Painting Techniques

Like a lot of other home renovation projects, painting requires more than first meets the eye. For one thing there’s a tremendous amount of preparation to say nothing of what you need to go through to select the right kind of paint. And then, even after you’ve fought your way through the glossy finishes versus the flat tones, there’s the technique that you’ll need to master. Remember, painting isn’t as easy as swiping a brush across wall—there are do’s and don’ts to everything about it.

Here’s the way the experts do it in a nutshell. Paint the sides first, then the trim and after that the windows, etc. It’s all done this way so if the paint drips it won’t run onto finished work. One of the best ways to get to those windows is to stand on the steps of the ladder and sit your paint bucket on the built-in shelf as you paint. There are other useful tips as well about the actual mechanics of the job.

The first of these is that you use plenty of paint. Not using enough is a rookie mistake (and usually one where they’re trying to save a few bucks) but painting this way quite often leads to missed spots and much more difficult work. That’s not to say that you should splatter the paint on either. You need to smooth it over with nice even strokes and to do that you’ll need just enough paint. The bristles should go into the bucket about half way in, and should gently wipe the brush once on each side of the can. Make sure you don’t mash the bristles either. Let the brush and not your arm do the work.

As well, you should paint from the dry to the wet spots. This is the approach the professionals use where they start a new course about a foot back from a wet spot and move back toward it. Once the paint is on, they also suggest that you ‘feather’ the spots together using light strokes in a back and forth motion.

Another tip. Paint small areas one at a time. In other words, only work on the areas that you can easily see and reach. Stretching to get an area done can only result in missed spots or long streaky looking areas that you’ll need to go over again. Don’t rush things. Narrow parts of windows should only be done at an angle where you can see the wood well. You’ll be close to the glass from several vantage points here, so make sure that you can see where the top of the brush goes so you don’t wind up painting the glass as well.        

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