I HATE TO PAINT
In my experience of building homes, I have noticed a lot of owners have taken on the task of re-painting their new home. In many cases, the original paint used is not yet dry and the color and finish is being changed.
I have seen great work; Almost Picasso like and work that looks as if I did it holding a brush in my mouth, eyes a fixed on the Panthers game, the bag of Cheetos and my beer!
I have tips on making your painting experience better with professional results.
My wife has had me re-paint every home, apartment and town home we have owned over the past 20 years. I have much experience at what to do and what not to do.
Being a builder, I watch the real guys do that thing they do, so I just copy them. I have found that by taking short cuts just ends up being a long cut.
Are you a Preppy?
My least favorite part of the process is the Prep work. The endless hours of taping, papering and laying out the plastic. We spend most of our time prepping the room, keeping the paint off the floors, furniture, cat or dog. This is the most important part of the paint job. I have tried to save time and it ends up costing me more time with the clean up plus getting yelled at by you know who.
First use the right products. Spend the extra buck and buy the Blue or Green 3M painters tape in a variety of widths to do the job. Next get some 1 mil painters plastic for the furniture and dog. Use 4 or 6 mil for the floors. Canvas drop clothes are great if you own them already, however very pricey. Next, spend the money on good brushes and rollers. If you want your home to look like the inside of a cardboard box, buy that 12 pack of nylon brushes for $6.99.
Roll one for me!
Assuming that walls and trim are well prepped, you can start to paint.
Start with the "Cut in brush" This is the one with the angle brush hairs. Go all around the window and door casings, base and crown moldings first. Once cut-in is finished with two coats, start the roller process.
When rolling out your walls, use the "N" pattern. Just make a giant N on the wall and then go back filling it in. This will use just the right amount of paint. Don't keep going over the wet paint until it is dry. This will actually pull paint off the wall and place it back on the roller leaving those paint boogers behind. It is much better to come back once the paint has flashed off and touch it up later.
A Clean Brush is a Happy Brush
It's not a bad idea to periodically clean out your brush while you are painting. Use the toothed brush cleaner with warm water and some dish soap if you like. I then go outside and shake it out hard to remove all water. This only takes a minute and will keep your brush lasting along time. This works for roller too!
If using oil based paints, just use the recommend thinner instead of water and soap.
If you need to take a long break, or want to come back the next day, here is the lazy step for your roller and brush.
Wrap them up in a plastic sandwich wrap, aluminum foil or a combo of either. Place them in the freezer...yep the freezer! Believe it or not this will keep for a long time. Just let them thaw out and Whallah, instant wet brush and roller ready to pick up where you left off. Pretty cool, huh?
When changing the finish from flat to gloss or semi-gloss, remember the higher the sheen the more imperfections, brush strokes and roller marks will be seen. Also, touch ups will be difficult. When doing a touch-up with a glossy paint you will need to paint the entire wall or you will see the touched up area.
Its Story time
How to store your paints: To keep your paints from freezing or drying out, keep in the original can, keeping the lid clean to shut tight, utilizing cellophane on top of the paint before placing the lid on. This will act as a sealer and help with the shelf life. If you don't use this method, just mix or shake your can (Paint can that is) every once in a while to keep it mixed up.
Now you can sit back and enjoy your new paint job while eating a piece of cake. Did I mention cake? Check the link for my favorite cakes!
Your friend,
Scott
In my experience of building homes, I have noticed a lot of owners have taken on the task of re-painting their new home. In many cases, the original paint used is not yet dry and the color and finish is being changed.
I have seen great work; Almost Picasso like and work that looks as if I did it holding a brush in my mouth, eyes a fixed on the Panthers game, the bag of Cheetos and my beer!
I have tips on making your painting experience better with professional results.
My wife has had me re-paint every home, apartment and town home we have owned over the past 20 years. I have much experience at what to do and what not to do.
Being a builder, I watch the real guys do that thing they do, so I just copy them. I have found that by taking short cuts just ends up being a long cut.
Are you a Preppy?
My least favorite part of the process is the Prep work. The endless hours of taping, papering and laying out the plastic. We spend most of our time prepping the room, keeping the paint off the floors, furniture, cat or dog. This is the most important part of the paint job. I have tried to save time and it ends up costing me more time with the clean up plus getting yelled at by you know who.
First use the right products. Spend the extra buck and buy the Blue or Green 3M painters tape in a variety of widths to do the job. Next get some 1 mil painters plastic for the furniture and dog. Use 4 or 6 mil for the floors. Canvas drop clothes are great if you own them already, however very pricey. Next, spend the money on good brushes and rollers. If you want your home to look like the inside of a cardboard box, buy that 12 pack of nylon brushes for $6.99.
Roll one for me!
Assuming that walls and trim are well prepped, you can start to paint.
Start with the "Cut in brush" This is the one with the angle brush hairs. Go all around the window and door casings, base and crown moldings first. Once cut-in is finished with two coats, start the roller process.
When rolling out your walls, use the "N" pattern. Just make a giant N on the wall and then go back filling it in. This will use just the right amount of paint. Don't keep going over the wet paint until it is dry. This will actually pull paint off the wall and place it back on the roller leaving those paint boogers behind. It is much better to come back once the paint has flashed off and touch it up later.
A Clean Brush is a Happy Brush
It's not a bad idea to periodically clean out your brush while you are painting. Use the toothed brush cleaner with warm water and some dish soap if you like. I then go outside and shake it out hard to remove all water. This only takes a minute and will keep your brush lasting along time. This works for roller too!
If using oil based paints, just use the recommend thinner instead of water and soap.
If you need to take a long break, or want to come back the next day, here is the lazy step for your roller and brush.
Wrap them up in a plastic sandwich wrap, aluminum foil or a combo of either. Place them in the freezer...yep the freezer! Believe it or not this will keep for a long time. Just let them thaw out and Whallah, instant wet brush and roller ready to pick up where you left off. Pretty cool, huh?
When changing the finish from flat to gloss or semi-gloss, remember the higher the sheen the more imperfections, brush strokes and roller marks will be seen. Also, touch ups will be difficult. When doing a touch-up with a glossy paint you will need to paint the entire wall or you will see the touched up area.
Its Story time
How to store your paints: To keep your paints from freezing or drying out, keep in the original can, keeping the lid clean to shut tight, utilizing cellophane on top of the paint before placing the lid on. This will act as a sealer and help with the shelf life. If you don't use this method, just mix or shake your can (Paint can that is) every once in a while to keep it mixed up.
Now you can sit back and enjoy your new paint job while eating a piece of cake. Did I mention cake? Check the link for my favorite cakes!
Your friend,
Scott
1 comment:
Nice job on the hotel. Lots of prep work there, from what I hear. Glad to know how to clean granite countertops. How about gold fixtures? I need advice. - The "Johnald" / Chicago
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