Painting Concrete and Masonry Surfaces

Painting a concrete surface can really liven things up if done properly. Concrete and masonry surfaces have two different types of surfaces, smooth and porous. Each will take on a different type of process. Garage floors are different altogether and I have written a three part series on painting a garage floor. The purpose of this article will be for other types of masonry and concrete painted surfaces.

Items you will need to paint the concrete

Power Washer: This will remove flaking paint, mold and dirt which is important for correct adherence of primer and paint.

Brush: This you will need to cut out edging with and get where a roller cannot.

Roller: You will need a couple of covers and you will need the appropriate nap for the type of surface it is to be used on.

Primer/Sealer: Most masonry surfaces will need to be primed or sealed before you apply paint.

Paint: Use a high quality paint that is appropriate for the surface(floor paint for floors, exterior paint when outside, etc.)

Floor Texture: This is an additive that is stirred into the paint to provide a surface that is not so slippery.

Concrete Patch: Use a ready-mix concrete patch to repair any cracks that are in the surface.

Scraper: Used where you cannot use power washer to remove flaking paint.

Wire Brush: Use where you have to and cannot get with power washer.

Tri-Sodium Phosphate: AKA - TSP. Good for removing any grease or oils.

Scrub Brush And Handle : You will need a scrub brush with a pole type of handle to clean the surface with TSP.

5 Gal Bucket: Use for mixing the TSP with water.

Brush Cleaner: If using oil based paint and primer you will need mineral spirits or paint thinner to clean up equipment and tools.

Block will require a block filler which is a very thick primer that fills all the holes in the block. If it is outdoors you will need to power was first and allow it to dry.

Clean and Prep Concrete Surfaces for Painting

Power wash any surface you can removing dirt, grease mold or whatever may be on the surface using the TSP, scraping with the scraper and wire brush where needed. Then fill the cracks with the concrete patch.

Concrete or masonry surfaces should be sealed with a sealer before painting to keep moisture from coming through for this will cause bubbling and peeling. Primer should then be used for the paint to adhere properly. Block can be filled with block filler primer. Once this has been completed you are ready to paint.

Paint The Surface

High quality paint should be used and if it is a floor then floor paint should be used. Always use the appropriate product for the type of suface you are painting. The nap on the roller can vary fron 3/8 inch to 3/4 inch. #/8 for solid smooth surfaces and 3/4 for rough surfaces. Cut in all your edges first then roll. If a second coat is needed then apply a second coat. Always make sure the sufaces are dry when applying coats and wait the correct time before placing second coats down. It is a good idea to read the maufacturer labels first.

Painting With The Color Red

By Jeremy Berger

Red tends to be one of the most difficult colors to work with when painting a room color. The reason for that is that red pigments are very translucent causing whatever is underneath to show. Therefore when overlapping paint you will see a darker spot on the overlap.

This is easily overcome in a couple of ways. The first should be that you choose a quality paint such as Benjamin Moore and use the top quality for the brand you are choosing. Flat paints do much better than eggshell or semi gloss finishes so choosing a flat finish would be more beneficial. The next is an important step to take so your not putting five coats of paint on and that is use a primer that has been tinted Grey. Ask you paint dealer to tint your primer Grey and put one coat of this on the wall or whatever you are painting first.

Following these steps will result in a much nicer looking red wall and you will not need to put as many coats on. Keep in mind that red tinted paint tends to be the most expensive on the market because of the translucency of the red tint and the need to put more tint in than other colors. A gallon of red can run up to 60 dollars per gallon, although more likely around 45 dollars.

Decorative And Faux Painting Is Fun But Don’t Start Until You Read This

Submitted By: Dorrie Ruplinger
I think decorative and faux painting techniques look great, are fun to do, and add a personal statement to a room. I’ve been adding my personal look to the walls in my homes ever since my husband and I purchased our first “fixer-upper.”

When I first starting using faux and decorative painting techniques on the walls in our home it was a financially motivated action. We didn’t have a lot of extra money. I couldn’t afford new furniture or flooring for a room but I could afford to buy some paint. But just painting the walls a solid color seemed boring to me so I started exploring faux and decorative painting. It didn’t take me long to get hooked.

Why do I like faux and decorative painting on walls so much?

1) It’s an inexpensive way to change the look of an entire room. Paint is the most economical way to change the look of a room.

2) A painting technique on the walls minimizes and hides cosmetic flaws such as surface cracks and less than perfect patching jobs.

3) It’s easy to change when you’re sick of it. Repainting a room that has paint on the walls is a whole lot easier and much less time consuming than stripping wallpaper off walls and preparing those walls for paint.

4) It adds your own personal look and style to a space. Color and texture are fun and interesting. An entire home painted the same off-white color is dull and boring to me. A faux painting technique can evoke any mood you want in a room whether it’s a Tuscan look, retro 70’s look, a country look, something elegant, a cheery bright look for a child’s room, or any other look you want.

5) The choices of techniques and paints are nearly endless. Some of the more popular technique choices include: sponging, ragging, dragging, color washing, stenciling, crackling (http://www.decorativepaintingzone.com/faux/cracklingfauxpainting), marbling, gilding, wood-graining, spattering, feather-dusting, and stippling. You could also use one of the specialty paint products on the market today such as Venetian plaster to create the look you want or buy a faux painting kit such as a Woolie painting kit to help make your project as fun and easy as possible.
While I highly recommend faux or decorative painting, there are a few things I’ve learned since I’ve started faux painting that I’d like to share with you. Some of these items are things to “not do” that I’ve learned the hard way.

Others are tips and suggestions that were helpful to me.

