10 Useful Tips and Tricks

10 Useful Tips and Tricks when Painting Property
Only experience can teach you all you need to know about painting property. Working regularly with other professionals is the only way to pick up tricks of the trade that are designed to make life easier and paining more efficient.

Here we have assembled a few tips for you that fall into no specific category, but you might just find useful to know about.

Tips and Tricks regarding Interior Painting

• If you are going to be doing a lot of redecorating in your home, invest in what are often referred to as 'trade wipes'. These are like baby wipes but impregnated with soap and white spirit, making it easy to clean your hands at the end of the day and also are useful for cleaning paintbrush handles when using oil-based paint.
• If you are going to use oil-based paint on consecutive days, you don't need to clean your paintbrush every time. Instead you can put it in a jar of water filled to a level that just covers the bristles, but not the metal holder. Similarly, if you are going to be using the same emulsion brush the next day, then wrap it up tightly in a plastic bag. Where a roller is concerned, just wrap it up tight in a plastic shopping carrier bag.
• When you have finished using paint, ensure the lid is tightly replaced and then store upside down – that way no air can enter the tin and form a hard crust on the paint over time. Also read: quality paints.
• When using satinwood paint, adding white spirit to it will thin it a little to let it spread more smoothly if it is a thick trade version. Two thinner coats of oil-based paint will always look better than one thick one. Again with satinwood, adding a little white spirit to the final coat will give it an extra bit of sheen.

Video on Tips and Tricks regarding Painting

Tip regarding Knotting

If woodwork in your home has brown circles showing through white paint, especially on skirting and doors – this means the knots in the wood are burning through the paint and staining it. The only cure is to sand the paint back to bare wood in these areas and apply two coats of patent knotting before primer, undercoat and top coats. Also have a look at this information page about sanding.

Tips and Tricks regarding Painting Materials and Aids

• If in your DIY attempts you have to silicone round a bath, don't do it freehand. Ensure all existing silicone has been removed, then apply strips of masking tape along the bath edge and tiling, allowing for a 7 mm gap between the masking tape and the edge. Apply the silicone, run a wet finger along it to create an even layer of silicone, and then swiftly remove the masking tape, peeling it in the direction away from the silicone, not along it, to give a crisp clean edge.
• Invest in a cheap set of artist's brushes. These are great if you have awkward areas to reach and are also what you need if you are applying patent knotting to wood knots.
• If you are likely to be working up a ladder, don't work alone. Even if you don't need someone to hold the bottom of the ladder while you are painting, you'll need someone around to call for an ambulance if you fall off!
• Many people make the mistake of painting pipework with emulsion paint. If it is copper pipework then it will likely start to turn blue as the copper reacts with water in the paint.
  
  In addition, emulsion paint will flake off copper piping in no time at all. With fine sandpaper this copper piping has to be sanded down to a clean finish and then two coats of oil-based undercoat need to be applied before any topcoat. The top coat can now be emulsion if you want as the copper is protected, or more usually if the pipework is by a radiator, it is painted the same as any skirting board.

Other Tips

If you have an accident and spill oil-based paint on a carpet, get as much up as you can with a sharp-edged spoon. After that, check in a discrete corner that the carpet does not react with white spirit and if that is OK, then wipe the affected area with a cloth or kitchen paper impregnated with plenty of white spirit. After that, create a 50/50 mixture of white spirit and a quality brand washing up liquid and then rub that into the affected area, then remove that paste with a wet clean cloth until it has all been removed. Then dry the affected area.

Ask for Free Quotes From Quality Painters

You will discover that there is considerably more involved in painting than knowing how to use a paintbrush or roller. We want you to feel more confident that when you ask a painter to give you a quote for painting your property, you will recognise from their answers that they clearly know what they are talking about. So, have a look at these articles and then use our simple form to request quotes from local painters to get the ball rolling. Request your Free Quotes here.

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