ByUser:bkeating9 @timeAndDate(1302624165)Brian Keating
Just about anyone who has owns their own home or apartment has, at one time or another, walked into a room and thought, "Ugh, this again." The places we inhabit can often become so familiar, so static, that they begin to seem repulsive to us. One way to beat the sameshirt and a couple of brushes and let's get to painting!
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Preparing a Room to be Painted
To begin, we are going to assume that you are painting over a previously painted surfacenewly primed walls do not need to be prepped before painting. The goals of preparing a room prior to painting, are to find problem areas or flaws (i.e. peeling or chipping), and to make sure the walls are totally clean. The following steps will ensure that your room is ready to be painted.
* Remove all possible furniture from the room so that any problem areas or flaws can be detected. Cover the floors and any remaining furniture with drop cloths. Remove drapes and curtains, including hanging hardware. Loosen the light fixtures, letting them hang a safe distance from the ceiling and cover them in plastic bags.
* Fixing flaws will most likely require you to scrape areas of the previously painted walls, as well as the window sills, that have peeled or cracked. To remove loose bits of paint, simply scrape the affected areas gently and then use sandpaper to smooth them down. If the areas are too damaged, apply a coat of drywall joint compound.
* Once you have repaired any flaws, wash down the surface areas with warm water and household detergent. Use a reasonably wet sponge to clear away dirt and grime, rinsing the sponge in a separate water bucket or down the drain. Use the sponge, now wrung out, to clean the walls once more, removing any traces of dirt.
* To ensure that you will produce a straight line while painting freetape'>masking tape as a demarcating line. As you apply the masking tape, use the bowl of a spoon to flatten the tape completely. Be sure to remove the masking tape before the paint dries.
How to Use a Paintbrush
'''Loading a Paintbrush'''
Successfully loading a paintbrush entails getting as much paint on the wall as you can, while limiting the amount of paint that falls either on yourself or on the floor around you. After a few trips, from the paint bucket to the wall, you will quickly be able to see just how much paint your brush is able to hold.
* Dampen the bristles of your brush with water, especially for latex-based paints, to make them more efficient.
* Remove any excess water by lightly hitting the metal band around the base of the paintbrush.
* When you first dip the brush in the paint, move the brush around to the let the brush fill completely with paint.
* On subsequent trips to the paint can, gently jab the brush into the paint and let the excess paint drip off
* To keep your brush clean for future use, never jab or dip a brush more than one-third the length of the bristles.
'''Holding a Paintbrush'''
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For interior house painting projects, where you will most likely be painting broad walls, as well as tighter areas like corners and molding, there are two primary paintbrushes you will use: trim and sash brushes with a pencil handle, and larger brushes with a beaver-tail handle.
* Trim and Sash Brushes''':'''
** For trim and sash brushes with a pencil handle, hold the handle the same as you would a pen or pencil, with the thumb and index and middle fingersthis will give you excellent control for more detailed work.
* Large Brushes''':'''
** For larger brushes with beaverthis will give you a stronger grip for large, flat surfaces.
How to Use a Roller
Using a paint thinner for other types of paint that tend to run easier.
* Roll off the excess wetness on a piece of wood, kraft paper, or a paper shopping bag.
* Fill the paint tray until it is half full and let the roller rest in the middle of the tray.
* Lift and roll the roller along the tray's slope, stopping before the tray's well repeat two or three times.
* Dip the roller one more time, then roll it on the tray's slope until the roller and the tray are saturated.
'''Using a Roller'''
Once the roller is in your hand, it may be tempting to simply have at the wall, rolling this way and that without any sort of pattern. While we're not saying that this won't ultimately get the job done, and probably be a lot of fun, there is a way to roll simply and efficiently.
* To roll effectively, paint areas of 2 to 3-square feet at a time.
* Roll in a vertical zigzag pattern, while keeping the roller in constant contact with the wall.
* Do not lift the roller from the wall, and fill in the spaces with horizontal zigzag strokes.
* Touch up the area by rolling from unpainted areas into the painted areas.
* When you've finished the area, lift the roller slowly to avoid leaving a roller mark.
Time To Clean Up
Nobody loves to clean up, but the only way to successfully bring a home painting job to completion is to execute a basic, two-part cleaning process. First, you must clean any errant drips, spatters, and sprays that may have occurred during the painting process, and then clean your painting equipment, especially your brushes and rollers.
'''Cleaning Drips, Spatters and Sprays'''
No matter how careful you are while painting your room, drips, spatters and sprays are absolutely going to occur. As we mentioned above, you should outfit the room with drop cloths and use masking tape to cover windowsills and other moldings. The best way to clean any errant paint marks is to attack them as soon as they occurpaint is easiest to remove when it is still wet. Here are some other tips for cleaning up painting mistakes.
* Use a paint shield, which is held perpendicular to the surface being painted, to prevent paint from running.
* Always keep a bucket of water and a sponge on hand when using razor blade scraper to get the dry paint off of the glass surface.
'''Cleaning Painting Equipment'''
Similar to cleaning fresh, errant paint marks, the best way to clean painting equipment is to remove fresh paint as early as possibledried paint can be incredibly difficult to remove. While it is certainly important to clean drop cloths, paint trays and paint cans, rollers and brushes should be given the most attention to ensure adequate future use.
* Only high-quality roller covers will respond to cleaning, inexpensive roller covers retain paint residue.
* With latex paints, simply remove excess paint on the rim of the paintcan then rinse with warm water and detergent.
* With solvent-based paints, use the paint thinner that is indicated on the paint can for both brushes and rollers.
* Once your done cleaning your brush, use a
