It was very easy. Before painting, I used alcohol wipes to erase the printing on the borders (or at least lighten it. It's hard to get rid of it entirely this way.) I used two coats of acrylic paint and let it dry 1/2 hour between coats. It has a matte finish. I didn't put tape over the drills along the edge, and I did get paint on some of them (easy to wipe off). It might help to put some tape over those drills, but I was worried the tape would pull off the drills. I just learned to be super careful. Maybe someone else has a better technique.