Home Painting Answers

   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 fin...

Your kitchen cabins looking a little dated and worn? Priced a new set and found out it's more than you new car. Well there is an answer. You can paint your stained and varnished kitchen cabinets/bathroom vanity  and bring new life to them at a fraction of the cost of replacing them. This is a project for those of you who have some experience in panting. It can be done however the problems are numerous. Making this a project best left to a pro. Just a short list of must do's for this project Clean...Clean... and clean again! Get all of the grime off your cabinets. Lightly sand,  odds are the finish currently on your cabinets is smooth so sanding should be a breeze. Remove the draw pulls, handles and hinges. Don't forget to label the doors as to where they go! Failure to do this will make a huge problem when you reassemble them. Use a "bonding" Primer, adhesion is the name of the game on cabinets. Use a satin finish for a "shine" similar to many...

So you want to paint that garage floor. A word of advise "DON'T DO IT" You are asking for problems. Even the high tech epoxies have future problems you don't want to deal with. Constant moisture from rain and snow.....Road Salt's...Hot tire pick up, Oil leaks from you car or truck all are attacking any paint you put on your garage floor. It's relentless  and unforgiving. You freshly painted garage floor will in a very short time turn into a pealing ugly eyesore in less than a year. If you garage floor is just plain ugly use a stiff broom and a degreaser and some elbow grease and just clean it and live with it. Paint has it's place but your garage floor isn't one of them. Now that you have some extra time on your hands try this Halloween coffee recipe.

   Do I need to Prime?  Most likely the answer to that question is ...no actuality. Priming is needed for two main reasons. Adhesion and coverage. So if your painting project is a simple repaint of you bedroom walls and ceiling with out a strong color change Priming is not really needed.   The paint on the walls before you start is likely a flat, or and eggshell/satin finish. Sometime even a semi-gloss. Todays paints will bond to these finishes with out the time and additional expense of priming.    Coverage is the most likely problem you could have in an repaint. One hint that could help is that "the darker the color the better it covers " is NOT the case! As a matter of fact very dark colors often require additional coats. I will not bore you with the details but it's the way paint is tinted today.    One clue you can use to determine how well your color selection will cover is look at the "base" of the p...

  Smoke/nicotine stains are a challenge for even the most experienced painter. So as a do it yourself project be prepared. This will not be fun or easy.   First things first. If the wall you are painting have a "flat" finish, washing the walls before priming is a waste of time and money. You will only spread around the nicotine and soak it deeper into the paint that is on the walls now.  If the walls have an "eggshell" or "satin" or "semi-gloss" finish washing can be helpful to a small extent. Areas you should concentrate on is where the stains are the heaviest. This is most often where pictures were on the walls and corners.  Do not invest a lot of time in this step. Just get the heaviest stains removed as best you can.  MATERIALS   You will need a (stain blocking) primer. This is critical as a standard primers will not do the job properly.   This type of primer is most effective if it is oil based. Some brands offer a latex stain b...