Home Painting Answers

  Proper Roller work on your new DIY paint job is critical for a nice finished product. Please .....Please do not roll your walls as pictured here.    Not only will your finished job not look as nice as it could but you may spend the rest of the day in bed or on the couch with back pain.    Use a rolling pole as pictured here. After you have done the edge work with the brush, roll from the top to the bottom. Do not stop half way down the wall. Do not roll from side to side.    The person pictured here is doing two things wrong though. Get everything out of the way. You do not want to be half way along the wall and have to stop and move things out of the way. This mistake could give the paint you just put on the wall just enough time to start to dry and that could cause a lap. Second do not start in the middle of the wall. Start at a corner. What to look for in the Paint Brush for your DIY painting project.  

   The kid's found the crayons and have just made an art project of their bed room walls. Clean it off? Sorry there is a 99% chance this is a waste of time. Your going to have to repaint and do a better job of hiding the crayons. Step one is lightly sand the crayon marks on the wall. This not to remove all of the crayon marks but simply get some of it off so the texture of the crayon marks do not show through your fresh paint. You will need to prime. If your facing a project as large as pictured you will need to prime the entire wall. Some latex primers will seal the marks out but ask the paint supplier for their recommendation for sealing crayon marks. It is a possibility you will need to use a oil based primer. Oil based primer/sealers are the best for this job but do present there own set of problems.     The smell is likely #1 on the hassle's of oil based primer/sealers,#2 slow drying times and clean up.   So do some work and find a latex primer/sealer that will do

Considering doing an accent wall in the room you are looking to paint but having a difficult time choosing that perfect accent color?    It is most likely your accent wall will be the darker of the two colors you choose. A simple way to help you make this decision is to choose the lighter color first then from the same color sample strip select a color that is the darkest.      This reduces the chance of a clash between the two colors. Selecting a color from a different color strip can be risky.   The two colors may look good in the paint store but when you gat a full room of the colors they may not coordinate as you had hoped.   Keep in mind also that the darker of the two colors may likely need 2 or more finish coat to get the color depth needed. Darker colors contrary to popular belief do not cover as well as most lighter colors today.   The long story made short for this is that the tint used in todays pant is not as good as previous years in terms of coverage.  Select

Looking to update that vintage 1970's furniture with a coat of paint?  For a nice finished product these few steps will help. Step 1 CLEAN!  All of the years of furniture polish, wax, and heavens knows what else that is on the surface of the furniture must be eliminated.    A good detergent like (Mean Green) works well for this first step. Don't saturate the wood with water and detergent just wipe it on and wipe it off. Use lots of clean rages for the wiping off step. All the cleaning in the world does nothing if you don't wipe off with a clean rag. Step 2 Sand. The surface of the furniture is not likely to be ruff but this step helps your primers and paint to bond. 100 grit sand paper should do the job well. You can use steal wool also for those tight spots. Step 3 Vacuum off the dust from the sanding process. Take your time and get all of it. Step 4 Apply the primer. I recommend a product called (Stix) It's a water based bonding prime. I have had v

We have all seen them. The painters kit. That all in one kit with all you need to make that DIY painting job go fast and easy.  Well not so fast. The kits like you see here is selling you convenience and a low price. What it's not giving you is the proper tools to do a nice job.     I have nothing against saving a little money but the few dollars you save on a "painters kit" is long lost in the time and problems you will have with one of these kits. The roller cover is pure junk, it will leave lent in your fresh paint and on your walls.    The brush is the quality that you would use to paint a fence in the back yard and not your living room. The roller frame will crack at the handle  if you just barley over tighten it to the rolling pole. Expect to pay these prices for the painting tools of the quality you need to do a nice job. ROLLER COVER $5.00 ROLLER FRAME $5.00 2.5 INCH BRUSH $9.00-$12.00  

What is the correct brush for your DIY painting project you have at hand?    If the project your preparing to do is the walls in a typical bedroom this is the brush I would recommend. A 2.5 inch square tip brush.  This brush is big enough to get those spots to small for a roller. But not so large that it creates problems in those tight corners close to your trim work.   It is polyester as you can tell by the light color of the bristles. A nylon bristle brush would have black bristles. A nylon brush of the same size and with the square tip will work just as well. But as a personal preference I find the polyester brush bristles a little softer.   If you are painting the trim then this is the brush I recommend. If you are painting your trim with (latex) paint.    It is the same 2.5 inches wide and also polyester but has a tapered end. It's often referred to as a sash tool.    The tapered end make getting paint the groves and corners of the trim a litter easer.  

  What paint roller cover to use on your DIY painting project may not be the biggest decision you ever make but it is worth a little consideration.  How thick of a (nap) should you use? In the vast majority of cases a 1/2" nap works the best.   Deeper naps may be needed for a ruff or textured service but for the drywall in your home 1/2" works well. But what if I am using an eggshell or a satin finish or possibly even a semi-gloss paint?    Yes a 1/2" is still your best overall choice. A 3/8" nap is what many paint suppliers recommend for paints with a (shine) when finished. Their reason is that a 3/8" roller cover leaves less stipple. Giving you a smoother finish.      No matter how little stipple you make with the paint you are applying. The stipple that is already on the wall is still there and will show thru the paint you are applying. So the advantage of less stipple with a low nap roller cover is gone. Secondly a 1/2" roller cover allows

  We have all heard the saying the devil is in the details. Todays tip may appear as a minor and almost meaningless detail but it could save you a lot of problems with that DIY painting project you have planned.   A paint roller frame?      Something as simple and basic to painting today as a brush. What could possibly be a detail that is a need to know? Just take a look at these two examples of roller frames I have here. See the difference?    One has a metal ring at the point where the rolling pole screws in and one does not. Well that chrome ring is not there just for good looks.    That ring helps prevent the plastic handle from cracking when you screw the roller handle into the frame.    Screw that rolling pole in just a little to tight in the frame with out the metal ring and it WILL crack and it will no longer work. Just picture yourself just about to finish the last wall and that happens.    Not only do you have to stop and go back to the paint store buy a ne