Author: Thinus Bothma

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Painter & Decorator

Painting Wooden Kitchen Cabinets To Different Colour

painting kitchen cupboards

Painting wooden kitchen cabinets aren’t that a difficult task, but it can be quite a messy and tedious job if you are not entirely familiar what to do or how to approach it. By simply following the steps below, painting your wooden kitchen cabinets will become a stress-free and organised job without any unnecessary hassle.

  • If you have a breathing problem or are pregnant painting your wooden kitchen cabinets now is not such a good idea.
  • Having proper ventilation in your kitchen during the entire painting process is essential as some paints can be flammable if exposed to high heat, and will also prevent any health problems that could occur from inhaling the paint for a continues amount of time.
  • Cover all the surfaces in your kitchen, from the countertops to anything on it. If there is anything else that you think could possibly run the opportunity of getting paint on it cover that as well.
  • Once everything is protected and covered it is now time to remove the shine off your wooden kitchen cabinets. The product to use is called TSP and can be found at any hardware store or home improvement store. Be sure to read the instructions carefully before you apply it.
  • Decide before-hand whether you are going to paint the entire cabinet, inside and outside or just the doors and face frames. Although it is much harder work to paint the whole cabinet it will look more professional, and at the end of the day you are going to have to look at those cabinets every day.
  • Remove everything including the handles, the hinges and the cabinet doors themselves. Don’t try and paint them while they are hanging on the cabinet frames. Cover the painting area with drop clothes and place the cabinet door on a block horizontally, preventing droplets of paint gathering at the bottom of the cabinet. It is also important that the area you paint in are dust-free and free from dirt.
  • Reuse the hardware by soaking it in paint remover overnight, and buff it with steel wool or rub it with a metal polish to restore its lustre.
  • Prepare the doors by filling any dents or holes, sanding it afterwards. For severe scratches sand it with medium-grit sandpaper and to finish the surfaces use a fine grain sandpaper.
  • Once you’ve covered all the surfaces and other surfaces with masking tape or painters tape you can start painting the stiles. First paint the hard-to-reach areas and work your way out, paint the inside before painting the outside and paint the framing with long, smooth strokes.
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Painter & Decorator

Refresh Your Walls With This Checklist

Read this great article from Dulux Paints

refresh your walls by painting themOur handy decorating tips check-list arms you with all the tools and tricks you need to get a professional-looking finish.
“I’m about to repaint my walls. How do I make sure I get it right”

A lick of paint is an easy and affordable way to give a room an instant update but, according to an AkzoNobel survey, around one in 10 people say they are put off decorating because they don’t know where to start.

Our handy decorating tips check-list arms you with all the tools and tricks you need to get a professional-looking finish – whether you’re a first-time painter or a regular re-decorator.

1. Pick your paint

The colour of your walls has a huge impact on the overall look and feel of a room, so it’s important to get it right. If you’re struggling to choose, the Dulux Visualizer app gives you an instant digital impression of your wall colour, so you can try out different shades before you pick up a paint brush.

Once you’ve found your perfect shade, you can use the Dulux paint calculator to work out exactly how much you need to buy.

2. Reach for the tape

Cover wall sockets, window frames, coving, door hardware, and anything else that you don’t want to paint, with masking tape. Make sure you apply it in a neat, straight line so the edge of your paint turns out equally neat.

3. Cover Up

It’s usually a good idea to remove all furniture from the room, but if you don’t have the space, cover it with drop cloths or plastic sheeting instead. Plastic carrier bags are a cheap and easy way to protect things like light fittings.

You should always place a drop cloth underneath the area you are painting, ideally taping it down. Paint drips have a tendency to sneak onto your floor no matter how careful you are, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

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Painter

Tips For Painting Accent Walls

tips for painting accent walls

I took an excerpt from this interesting article by The Spruce. To read more about these tips, head over to their blog post.

Accent walls are alive and well in the decorating industry. These easy and stylish color accents will always be popular because of their flexibility. You have unlimited paint options for your accent wall, as well as other surfaces and materials. Even the location of your accent wall is purely personal. Your home is unique, so your accent wall should be just as special. Accent walls can be used in any room if you know the essential dos and don’ts.

