Today on Repairs101 : interior painting. Today on Repairs101 I’ve just finished painting this room. I’ll take you back in time and show you some of the tools. And some of the tricks to get a professional job done quick and easy. Don’t worry I’m not going to bore you with a lot of footage of me painting. I’ll show you some of the things that you can do yourself.
Tools of the trade
Most of the tools you’re going to need to do pretty much any home paint job. Frames and roller sponges, paint trays, brushes, some acetone, spackle and some putty knives, a variety of scrapers. A couple of handle extensions. Got this great little hammer, a cold chisel. A caulking gun and a couple of tubes of caulk to do around the windows and stuff. Grab some drop sheets, make sure you’ve got some newspaper handy. The old bucket that I keep it all in and over there in the corner the two step stepladder. Had it for about twenty years. Except for the stains and a bit of spackle on the sides of it it’s just as good as the day I bought it.
I’ve got a screwdriver — not for opening the paint cans but just for taking the fixture covers off the walls. I’ve got a paint can opener. Wanted to show you the difference between a good paint can opener and a great one. A good paint can opener is specially designed. It has this little hook on the end of it that’s specially designed to get in under the lip. A great paint can opener is designed to open beer bottles as well.
Tricks of the trade
And if you’re going to want your friends to help. I’ll tell you: you’re going to need beer. Show you about the brushes. Quite seriously two bucks for this one, this one was only ninety-nine cents. Is the size of the bristle mass. Longer handle and the longer bristles cut on an angle. That’s going to be my brush of choice. If you’re a great painter, which I’m not. You’ll be able to keep it clean from that point up and never get any paint into the binding part. Because that’s very difficult if not impossible to clean out. Pro painters brushes only stained from this point down. And it’s quite a remarkable skill if you ask me. Reason I suggest that you get something with a larger bristle mass like this one on the left is going to pick up a lot more paint.
Now a professional painter curses every time he has to bend over to get some more paint. And he or she is going to picking up as much paint as possible. With as big as brush as possible. And I have seen people working with four inch brushes. I find it just amazing that they can control the paint so easily. But again: practice makes perfect. for rollers and frames, you know, I have got quite a few.
This little fellow is just terrific for reaching in behind the toilet. Or something like that if you are doing a bathroom.
Professional results
As far as the roller sponges go. I just buy these nice cushy ones for the fact that they pick up the most paint and go the furthest because I don’t spray on. Again professionals, two guys. One will spray and the other will roll right behind him. And do an amazing job in the matter of minutes. It’s all in the prep work really. It’s all about getting the furniture out, getting the paper down, and getting tape on what needs to be taped. This old fashioned system is cheap and effective. I have chosen CIL acrylic latex paint. should be shaken up at the paint store. I got this paint at Wal-Mart for only nineteen dollars a gallon, an exceptionally good price.
Start stirring and don’t stop until it is all blended. Find the centre point where you going to be pouring –the handle go perpendicular find the centre. Use a small cold chisel like this one and cut through a drainage hole. The paint dripping into the paint can and where it came from. Through that drainage hole I cut with that cold chisel.
Roll, cut, roll
Keep it quick and effective. Its roll, cut, roll. that’s all you need to know, roll, cut, roll. Usually all you need if you are just doing one colour over itself or white over white. Just go for roll cut roll and you’re done. So as far as cutting goes. You just want to go cut everywhere where you couldn’t get the roller. And then, the next pass with the roller – everything is forgiven.
All of your brush marks will disappear underneath the fresh roller marks. I have worked with some professional guys and seen them cut and I got to tell you… It just blows me away, the speed at which some guys learn to get going. They pick up as much paint as possible. They’re much braver than I am. They use four inch brushes. This is only a 2 inch brush. They get in there and move fast. I have worked with guys who would just paint circles around me. Quite literally. With just some hot water in the sink, this cleaned up really well. That was a long hard day and I got two coats down. Anyway the professionals I’ve worked with have all said that if you are not going to bother doing two coats… Well just don’t bother doing even one.
