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| House Painting Tips |
Here you'll find easy and helpful house painting tips and information about painting rooms, ceilings, trim, as well as all exterior painting tasks.
A little about myself - I'm a professional residential painter living in London, Ontario, Canada. I hope to share my knowledge and experience of over 20 years with you here!
Where do you start?
Whether you're planning on an interior painting task like painting a bedroom or bathroom or undertaking a door or trim work, I'll provide you with easy to follow painting tips and techniques that will arm you with the knowledge to do a great job!
Here's a sample excerpt from my Guide...
I don't believe anyone likes doing it, but the interior painting preparation step is the most important task with any painting endeavor.
The key to a good-looking and long-lasting paint job is some painstaking preparation. With the proper tools, the preparation work will go much smoother and more efficiently.
Agenda for Proper Preparation:
1. Check for big problems. A sagging ceiling, for example, may be evidence of a roof leak or a seeping radiator on the floor above. Track down the cause of wall or ceiling damage and clear that up before you refurbish the wallboard or plaster.
2. Clear the walls. Take down pictures and curtains to look for cracks, holes, and peeling paint on walls and ceiling. Check the woodwork for loose paint, nicks, popped nails, and separations at corners or at wall junctures. If there is wallpaper, you'll probably want to strip it, whether you are painting or re-papering.
3. Assemble your materials. For masking you'll need plastic drop cloths, newspaper, masking tape, plastic bags; for access, ladders and boards for scaffolding. For repairs, have on hand spackling compound, wood filler, a heat gun or chemical paint remover, sander and sandpaper, tack cloth, vacuum cleaner, and a spray can of primer. For cleaning you'll want detergent, bleach, bucket, and sponge; for safety, goggles and respirators.
4. Remove furniture and rugs. The more space you have to work in, the easier patching and painting will be. What furniture stays should be clustered in the middle of the room and covered with drop cloths. A rope tied around the bottom of the pile will keep the cloths in place.
5. Dismantle hardware. Remove knobs, latches, and locks on doors and wood window frames. Take down curtain rods and brackets. Remove picture hooks. Turn off electricity to the room; then unscrew plates from electrical switches and outlets. If there is a ceiling lighting fixture, either disconnect it and take it down or loosen its plate and enclose it - plate and all - in a large plastic bag secured at the top with tape.
6. Finish masking. Wall sconces, standing radiators, and thermostats need to be protected. Cover the entire floor (or carpeting) with plastic drop cloths, but ring the outer edges of the room with several layers of newspaper taped below the baseboards. Make a path of newspapers from the door into the center of the room. Newspaper absorbs wet paint and allows it to dry; plastic doesn't. Paint on a plastic cloth stays wet, and if you step on it, you are likely to track it into other rooms.
7. Make repairs. Fix walls, ceilings, and woodwork.
8. The last step in interior painting preparation is to wash down all surfaces to be painted. Use a heavy-duty detergent such as trisodium phosphate (TSP) or a nonphosphate equivalent, bought at a paint supply store. Even fingerprints can keep paint from bonding properly. Clean any damp or mildewed areas with a 1:3 household bleach and water solution. Rinse, and let the area dry completely before painting. Glossy surfaces may also need sanding or an application of commercial deglosser for new paint to adhere properly.
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