallpaper with a trowel and smooth over any unevenness, cracks and wall plug holes with filler. Before painting, all surfaces must be dry, clean and free of dust to ensure the paint will hold.

Everything that should not be painted should be thoroughly covered and masked – for example with tesa® painter's tape. For best results, remove light fixtures and outlet covers to produce cleaner edges. It is best to remove rugs and furniture from the room if possible.

You can cover and mask floors, furniture and other larger areas quickly and easily with tesa® EasyCover, the proven combination of covering plastic or paper sheets and adhesive masking tape, in one step. At all events, the protective sheets on the floor should be firmly affixed on the edges so that they don't slip while you're painting.

You should also mask the transitions to windows, doors and tiles with tesa® painter's tape. For best results, use tesa® painter's tape for rough surfaces or curved applications. It fits especially snugly and permits precise, sharp painted edges and curves – for example if you want to paint a pattern on the wall.

You should prime walls made of gypsum plaster, plaster and soft fiberboard before painting. Otherwise they absorb too much topcoat paint. Cover any rust or water stains on the wall with insulating or primer paint. You can now start the actual work.

Always wipe excess paint off on the stripping grid to ensure that the coat of paint is even. A telescopic pole is recommended for high walls and ceilings.

A normal room temperature is best during painting. Drafts or excessively cold or warm air may lead to an uneven look.

Always start with the corners so that you won't see where the strokes start later. Starting with the windows reduces visible stroke marks even further. For small areas in the corners, on baseboards and radiators, use a brush for best results. adiator brushes with a bent handle produce a good result.

6. Ceiling before walls

Always paint the ceilings before the walls. This way, any paint that splashes on the walls when painting the ceiling is simply rolled over later and cannot be seen. Use a roller to paint the ceiling and walls. Strokes should overlap each other.

It's best to paint the ceiling in squares of around 1 x 1 meters. Avoid visible stroke marks by starting to roll from the windows. Once you have painted a square, you can reduce the stroke marks in a second step. To do this, roll straight over the square once again. This distributes the paint evenly and reduces the danger of patchy areas.

Always roll the walls from top to bottom – line for line. To avoid visible transitions between the lines, you must work quickly and even out the lines by rolling horizontally.

Only in this way will the paint dry evenly. If you aim to do a particularly thorough job, roll down the walls once again vertically.

The big moment arrives after the painting is complete: when all masking tape and covering sheets are removed. Pull the masking tape evenly away from the painted edge immediately after the coat has dried. The ideal angle is 30° to 45°. tesa® painter's tapes leave no residue, do not tear and ensure clean painted edges. That's because their tight fit, special backing and high adhesiveness don't allow paint to seep through.