PAINT TECHNIQUES (Part2:paintbrushes)

In this article we concentrate on how to select and use a Paintbrush for your residential painting or commercial painting job.

Paintbrushes

A paintbrush is a versatile tool for applying primers, undercoats, varnishes and topcoats to a variety of surfaces. Use one for applying gloss to wood and metalwork, and for where colours or surfaces meet – around windows and doors, for example.

HOLDING A BRUSH

Hold the handle between the thumb and first finger, resting the fingertips at the top of the handle.

Dip the brush in the paint so it reaches halfway up the bristles then wipe it on the side of the can to remove the excess. Use short, even strokes to apply the paint using both sides of the bristles.

3.Flick the bristles against your hand to remove dust, old paint and loose bristles.USING A BRUSH

1.Stir the paint – unless it is non-drip. Make sure any liquid on the surface is thoroughly mixed into the paint by lifting the stick as you stir.

2.Choose a brush which is the right size. As a rough guide, paint window frames with a 25 mm brush, door panels with a 75 mm brush, and walls and other large surfaces with a 100 mm brush. Grip large brushes around the handle and hold smaller brushes more like a pencil.

4.Dip the brush into a paint pot, to about one half of the bristle depth

5.Press the brush against the pot wall to remove surplus paint. Do not scrape the brush over the rim of the pot because too much paint will come off.

6.After you have applied the paint, wipe the brush on the edge of the pot to remove paint that works up the handle.

PAINTER’S MUG

Bolt a handle to a 500g coffee tin, coating the bolts with silicone to seal the holes. On the opposite side, drill two holes just below the rim of the tin, slide a length of coathanger wire through them, and use to scrape excess point off your brush. Now you have the perfect paint pot.

Flick the bristles to keep dust, particles of dried paint and loose bristles out of your paint.

PAINTING WITH GLOSS

1.Start at the top of the surface. Paint three vertical strips parallel with each other, leaving a gap just narrower than the brush width between the strips.

2.Do not reload the brush. Working from the top, brush across the painted area horizontally to fill the gaps and smooth the paint.

3.With the brush now almost dry, lightly go over the section you have just painted with vertical strokes to ensure an even coating, stopping on an upward stroke. This is called ‘laying off’.

4.Using the same technique, paint a similar sized section underneath the one you have completed, Work the wet point into the dry.

PAINTING A STRAIGHT EDGE

In most cases, painting a straight edge means following a guide that is already in place, such as the junction of a wall with a baseboard. If there are no guides available, use a plumb line for marking vertical lines or a carpenter’s level for horizontal lines.

TIP To keep paint or stain from running down your arm when working overhead, wear a rubber glove, roll the cuff back, and put some toilet paper inside. The paper will absorb the drips.

PAINTING WITH TACRYLIC

1. Start at the top of the wall. Apply the paint in all directions, working horizontally across the surface and moving down when one band is complete. Do not put the paint on too thickly.

2. Lay off the paint with light brush strokes and a fairly dry brush, working in a crisscross pattern. Lift the paint finally on upward strokes.

PAINTING A TEXTURED SURFACE 

When painting a surface with a heavy texture or relief, load the brush with more paint than for a smooth ceiling or wall. This cuts down the time it takes to coat the surface and fill all the little indentations. But dip to only a third of the bristle depth.

If you are painting a very heavily textured surface, use a brush as wide as you can comfortably manage without putting too much strain on your wrist. A 100 mm paintbrush is ideal. With a textured coating on a wall or a ceiling, you can use a shaggy pile roller instead.

CUTTING-IN WHERE COLOURS MEET 

Where walls meet the ceiling and where adjacent walls are of different colours, keep the meeting edge as straight and as neat as possible. This is one job you should not rush

1.Turn the paintbrush edge on, holding it like a pen.

2.Load the brush with enough paint to cover about one-third of the bristle depth.

3.Press the brush flat against the surface so that a small amount of paint (the bead) is squeezed from the bristles. Work towards the edge gradually, rather than trying to get close immediately.

4.Draw the brush sideways or downwards along the surface, keeping your hand steady all the time

CUTTING-IN

Achieve a neat finish along wall and ceiling edges by first painting the edges with a brush, before switching to a roller or pad.

1.Paint four or five overlapping strokes at right angles to the edge.

2.Cross-brush over the painted area in a long, sweeping motion, keeping parallel with the edge.

KEEP A LID ON IT

Pour enough paint into your pot to cover about half of the bristles of your brush. A continuous supply of fresh, new paint will result in a better job. Keep the lid on the paint tin to exclude dust and debris. A layer of aluminum foil or plastic inside the pot will help to reduce cleaning later.

Using old paint

Wipe the rim before you open an old tin of paint. If a skin has formed, cut around the edge and lift it out. Stir the paint well and then strain it through an old stocking to remove any bits of hardened paint.

Residential painting services

Whether you are looking for a residential painting service for your entire house or even one room, Beverly Painting will meet and exceed your expectations for interior and exterior house painting.

We promise to finish your house painting on time and clean up after ourselves.

We respect that we will be working at your home and we have a policy of no-smoking, no loud music, and we only employ people with the appropriate language skills who act with courtesy, punctuality and cleanliness.

We provide a fixed quote for your house painting with no hidden costs or extra charges.

We prove our quality with a 3 year, no questions asked, warranty. We act on any concerns or problems quickly and courteously, with no hassle. We honour our warranty.