DON’T shy away from using a bold color for your accent wall. As long as you have the right accents around the room to coordinate with your new color, you can choose whatever color makes you happy.

DO think outside of the box when you are considering your new accent wall. You are not limited to simple wall paint covering the wall. Think about other ways to use paint color. Your accent wall may be perfect for stripes or for a specialty paint finish. Metallics are powerful style statements for an accent wall.

DON’T forget that there is more to accent walls than just paint. Have you considered stone or tile for your accent wall? Extensive shelving can also work as an accent wall in a room that lacks an architectural feature and lacks storage. Your accent wall can also include a gallery of photos or artwork or even a fabric-draped wall. The secret to accent walls is that they are the most flexible decorating secret weapon you can have. The only rule for accent walls is that they accent a wall. That’s it.

DO consider an accent wall even if you’re keeping your room neutral. Accent walls can work just as well in a neutral color, as a bright one. The initial idea of an accent wall conjures up visions of bright red or blue, but in a neutral color scheme, a dark brown wall is just as dramatic.

DO take into account the color on your other walls. Most accent walls look best when they adjoin walls in a light to medium shade. Accent walls in an all-white room are stunning but tricky. The contrast of a bright accent wall against white walls can look very modern and even stark. Balance your strong accent wall color with neutral wall colors on the other walls. Your neutral walls can be gray, or greige, or beige, whatever works best with your accent color. if you do choose to accent a wall in a white room, soften the contrast with mid-tone accent colors to bridge the difference.

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Painter

How To Know When Your Roof Needs Painting

know when your roof need painting

Read this informative article by GC Paint Center

In order to maintain your roof, experts agree that a roof should be repainted at least every 5 years. This not only ensures your roof always appears in a pristine condition, it also allows one to address any minor problems such as leaks and rust before they may become larger ones.

Whether it’s tiled or corrugated, painting your roof is a great way to add value to your home. To get the job done properly and safely, it’s important to prepare thoroughly and use the right equipment.

Cleaning

Before you start painting, you need to give your roof a good clean. Give the the entire roof a high pressure wash, you can use sugar soap as well to get rid of dirt and grime. A high pressure wash is the quickest way to clean corrugated roofs. You can also use a hose and scrub down with a broom on tiled roofs.

Preparation

Make sure that all surfaces are clean and free of any loose particles.

Never !! paint over surfaces on which the paint is failing, the area in between which seem to be sound are already weak and will soon fail.
The new paint will tend to pull the old system off if not prepared properly.

Check the condition of the roof as follows:

When the surface is dry, press a length of masking tape securely onto the roof surface, then pull it off quickly. Examine the adhesive side of the tape. If no coating is removed, and no dirt or chalky material is apparent, then the surface is ready for the first coat of paint.

If, with the tape test method, the paint coating is removed, you need to strip the existing paint film.

On unpainted galvanized iron remove any rust, clean with galvanized iron cleaner,rinse thoroughly and give it a coat of primer.

Choosing Your Paint

Calculate the area of your roof and buy enough paint to apply two coats. Remember that darker colours absorb heat and lighter colours reflect it.

Painting a Tiled Roof

The best and quickest way to paint a tiled roof is with an airless spray gun but you can also use a brush. Use water-based paint but if your roof has lost most of its colour, apply a thick coating of sealer first.

Painting Galvanized Iron Roofs

Film thickness is the actual amount of paint on the surface. The most common problem is that only one coat is applied. Even more serious is when water is added to the paint and only 1 coat is applied.

Two coats must be applied.

Allow at least 4 hours drying time between coats.

You can apply paint with a brush, roller or airless spray.

 

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Painter

How to paint doors and trims

how to paint trims

Create a welcoming entrance to any room of the house with the right tools and techniques for the job. See this interesting article by Dulux Paints.

Instructions

1. As tempting as removing your door immediately is, don’t. Take a look at how much room is between your door and the frame when it’s closed. If it’s a tight fit you may need to sand the edges to allow for extra coats of paint. It’s a little trick that can go a long way.

