Essence of Home Improvement

Archive for the ‘Painting’ Category

Preparing to paint is more important than a lot of people think. When you are properly prepared then you can paint easily and more efficiently. It takes times to prepare and it can be tedious. But when you do you get the professional look that you are looking for and you will be happier with the outcome.

Preparation includes removing everything from the room away from the walls and covering it up so it does not become damaged. You will also remove all items off of the walls that get in the way of painting. This of course includes art and other decorations but it also includes outlet covers and similar items.

For items that cannot be removed ensure that you properly tape over them. Some of the worst mistakes people make is to justify painting over an items in their house and say it makes it blend. In reality they were just too lazy to tape it and protect it. It makes the job look much less professional.

Make sure you use painters tape as well. Masking tape may seem the same but it is not made for painting jobs and it will bleed through. Using painters tape ensures that you will not have paint bleeding through when you are using it. Also ensure that you take your time in masking the areas. Press down enough so there are not gaps and bubbles. Use gloves of a small flat scraper if your hand gets tired.

With preparation you can paint your own house and it will look professional. It is a step of importance you do not want to miss. For more house painting tips look online or ask your local paint store professional.

Many people like painting their own houses without hiring a painter from outside. This is an interesting move but if you are inexperienced in painting, it can ruin the aesthetic appeal of you interiors. But that doesn’t mean you should not try painting your home. You can do it well just like a professional painter, if you try and learn the basics of painting. Lot of information is available on painting in the internet. All you need to do is invest some time in reading.

Mostly you will find generalized articles on painting, but if you search for the right keywords, you will find technical ones too. Do not search for help in a painting company’s website or portals, they won’t be offering you any detailed information. Your best bet is getting hold of experts in painting. You can post your queries in forums dealing with interior designing and house remodeling. There you will get some real professional advice. The best part is you can learn some interesting ideas tried and tested by people like you. The tips you get from such social groups and forums can be really valuable. This can help you in making interesting changes in your painting plans, adopt newer tactics and styles.

Once you start learning more about exterior and interior painting through online sources, you will come across different trends prevalent in different corners of the world. There are certain hidden facts about colors that can truly grab your interest. It is believed by several societies that colors used for painting interiors can affect the mood and temperament of the people living in there. It is said that different colors have different vibrations that can intermingle with our mind and senses.

The more you share with real people the more you can learn about house interiors and different makeover techniques that can enhance the beauty and safety of your house and property. The best part is you will get an unbiased opinion about products and tools used for painting and other forms of interior makeover. You don’t have to base your buying decisions on what they show in TV commercials. You don’t have to blindly follow the suggestions of an interior designer or a painter appointed by your painting company. By sharing the experiences of real customers, you can learn about various brands and their distinguished advantages as well as disadvantages.

Your home is your prized possession. Now that you have decided to go ahead and paint it, you must spend some time to decide on how you would go about it and which of the modern home painting ideas you would put into practice. The modern home painting ideas are one that keep today’s life in picture and help you to create a space that would love.

With so many members in the family it is important to give special attention to each one’s personality while doing up their room. Your home must be a reflection of your personality and so the home painting must not be taken as a routine job and done without any thought. It is important to plan every step of the way if you plan to make it a home that you would like to spend time in. If selling your home is an idea that you have in mind, then this requires that you give some extra time to the painting ideas. A good looking home from the outside and equally impressive on the inside is one that would definitely have a prospective buyer interested.

There are a number of modern painting ideas that allow you to make your home one that is beautiful, comfortable and functional. The colors chosen for each room must be done with a lot of factors in mind. The people who would be occupying the space, the activity that is usually carried out in the room, the personality, character and appearance of the entire house all need to be considered and well thought out before you embark on your modern painting ideas. Use different colors that bring out the character of each room. The kitchen and kids room must be bright and utilitarian. As for the exteriors it would be good to keep in mind the architecture of the house, the neighborhood and the picture that you would like to create. Taking a good look of the house from the outside will give you a good idea. Ensure that your mailbox, gutters and all the walls are properly painted from the outside to create a complete and beautiful look.

The exterior painting for residential homes is more than just painting the home itself. It is about painting all the little details like the shutters, house numbers, outdoor furniture, mailboxes, planters, light fixtures and the porches. The most important part of painting these items is proper preparation before painting.