1) Go to your local paint store or decorative painting store and look at the samples they have. For example, Home Depot has lots of different booklets and paint chips with faux paint finishes on them for you to look at and even take home to look at in your lighting. That pretty metallic finish on a paint chip in the store make look garish when you get it home and look at it in your home’s natural lighting.

2) Consider taking a class before doing your first project. Some paint stores and home improvement stores, such as Home Depot, offer free faux painting clinics and workshops. You can also find some very good faux painting classes for a reasonable fee by looking in your local paper or doing an Internet search.

3) Practice your technique on a piece of scrap wallboard before doing it on your wall. This is especially important if you are blending colors. A few years ago my son wanted his bedroom painted. He wanted me to use a Woolie (a great faux painting tool available at most paint supply stores) to blend together a burgundy and a caramel color. Each color looked great by itself, but when they got blended together too much a dark fuchsia color emerged. And anything resembling pink was not something my son wanted on his wall!

Because I had been faux painting for years I didn’t listen to my own advice about trying the technique on a piece of scrap board first nor did I buy sample sizes of paint to try out. I bought gallons because I wanted to save time. Luckily the store agreed to exchange the paint for me free of charge but we did have to paint over a wall and wait for it to dry before starting over with new colors.

4) Remember that the texture of your walls will dictate, to some extent, what faux painting techniques you can and cannot use. If your walls are smooth you can do just about any technique you want. But textured walls are very common, especially in newer homes. You may see striped walls in a brochure or on a sample wall and decide that’s what you want to do in your home; but if your walls are textured it’s going to be nearly impossible to achieve straight lines for your stripes. Keep in mind that faux finishes on paint chips from a store are done on a smooth surface. They will look a little different (but may still look very nice) if you do that same technique with the same colors on a textured wall.

5) If you’re going to do a faux technique in an entire room don’t start on the wall that people will first look at when they walk into the room. That means don’t start on the wall directly across from the doorway. Unless you’re a professional, it takes a little while for you to get your technique perfected in a room. Put that less than perfect start in the least noticeable part of the room.

6) If you get tired while painting and need a break, don’t stop in the middle of a wall. Stop at a corner. If you stop in the middle of the wall and don’t come back to work on the project again until after the paint is dry, you’re going to have a noticeable line on the wall. It won’t be pretty.

7) Think twice about mixing your own color with paint you have at home unless you are absolutely positive you’re going to have enough paint to do the entire job. If you mix your own color and run out of paint before you finish it will be time-consuming and challenging to match that color. You might be able to match it because many paint stores have specialty machines that can match a paint chip you take in, but if you’ve mixed together two different sheens of paint (for example let’s say you mixed a flat paint and a satin paint together) you’re going to have a hard time reproducing that same sheen. In some cases it may not be noticeable; but in other cases it will.

If you’re a beginner, start with an easy paint technique. Sponging is very easy and looks great. Another favorite of mine is the Woolie I mentioned earlier. There are a couple of different types. I like the Woolie roller best. It’s really easy to use and the results are fantastic. It comes with a short video. Watch it before you start painting. If you’re not going to watch the video before you buy your paint, there’s one important thing to remember. Buy paint colors that are at least two places away from each other on a paint strip. For example, if you pick out a paint strip with 5 yellows on it, don’t buy two colors that are right next to each other because they will be so close in color that you won’t see much variation when you put those colors on the wall and start to blend them.
Published At: www.Isnare.com
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Make Decorative Painting Come Alive With Color

Submitted By: Glover Paul
As a home decorator or someone who simply wants to breath some fresh air into your living environment, it's important that you get out of the habit of reaching for the white paint when it's time to freshen up your walls. Not that there's anything wrong with white paint - it's just so standard that it has quite truthfully become a bit boring and sterile. To give your environment a splash of personality, why not try some real color?

Beware The Power Of Color!

We all know that color influences our moods. Unless your walls are white (or even off-white), your environment can actually dictate the kind of behavior that you want to experience. Now we're not suggesting that you engage in any psychological warfare or anything, but we are suggesting that you take some time in selecting the colors that you want your walls painted with because they can create a feeling - whether you want them to or not!

Moods, Feelings, and the Effect of Color

Generally, deep blues, greens and browns reinforce the feelings that we experience when we're outdoors. These are the colors of nature, however black, white, gold, purples and/or rich reds give us a feeling of elegance or even royalty. Yellow, red, and orange colors can visually warm a room, while blue and dark purple can cool it down. Calming colors are green and blue while colors that excite us are red, orange, and yellow.

The Role of Decorative Painting in Creating a Mood

Decorative painting makes use of these feelings and combines them in such a way that they may even create multiple moods in one setting. Generally, decorative painting attempts to set an overall mood while the objects and/or appliances in a room complete the mood. For example, a room that's painted blue may include light purple carpeting and dark green blinds. The blue walls tie the purple and green together because both purple and green contain a little blue inside of them: red + blue = purple; yellow + blue = green.
Complimentary and Accent Colors

Complimentary colors are hues that blend in well with a main color because they contain a little of the main color. And our carpet and blinds example demonstrates the use of complimentary colors. Accent colors on the other hand are small bits of color that make a main color stand out. Back in our example room, a collection of small red pottery or a yellow lamp might appropriate serve as accent colors.

Making a Bold or Subtle Statement With Color

Decorative painting - whether it's applied to half a wall, one wall, two walls, or all the walls of a room can certainly exploit this science of color theory and help to make a statement. The statement needn't be bold - your environment can certainly quietly speak through muted colors and subtle variations. The important thing is that you're aware of its power and use its power to your advantage.