Expert Painting Tips
Improve Your Brush Strokes
Use the largest brush suitable for the surface.
You’ll need small brushes for narrow surfaces, but larger brushes carry more paint so there’s less dipping to refill and fewer strokes to cover the surface. Reduce your effort by choosing the largest suitable brush.
Don’t press too hard on the brush.
Paint should be applied with the tips of the brush, not the sides. "Riding the brush" leaves marks in the coating and can bend or break the filament.
Paint Tips from the Professionals
Painting
When painting a room, begin with the ceiling. First paint the edges of the ceiling with a brush, trim roller, or pad painter to make a "frame" about 5-inches wide. This is called "cutting-in." Now you can paint the rest of the ceiling with a roller, beginning in one corner and working across the width or narrowest part, then back.
Extension poles (or "extension handles") can make roller painting faster and easier for hard-to-reach areas like ceilings. They range from 1-foot to 16-feet in length. Some, like the Wooster Quik-Lok® fiberglass pole, telescope or adjust for a multitude of painting situations. With an extension pole, you can probably stand on the floor instead of a ladder when painting ceilings.
To paint the walls, follow the same procedure. Paint the edges, then start in an upper corner of the wall and fill in the area. Finish one wall completely before you start the next. Don’t stop painting in the middle of the wall, or you could end up with lap marks.
- If you can’t move the furniture out of the room, push it all into the center and cover it with drop cloths. Remove outlet covers, wall heating vents, light fixtures, and other hardware.
- Scrape flaking paint or rust from the surface. The Wooster Prep Crew® wire brushes are very helpful here because they have more bristles to work faster and durable wrap-around handles to protect your fingers. The Wooster Sky Scraper® scraper also works well for this, especially on wood.
- If you are repainting over a semigloss or gloss paint, the gloss should be removed by sanding or else the new coats of paint may not adhere. A liquid cleaning/dulling agent can sometimes be used instead of sanding.
- Look for cracks in the surface. Now is the time to repair them. Fill the cracks, chips, splinters, and nail holes with patching plaster, spackling compound, or wood putty, whichever is appropriate.
- When the patch is dry, sand it lightly and feather the edges of any rough areas so they’re level with the rest of the surface. Spot prime to "seal" those areas. If you’re working on metal, sand the entire object so that any rough areas are level with the rest of the surface (the smoother the surface, the better it will look after it’s painted.).
- Wash the surface with a good detergent solution to get rid of grease, dirt and dust. Rinse thoroughly with clean water and allow it to dry completely.
- Here’s A Key To "The Professional Look"
Use the proper primer on the entire surface if it is newly constructed, stained by water or smoke, prone to mildew, rusted, or aged. Your paint store can provide recommendations. Primer really helps to seal and even-out the surface and/or prevent rust. The paint will go on smoother, adhere better, and last longer. - Tape off baseboards, moldings, window frames, or any other areas that you don’t want painted. (Note: Tape will help to avoid paint smudges and drips, but it does not guarantee a sharp edge. You should still paint carefully, trying not to touch the tape.) For painting ceilings, cover the entire floor with drop cloths. When painting walls, you can probably get away with only covering the floor next to the wall you’re painting.
Cleanup Tips
Remove tape from woodwork with a slow, steady pull. A damp rag wrapped over a scraper can be used to remove any latex paint drips that sneaked under the tape onto the woodwork.
To preserve the high quality of your Wooster paint applicators, clean them immediately after use. For detailed instructions, see the Cleanup page.
Make sure the paint has dried completely before refurnishing the room. Congratulations on your successful painting project!
Now you are ready to paint!
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