Painting Tips: Paneled Door

Painting a paneled door is actually quite simple. I will show you how to do a coat in less than 5 minutes. That would be ten minutes per door with two coats. What you will need is some small rollers ( roller Lite). These rollers are 3/8 inch fabric nap, small pan and also a good quality nylon brush.

What you need to do is place some cardboard or something under your doors so as not to drip any paint first. The trick to painting the door quickly lies in the small roller (Roller Lite). You will start with the first panel by rolling the inside squares on the top and the grove around the squares first. Once you have rolled those out you will roll the flat parts surrounding the squares. You must move fairly quickly and getting it perfect is not important because you are going to back brush it with your paint brush in a square manner starting with an up and dorm motion on the top square panels. Then you will outline the groves making sure the paint fills in. Once that has been done you then run your brush along the flat parts in the direction they run ( across for ones going across and up and down for those up and down).

The long panels you will work one at a time so the paint does not start to dry and drag when you brush it. Keep going until the door is completed. The first door may take you a bit longer but after you get the hang of it painting a paneled door should be a breeze.

Interior Painting Tips: Two Coats Of Paint

Is it necessary to paint two coats of paint? Alot of clients ask me if I can just paint one coat to save them money on the project. My answer is always "NO", unless there is not to much for marks on a wall that is going to get the same exact color that is their now.

The reason not is one coat just does not have the ability to fully cover a wall. Rollers create "holidays" (spots missed) and any change in color will show through on one coat hidering the true color of the paint.

Painting a second coat in a room while you are there is actually no trouble at all. A room 20 foot by 20 foot would take me just 30 minutes to get a second coat on. So, if you were to save money it would be so minimal that it is not worth the consequence of doing so.

Painting Tips: Textured Paint for Uneven Walls and Wood Paneling

Are your walls stressed and outdated with cracks and various anomalies and you do not have the budget to replace them, then maybe check out this painting tip? Painting your walls with textured paint can provide an excellent way to cover the wall and make it look good. This technique of using textured paint can be used to cover uneven Sheetrock, wallpaper, wood paneling, concrete and block walls and many other surfaces.

If you will be using textured paint to cover wood paneling you will need to remove any dividers between panels. Make sure to prime the paneling with a stain kill before filling in any seams with Spackle then sand it. For all other surfaces you will need to prepare your walls as you normally would for painting.

For the textured paint there are a couple of products you can use, an already mixed texture in the paint or an texture additive you will need to mix in the paint. The texture additive for paint is great because you have the freedom to choose whatever paint you want to use and the texture additive itself is inexpensive running around 4 dollars for every two gallons of paint. Once you have chosen your product ( one such product is Paint N Tex by Homax ), you are ready to set up get some textured paint on your walls.

Using a 1/2 roller sleeve you can roll out the surfaces as you would paint any other surface. A second coat, once the first has dried for 24 hours, can then be rolled on the wall. Now your walls should have a stylish updated textured paint look! You can even use this technique coupled with faux painting as well. Good Luck, now go update those walls with some textured paint.

Painting Tips: Painting Rooms High Cielings Without Scaffolding Needed

Most folks look up at thier high cieling and feel defeated right away because of the hieght and not knowing how to paint it with ladders and not scaffolding. This will be a very short article, painting a high cieling is a cinch quite frankly!

The room can be completed with ladders only and there is no need for a complicated set up of scaffolding to paint rooms with high cielings!

If you have a light in the middle you can use tall A-frame ladders and for cutting in you can use extention ladders. Make sure the ladder is secure and you have a person footing the ladder. Also placing a board accross the top of the ladder will help in being secure accross sheetrock. To roll a long pole will be used. Really that is all there is to it! Should take you not much longer than a normal room to finish!

Painting Tips:How To Stain and Finish Wood Trim

Staining natural wood trim is not the tedious project you might think. However, a smooth finish without bumps or brush marks will bring out the true beauty of your finished product. This article will show you just how to achieve that perfect stained and finished wood trim that will have an eye catching appeal in three days. You will learn what products and tools to use and how to use them. Let's begin!



Selecting the Wood Trim

When selecting trim at the store you want to choose trim that has been jointed for staining. This trim can be slightly more expensive because it has been jointed to conseal the joint as best as possible. Other trim is jointed with the idea that it will be primed and painted. When choosing the trim you will want to pick out the most appealing pieces that have similiar color, some pieces may be darker than others.

Sanding the Wood Trim

Sanding is the process that most folks in thier mind dread. This is really a very simple process in preparing your trim for staining and finishing. Sanding the bare wood plays an crucial roll in achieving a great finish by providing a uniform surface that can absorb the stain evenly and a smooth surface for the clear coat finish after staining the trim. We need to get rid of any sawmill "burnish" which is the shiny surface left from the mill cut. In addition sanding will remove any fibers and blemishes, which can be dirt, machine marks, finger prints or whatever can be sanded off.

There are different types of sanding equiptment and products you can use, but depending on the profile and size of trim will determine the correct one. For lage areas or areas that have chatter marks you can use an orbital sander. Sponge sanding can be used for flat surfaces, pads can be used for curves and folded sandpaper for crevices. Using 100 grit sandpaper you will always sand with the grain of the wood. Once you have achieved a smooth finish by touch and having a good look with some good lighting your piece will be finished. Achieving this will not be as bad as you think and should go fairly quickly. Once done be sure to clean the room of any dust!

Staining the Wood Trim

Using good quality finishing tools will make the process go easier and provide a quality finish. Purchace two good quality 2 1/2 inch china bristle brushes (around 20dollars each) to use for staining, dry brushing and applying the clear coat finish. Additionally you will need to have 100 percent cotton rags for wiping the stain. Disposable gloves to keep your hands free of stain and clear finish would be a good idea to. You will also need tack cloths to remove any dust between clear cot finishes that need to be sanded between coats.

Make sure you stir the stain and dip you brush in putting a generous ammount on then brush it accross the trim evenly. Once applied imediately wipe down the piece of trim and move on to the next piece doing the same. All the areas and pieces need to soak the stain with the same amount of time before wiping, so be consistant. Use new rags constantly when they become full of stain. Leave those rags out to dry up before disposing of them. Be sure the room you are staining in is well ventalated or and you have a quality charcoal mask! You will need to also dry brush any cracks and crevises the rags could not reach so the stain does not pool up and cause uneven dark spots. If the stain gets tacky before wiping just apply a little more stain to loosen it up. If thier are light areas or dark areas you can touch these up by wiping a bit more or putting more stain in the area and wiping it off again. The stained trim must now sit overnight.

Applying the Sealer

The stained trim is now ready for the sanding sealer. Brush the sanding sealer on the trim then "tip it off" immediately with long strokes of the brush down the length of the trim. Let this dry over night then sand lightly with sandpaper so there is a cloudy look to it. Then vacume any dust and use a tack cloth remove any remaining dust.

Applying the Varnish

Now just brush the varnish on, again "tipping off" as before for a smooth finish. Since trim does not get alot of use one coat should be good. If you desire thicker coats or thier were two many bumps and specks to just flick off you may sand the trim lightly with a fine sanding pad and put another coat of varnish on after making sure thier is no dust left over in the room or on the trim.