The same kind of preparations you use for painting the exterior of your home should be used when you paint the other parts of your exterior decor. Drop cloths should be use in the areas where you are painting to protect things that you do not want painted or damaged. Any surface that you plan to paint should be free of cracks, holes, nail heads that may be exposed and the surface should be smooth and free of dirt. Any nails that protrude can be countersunk and the hole filled with wood putty. If there are places where there is old caulk this needs to be removed and new applied. Any really shiny or glossy places can be sanded lightly with fine sandpaper so the paint will adhere easier. New siding will have some mill glaze that needs to be sanded away so the paint will adhere properly.

Salt residue may have gathered under the eaves and this will need to be removed before painting. Also any places where there is mildew this will also need to be removed. After all the preparations are completed, the surfaces need to be cleaned with a soft brush of clean cloth with water so that all the dirt and dust has been removed. Then it is time to do priming. Any areas you are painting that have peeled, worn thin or blistered will need to have a coat of primer. Be sure to let this dry thoroughly before continuing.

Some items that you will be painting, like previously painted downspouts and gutters, will need to have peeling paint and rust that needs to be removed by using a wire brush or scraper. This will leave edges where the old paint was removed so the edges will need to be sanded to make the surface smooth. The garden hose with a strong stream can be used to clean under eaves. After all surfaces are clean and very dry, a primer for metal and wood should be applied. Sometimes galvanized downspouts and gutters were coated with fabricating oil when they were new so this will need to be removed before they can be painted. This will require using a grease and oil emulsifier to remove the oil and then a latex primer has to be applied.

If you have a masonry or brick surface that needs to be painted any efflorescence that has accumulated can be removed with your scraper or wire brush before painting. If the surface has been streaked, there is a problem causing this that needs to be corrected or the problem will return after the new paint is applied. If you are planning to paint stucco or block that is newly constructed you will need to wait a month or two before priming and applying your paint.

Painting your porch floor is an opportunity in incorporate a decorative touch to the look of your exterior by painting the floor in a checkerboard type design. This has been a technique used for years and the look carries timeless appeal. The paint that you apply to porches, steps and patios can be made safer by creating a surface that prevents slipping by adding a small amount of fine and clean granular sand into the each gallon of paint that you apply.

Most paints are mixtures of three main ingredients – a pigment, a binder and a liquid. The colour and opacity of paint are due to the presence of a pigment. This can also impart considerable protection to the other ingredients by harmlessly absorbing otherwise destructive ultra-violet light. The simplest paint is whitewash which once applied is merely a coating of pigment in this case chalk. Whitewash does not offer much protection to the surface beneath it because it does not generally contain a binder (sometimes called a film former or resin). A binder holds the pigment together and sticks it to the surface. Binders are normally solids, so to produce a paint which can be spread over an uneven surface the binder is usually broken up into small pieces and suspended in a liquid.

Paints by use.

An ideal ‘all purpose’ paint should satisfy a number of criteria – it should stick strongly to the surface it is applied to, it should cover well, it should leave a decorative and desirable finish, and should last, particularly when used outside. No one paint performs all these functions well; as a result, paints are formulated for specific uses. For example, when painting woodwork, a three-coat system is usually needed consisting of a primer (to stick to the surface beneath), an undercoat to cover well) and a top-coat (to give a pleasing, durable finish).

Primers and sealers.

These should be used on new or exposed woodwork, brickwork, metalwork, plaster and so on. They will slick firmly to the surface, seal, and provide a key for subsequent coats of paint. They should also be used when you want to paint over sound old paintwork with a new. completely different, type of paint. In this situation, primers and sealers prevent chemical attack between the different paints, reduce the likelihood of the new paint not sticking to the old one and should stop the colour of the old paint bleeding through.

A primer by itself is not permanent protection for the surface below – it should be painted over with an undercoat or topcoat as quickly as possible.

Undercoats.

Normally, you use one of these immediately after a primer when building up a paint system, or on old paintwork when you are changing the colour significantly. Undercoats are designed to have: good opacity or hiding power so that you can cover a dark colour with a lighter one without having to apply many coats of paint; a high build capability so that you can put on a thick coat of paint around corners and over sharp edges where paints tend to be spread too thinly; and a soft finish which can be rubbed smooth easily with abrasive paper (ready to lake the next coat).

Topcoats.

These are dual-purpose paints providing both a decorative and protective final coat. They are often available in a choice of finishes matte, eggshell, satin and full gloss. The choice of the topcoat affects the overall appearance of the paint system, its durability and its ability to withstand knocks.

One-coat paints

Some modern paints, including microporous paints and preservative wood-stains. are designed to act as their own primer on bare woodwork and, often, only one, or at the most two coats are needed.