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Painting your interior
If the interior of your house seems dull, faded or simply
out of style, it may be that you need to refresh it with
new, bright colours. Here's how you can do it.
Varnish
your stairs while using them
When covering, painting or varnishing staircases, it is
naturally recommended to stay off them. But, if this is
impossible?Both up and down! First, apply the product on the
risers. Next, apply the product on the odd numbered treads
(first, third, etc.). Once the "odds" are dry, do the same
on the "even" numbered treads (two, four, etc.).
Choosing the right paint texture
Each paint finish has its own properties. The more matte the
finish, the more it hides imperfections and uneven
reflections, but it's less washable. The glossier the
finish, the more washable it is, but also the more sensitive
to imperfections and it will mask less efficiently. In
order: glossy, semi-gloss, pearl, eggshell, satin, matte.
Semi-gloss is best for hall walls and for windows and
frames; use matte on ceilings and satin and pearl for the
rest. Kitchens, bathrooms and basements have their own
antifungal paints.
Ready-to-use paintbrushes
Restore flexibility to your old paintbrushes by soaking them
for a few hours in a mixture of water and ammonia. Rinse
them thoroughly under running water before letting them dry,
bristle side up.
Masking
streaks
When painting, if you run across a partly dried streak, let
it dry completely. You'll then be able to scrape it lightly
with a scraper, a clean spatula or a straight blade, before
retouching it with the paintbrush.
When
paint rollers lose their fibres
To prevent your paint rollers from losing their fibres, roll
them on the back of a length of masking tape before
painting. This sticky surface will trap the loose fibres
before they mix with the paint and appear on your freshly
painted walls.
Transformed kitchen cupboards
To transform wood or melamine kitchen cupboards, add crown
moldings above and regular moldings a few inches around the
doors and drawers. Glue and pre-drilled nail holes are
recommended for melamine. Then paint the entire surface with
a special primer, followed by a special paint for kitchens
and bathrooms that contains anti-fungal substances or with
melamine paint. Clean the surfaces thoroughly and sand
lightly for a professional finish, which can also be
obtained by texturing the paint.
Will it
be water or oil-based paint?
When its time to repaint an apartment, you'll have to know
if the walls are already covered with oil paint, which will
need a coat of oil primer before applying latex. A rubbing
alcohol or nail polish remover soaked cotton ball rubbed
against the wall will lose color if the wall is coated with
latex.
Getting
rid of paint on a carpet
It's possible to get dry paint stains out of a carpet by
pouring a few drops of paint thinner or stripper on the
stain and thoroughly rubbing the spot with a dry cloth.
Follow this with soapy water to prevent potential long and
short term damages from the stripper. Test this method first
by trying it on a less visible area.
Painting textured wallpaper
It's possible to paint wallpaper by first wiping it with a
dry cloth and then applying an oil primer that plugs
micropores like Bin, Coverstain or Zinger. On textured
paper, use a longhaired roller (15mm or more). The results
will surprise you.
Doing
clean touchups
During light painting jobs, put a "Zip Lock" type sandwich
bag in a plastic margarine tub and fold the bag edges over
the rim. Pour the paint into the bag of your "paint tray"
and once the job is over, remove the bag and seal it, or
throw it away.
When
latex flakes on oil paint
Nothing is more maddening than seeing your meticulously
applied coat of latex begin flake off an oil surface because
it won't stick. To get rid of the offending coat without
sanding, dilute a good measure of rubbing alcohol in hot
water. The solution will dilute the latex that will come off
easily. But don't forget to protect the floor as this
technique is as messy as it is efficient.
Filling
holes with flour
To quickly fill small nail holes in walls, mix flour with
the paint that colors the wall to make a paste. With a putty
knife or a spatula, fill the holes in the same way that you
would using joint compound and wipe off the excess. This
colored paste will fill the holes and you won't have to get
out the paintbrush.
Painting pre-finished panels: simple as one, two, three !
Tired of that pre-finished paneling on your basement walls?
Paint it!
The secret of success lies in the preparation of the
surface. Follow these three easy steps and there you'll have
it!
1.Sand the surface to give it more adherence.
2.Wash the surface to remove the dust from the sanding.
3.Apply an Alkyd Base Coat and let dry for 16 hours.
Now that the surface is well prepared, you can apply the
latex or alkyd paint of your choice. |