We are proud of our reputation. We also have warranty insurance to cover residential painting and commercial painting jobs. You can be confident that we are focussed on providing outstanding workmanship with superior quality every time.

In addition, we offer a 10 Year Gold Warranty which is part of a long term maintenance contract that we provide to retain the high standard of painting that has been established.

Our painting job isn’t done until we receive your complete approval and satisfaction and you will pay balance invoice when you are 100% satisfied from our house painting job.

Our projects speak for themselves. Customers are our best asset and we can provide testimonials on request.

PAINT TECHNIQUES part1

By this series of articles, Beverly Painting will take you through all DIY painting steps from preparation to paint a room including choosing the right paint. In this article we concentrate on paint preparation.

Preparing the paint

So, you have purchased your paint and you want to get stuck in to the residential painting or commercial painting job, but there are a few things you need to do first to ensure a successful painting job.

BLENDING FOR COLOUR

If the job you are working on requires two or three 4 litre cans of paint, mix, or ‘box’, the paint from all the cans together to get a consistent colour. To do this, find a clean container and open all of the paint cans (Make sure you are using right device to remove the lids). Pour half of the paint from the first can into the extra container. Then pour some paint from the second and third cans into the first can. Move to the extra container and pour in some more paint from the second and third cans. Then pour the contents of all four containers back and forth several times. When the paint is mixed, return it to the original containers and seal the lids tightly. A much quicker alternative is to mix all the paint together in a single 20 litre container, if you can find a suitable one.

Mixing it up

Any electric drill mixing attachment is handy for water-based and oil-based paints. But don’t use the attachment to stir lacquer, epoxy paint, shellac, or any finish that includes ‘Do not shake can’ on its label. You won’t need to do battle with the bubbles that power-mixing stirs up. Instead, stir these paints and finishes by hand; they will stay fairly free of bubbles.

Newspaper collar

Here is another home-made way to minimise the mess created when stirring a full can of paint. Increase the height of the can by taping some folded sheets of newspaper around it. Any spills will fall onto the paper and not onto your workbench or floor.

Splatter shield

Stirring full cans of paint with a drill-driven mixer can splatter paint everywhere. One way to contain the mess is with a large coffee tin lid (one that comes with the 500 g or 1 kg tins). Drill a hole in the centre of the lid and slip it onto the mixer shaft before inserting the mixer into the drill. Hold the lid tightly over the paint can while you are mixing.

Milk carton mixer

Cut off the top of a clean 1 litre cardboard milk carton and use it as a container for mixing (or just holding) small amounts of paint or stain. The paint won’t stick to the wax coated interior, and the corner of the carton makes a good pouring spout.

Manual stirring

manual paint stirrer is more effective if it has several holes along its length. With each stroke the paint flows back and forth through the holes, allowing for faster, more thorough blending. You can buy a perforated metal stirrer or make your own wooden one. To make your own, find a long flat piece of scrap timber and use a drill to make a series of small holes. Rinse your stirrer thoroughly after use to prevent the holes from getting clogged with dried paint.

The holes in this stirrer allow paint to pass through easily which assists mixing and helps to prevent paint from spilling over the edge of the paint pot.

As always now it is the time for practical painting tips:

Top tips for peerless painting

Painting is an inexpensive way to make a big difference to the feel of your home, and to add value. To get you started, here are some essential painting tips to give you a flawless finish, every time.

• Always prepare your surfaces thoroughly. All preparatory work must be done before you start painting. So check that all surfaces are stable, as smooth as possible, primed where necessary and are clean and dry.
• Buy the best quality brushes and rollers you can afford – poor quality tools are a false economy and can often result in an unsatisfactory finish.
• Stir the paint well before use, pulling the pigment up from the bottom to the top. Paint colour can also vary sightly from can to can, so try to paint an entire wall or surface from the one can, if possible.
• Be methodical and systematic in your painting technique. Always work from top to bottom. Paint the ceiling first, before starting on the walls or the trim.
• Always cut-in (paint around the edges) before rolling a wall or a ceiling.
• Never paint when the temperature is falling. Choose a warm, dry day for optimal drying conditions. When painting outside, choose to work after a dry spell, as paint will not take to damp surfaces.
• Allow adequate drying time between coats of paint. One thing you never want to do is hurry a paint job – allow surfaces time to dry overnight if you can, so that the second coat is applied to a dry surface.

Painting services for Education Centers

Beverly Painting will help you to complete your university or school painting project safely, on time and on budget, with minimum disruption to your staff, students and administrators schedules.

Our estimators will provide a specified painting schedule to assist with planning and budgeting for your project including an accurate painting price, methodology and a complete work breakdown structure.

We also offer weekends and night works as well school holidays, public holidays and Christmas periods.
We provide Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) that will be site specific for each university or school painting project and toolbox talks prior to the commencement of each work shift.

Our university or school painting supervisors and teams will follow our Quality Management System (QMS) including our Workplace Health and Safety Handbook to ensure safe and high quality painting services.

We determine the most cost effective and safest method to access your building as well as stay competitive by utilising our own EWP and scaffolding.

To ensure the highest quality finish, we use only premium brands of paint and by using low-VOC products, your staff and students can enjoy a freshly painted environment without the odour of new paint.

We listen to our customers. At Beverly Painting, we have a policy of no-smoking, no loud music, and we only employ people with the appropriate language skills who act with courtesy, punctuality and cleanliness.

Our projects speak for themselves. Customers are our best asset and we can provide testimonials on request.

Painting services for Education Centers