2. Now that’s done you can begin removing your handles and anything outstanding such as coat hooks. Using a couple of door stops, wedge the door securely while you remove the hinges.

TIP: Leave one screw on each hinge to support the weight of the door and make removal safer.

3. Once the door is off its hinges, lay it flat across a pair of sawhorses, chairs or even a table. Wash the surface thoroughly with Selleys® Original Sugar Soap before painting.

4. If your door has already been painted with enamel, give it a light sand until the shine has become dull. Wipe off the dust, and then you can then use Dulux 1 Step® Primer Sealer Undercoat to undercoat the door before applying a topcoat.

5. Stir your Dulux Aquanamel® to ensure even colour throughout the paint can. Using a synthetic brush, paint the mullions first, main panels second, then the rails, followed by the styles and finally the edges. In simpler terms, start with the shortest panels, and work towards the longest panels. When the door is dry, flip it over and repeat the process.

TIP: Work quickly to prevent the paint from drying and creating streaks.

6. Before applying a second coat, give your door a light sand with 360 grit sandpaper, and then thoroughly wipe down the surface.

7. And you’re done! Simply clean up using responsible paint disposal methods and enjoy your new look.

If you need more information, you can learn more by visiting the following sites:

 

Challenges That Exterior Painters Face

I am sharing this interesting article on website of Networx. It focuses on problems when painting exterior.

I prefer interior painting work to exterior work hands down. Why, you may ask? Interiors require far less prep, the surfaces are generally flat and you can work without having to deal with weather extremes. Rain, hot weather, dirt, cobwebs and bugs are all challenges to exterior painters.exterior painting finishes

Rain is a showstopper and hot is challenging for exterior painters

Nearly all paints these days are latex based and can be cleaned up with water. That means fresh paint and water (aka rain) are a recipe for failure. Painting outdoors requires the surface to be dry before you start but also for sometime afterward. Here in Colorado we get many sunny days, but we also get routine afternoon thunderstorms. Planning around this can be complex for exterior painters, to say the least.

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On the other side of the weather coin is hot and dry weather, especially for painters in Dallas and similar climates. You’d think this is great for exterior painters, but 90-100 degree heat is less than ideal. Paint, like most people, prefers indoor temperature and humidity levels. I recently painted some exterior trim while a warm breeze was blowing. Working outside in 90 degree weather is tough, and the breeze felt great, but it adversely affects the paints dry time, and tends to dry the brush out, making cleanup and a smooth finish problematic. Fortunately, in that project I was painting rough cedar so I was not overly challenged with brush marks.

Dirt, cobwebs and bugs

Another challenge for exterior painting contractors is the prep. Very few interior spaces are filled with small piles of dirt, yet this seems to be the norm for every nook and cranny outdoors. Cobwebs and bugs can also be a pain for exterior painters.

On a recent deck project, I needed to reposition some decorative fiberglass columns. In the process, the bases were temporarily lifted and shimmed, which is when I noticed peeling paint along the bottom of the columns. The whole house had recently been spray painted and I wondered how the paint could be failing so soon. When I gently scraped the peeling area, the problem quickly became obvious. All along the corner of these columns, a line of fine dirt had kept the sprayed paint from adhering. If this area had been brushed, it might have worked better, but to get the best results, surfaces being painted need to be very clean. When it came time for me to finish the column bases, I scraped away all the loose paint and then cleaned the nooks and crannies with a damp rag. Once they were dry, I touched up the trouble spots.

It takes a while for paint to dry enough for it to not act like flypaper. While some flies are stronger than others and can sometimes free themselves, those minute gnat-type bugs are doomed. As an exterior painter, I have gotten into the practice of always having a damp rag with me when painting. I normally hold it between my hand and my “handy pail.” When flying pests become unwanted additions to my smooth and flawless paint stokes, I park my brush on the nifty magnet in the handy pail and use my rag to whisk them away. I then quickly touch up the spot. If I’m lucky, I catch the bugs before they are entombed like flies in amber.

 

 

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Blog

Introduction to Protective Coatings

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Blog

Paint vs Coating