Beginner's Guide to Painting

Beginner's Guide to Painting.

Beginner's Guide to Painting - There's no better, more affordable way to freshen up rooms than with a new coat of paint. Plus, painting isn't terribly difficult and doesn't require specialized training. Any able-bodied home owner can paint rooms—all you need is a little patience, practice, and some helpful advice.

These painting tips can help even novice DIY'ers achieve good painting results. Follow these suggestions and you'll not only paint better, you'll work faster and neater, too.

PREP THE SURFACE

A successful paint job starts with properly preparing the surface you're going to paint. That means you must scrape, sand, patch, and fill every hole, crack, dent, and surface imperfection. This isn't the fun part of painting a room, but it is the most important part. No paint, regardless of its cost, color, thickness, or manufacturer's claims, will hide a pockmarked or cracked surface.

TINT THE PRIMER

Priming walls and ceilings is mandatory whenever you're painting new drywall or painting over a dark colour. But it's smart to prime any time you paint. Primer serves three main functions. First, it blocks stains from bleeding through. Second, it allows one-coat coverage for the paint. Third, and most important, it improves paint adhesion, which greatly reduces blisters and peeling.

Professional painters will often tint the primer toward the finished colour by mixing a small amount of topcoat paint into the primer. This trick greatly enhances the ability of the topcoat to completely hide the primed surface.

You can now buy paints that contain primers, but nothing covers as well or improves adhesion as much as a dedicated primer. Beginner's Guide to Painting.

GO FOR THE CANVAS DROP SHEET FOR REPEATED USE, PLASTIC FOR ONE OFF PROJECTS

Plastic drop cloths provide an inexpensive way to protect floors and furnishings from paint spatters, and are perfect for one off projects. They are hassle free and can be thrown away after that. However, if you are a serial painter and intend to improve your home bit by bit or regularly, you'd be much better off investing in canvas ones. Canvas sheets are extremely durable and rip-resistant. It lays flat and presents much less of a tripping hazard. Canvas absorbs paint drips, unlike plastic drop cloths, which become slippery when spattered with paint. Canvas drop cloths can be easily folded around corners and doorways, something that's impossible to do with plastic sheeting. Also, it can be reusable.

Which to use really depends on your type of work and your short-mid term plan. Choose your projects and work type and drop sheet properly and they will really help you in your painting job.

REACH FOR EXTENSION

Forget the stepladder and get yourself a telescoping extension pole for your paint roller. Extension poles come in various lengths, up to 18 feet long, but one that extends from 18 to 36 inches is good enough to paint rooms with 8- to 9-foot-tall ceilings. Check that your paint roller's handle has a threaded hole in the end, then simply twist it onto the extension pole.

When shopping for extension poles, look for one that has a soft, non-slip grip and a rigid metal core. And be sure the threaded end of the pole is also metal. All-plastic handles are too flexible, which makes them hard to control.

OVERNIGHT STORAGE

If you're done painting for the day but still have more to do tomorrow, you don't have to go through the laborious process of cleaning your paintbrushes and paint-roller sleeves. Instead, simply brush or roll off the excess paint, then tightly wrap them in plastic food wrap. If necessary, double up the plastic to seal out any air, then place the wrapped brushes and roller sleeves in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. This might sound crazy, but it works—it'll keep the paint from drying overnight and rendering your equipment unusable.

The next day, simply remove the gear from cold storage 30 minutes prior to painting, and it'll be supple and ready for use. Properly wrapped paintbrushes and roller sleeves can be stored this manner for several days if you're tackling a really ambitious job.

Beginner's Guide to Painting