Painting Made Easy: Some Practical Advice

Painting is one of those things that homeowners choose to take on themselves and are very successful at it. The clean up afterwards is another story. Many homeowners will buy cheap brushes, which can be thrown out afterwards, to avoid as much of the messy clean up as possible. There are a few things you can do to make the clean up more bearable, and even keep the good quality paintbrushes in good standing for your next paint job.

Preparation

Before you start painting take a 5cm piece of masking tape and wrap it around your brush. You want the tape to cover the bristles at the base of the brush by about 2cm. When you are through painting, tear the tape off and you'll have a clean base. The tape will prevent any paint from soaking into the bristles at the base near the metal strip and you won't have to worry about cleaning out the paint that has caked up in that area.

Another thing you can do when you are painting directly from a paint tin is to place a paper plate underneath the can. The plate will catch any paint that runs down the paint can preventing it from getting on your floor or on the pavement and ensuring you don't need to do any unnecessary cleaning up.

Common problems

More homeowners take on the task of painting than probably any other home improvement around their homes. Common annoyances when painting usually include where to wipe excess paint and how to make sure that lids on paint cans will open the next time the paint is needed. When painting from a full can of paint there really isn't a place to wipe excess paint as there just isn't enough room. Create a wire wicket and the problem is solved. First take a wire hanger and snip off a section of wire and bend it to a squared off u-shape. Use a 6cm finishing nail to punch two holes directly across from each other and right inside the rim. Place the wire wicket into the holes. When you paint, wipe the excess off on the wire and it will drip right into the can.

Finally

When you are done painting for the day and need to put the lid back on the can refrain from hammering it down because any paint in the rim will shoot out all over you and the lid may stick later or just simply be too dented to open with ease. Instead cover the rim with a cloth, put the lid on and then place a brick on top of it and tap it down. After you have done that you can store the paint.