Paint Brushes And Paint Rollers – What Ones Are Best For The Job?
It doesn’t matter if you’re painting the indoor or outdoor areas of your home or apartment, you’ll want (and need) an assortment of brushes in all possible shapes and sizes. Even when you’re thinking of using a power atomizer to decorate your homes exterior, there will always be be a list of blemishes that need that human touch to put them right. Sounds like a lot of work right? Not really! The key is to have the right equipment for the job you’re about to do – it will just make your life a lot easier.
First off the main problem most DIYers have is that brushes and rollers come in such a wide variety of sizes and styles. This on its own puts most people off before they even start. So which one is actually going to suit the job you have in mind? Here’s some tips to get you on your way.
Paint Brushes
There are two basic types of brushes you can choose from – ones with a natural bristle or the synthetic bristle type.
Brushes with a natural bristle are gonna cost you that little bit more but when you’re buying paint brushes you can’t afford to cut corners. Saving a few bucks now will cost you an awful lot more in a poor paint finish in the long run. There’s nothing worse than having to redo a paint job believe me.
Paint Mediums, Primers, Finishes, and Tools Used by Decorative Painters
Using only leftover firewood from his cooking fire and the red yellow substance he found in the dirt floor of his Altamira cave dwelling, Paleolithic man painted bison on the cave wall to such a relatively high level of sophistication that had Picasso gasping “After Altamira, all is decadence.” Picasso must have meant that the use by the cave dwellers of crude charcoal and hematite as their paint, and the cave wall as their canvas to express their innermost fears, doubts, and joy is an art form so primal and pure it could never again be duplicated.
All the modern decorative painter might probably want to do is to come up with faux verdigris finish for the cheap metal wall art he came across a thrift shop in Messina to complement the discount wall décor he picked up in a flea market in Milan, and not compete with Altamira for raves (the bison were remarkably life-like, and employed an early version of chiaroscuro, a technique thought to have developed only in the Renaissance). For this task, the modern decorative painter has far superior materials to work with.
The Use of Brushes For Applying Finishes to Unfinished Furniture
If used correctly, a brush can provide you with a superior finish, but as in walks of life, certain types are better suited for different purposes.
There are basically four types of brushes that you can use: natural bristle, synthetic bristle, sponge, and paint pads. Anyone of these can be used to apply a stain, paint, or finish from a can onto your chosen piece of furniture.
Natural-bristle-brushes are made from animal hair. The very best are from Chinese hog hairs. These are hairs tapered and have split ends, which means that the actual part of the hair that is in contact with the wood are extremely thin. The benefit of having thinner bristles, or split ends are that the finish that is applied to the surface is more uniform in appearance. Although China bristle is a little more expensive, the improved results are worth it.
The Psychology of Color – How to Choose Paint Colors For Your Home
The color of any room in your homes affects how you feel while in that room. Choosing paint colors can be difficult and prove frustrating unless you take the time to answer some questions before going out to select your paints.
Start by considering your furnishings. Rugs, furniture, window treatments and any other fabrics that are going to remain in the room should be the starting point for your color scheme. Repainting walls and ceilings is a relatively inexpensive way to change the look of a room without starting completely over. Choose three to four colors at the most (too many colors give the room a busy and cluttered look overall) and base those colors on what will go with the room furnishings.
Take into consideration that the ceiling does not have to be white. Typically, ceilings are the lightest paint color in a room because lighter colors give the feeling of more space and darker colors tend to visually “lower” the ceiling, giving the room a smaller, more intimate and cozy feel. The same applies with darker colors on walls. Dark walls make the room seem smaller while lighter colors make the room seem larger.
Paint Stripping the Easy Way
Paint stripping and in particular stripping paint off wood is one of the least exiting jobs to do and is often avoided. The thought of using chemicals and naked heat is enough to put any individual off doing the task. Quick solutions often involve just painting over old paint to hide the problem.
So I want to tell you how easy paint stripping can be when the right solution is applied to the task of removing paint. There is an innovative new product on the market which makes the task more bearable and that is an Infra red heat gun. The infrared paint stripper harnesses radiant heat to gently, quickly and very efficiently make removing paint a far easier job.
Decorative Painting – How to Decorate Your Home Like the Pompeians Did With Theirs
It’s amazing to find decorative painting dominated by women. Julia, Karen, Dee, Marcia – all women, only four of dozens of others, each proudly showing off incredibly beautiful work samples. Why decorative painting should be the exclusive turf of women (relegating men to being merely house painters) stupefies. If it’s any consolation, at least the Great Masters have all been male.
Decorative painting is of interest to every DIY decorator for the many exciting possibilities it opens for decorators looking for an inexpensive way to perk up their homes. In a sense, decorative painting artists are pushing the envelope on home decorating. Faux finishes from onyx to alabaster, from serpentine to breccia are now available to the DIY decorator, very handy in raising the glam factor of any home decor, or in tying together the decor style dictated by one’s acquisition of magnificent wall grilles and other metal art. Wrought iron wall grilles, stuccoed walls, terra-cotta and plaster pots with relief designs in faux verdigris, Corinthian-capital base of a glass-top table in faux granite– what more can a Mediterranean style fan want?
Painting a Room the Smart Way
Painting a room in your home can change the entire look of a room and make it shine like it never has before, but keep in mind that painting any room, even a small one, is a major undertaking that should not be taken lightly. If you are interested in painting a room, there are several things that you should keep in mind, especially if you have not done this before.
When you are getting ready to paint a room, the first step that you need to take is masking it. Essentially, you need to use blue masking tape to cover up any of the edges in the room that touch an area with paint. No matter how careful you intend to be, masking the room will create less mess and a better paint job. Although you might find this straightforward process to be quite time consuming, this is still important when you are looking to do a good job!
A Fresh Coat of Paint Can Make Your Home Plans Feel New
If you’re looking at your home and feel like you need an update but just don’t know how you can afford a new living room set or new top-of-the-line appliances, there is another alternative. In fact, a new coat of paint can make a room seem like new again and give a home a completely different feel. It will make you look at your colonial house plans again, because you might not be certain that you’re actually in the same house. And with how cheap paint runs relative to other home improvements, it’s one of the most cost-effective things you can do to make your house look different. In this economy, that can be a very valuable thing!
Before you go throwing just any old color of paint up on the wall, you might want to do a little research first. Go to a couple of paint stores and talk to the salesperson about what sort of house you have, how it is decorated, and what type of colors are currently on the walls. You might even want to bring pictures of what your rooms look like or a copy of your log house plans to show the exact layout of your home. The more the salesperson knows about you and your property, the better they can help you pick out a color that’s perfect. Of course, they can only steer you in the right direction. The ultimate decision should be yours and yours alone.
Green Painting, Not Just About VOC
Volatile Organic Compounds or V.O.C. are the latest buzz words in the painting and construction industry. They are harmful solvents found in paints and other construction materials such as carpets, adhesives etc. When VOC evaporate, they react with sunlight and fuel by-products and create smog. Smog is harmful to humans, animal life and plants and is a contributor to the global warming problem.
When the homeowner purchases and the specifier specifies zero or low VOC paint, everything and everyone should be safe right?
No way! There are many more compounds that are harmful, in fact very harmful and they are “VOC exempt”. For example acetone among others is zero VOC and exempt. As a solvent it is very heavy and doesn’t “go up” but it is very harmful and it causes contamination to the ground water. Yet it is allowed to be sold to unsuspecting consumers.
Breathing Paint Fumes – What's at Risk and How to Eliminate Paint Fumes From Your Air
Paint is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to give a room or home a quick makeover. But what do you risk health wise by inhaling paint fumes and how can you eliminate them?
What you risk depends on the paint that was used. Oil paint or any paint that contains volatile organic chemicals has elements in it that evaporate easily into the air. Examples are solvents, thinners that maintain an even consistency, and drying agents that help the paint dry faster. These are often the ingredients that off gas and can make paint fumes so harmful.
You may first notice a headache, watery or burning eyes or nose, dry throat, light headedness, dizziness, or nausea. This is your body’s way of saying get me out of here and away from these paint fumes! Generally these symptoms will disappear if you are only exposed to the fumes for a very short time. But often paint will off gas fumes for weeks, forcing you and all who live in the newly painted space to continue to inhale these fumes over a long period of time.
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