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Long before I was sidelined by my injury, I was a Journeyman painter - a "mechanic" - in the Painter's Union, and over the course of that career I applied many thousands of gallons of paint of all kinds under all kinds of circumstances. Today seems like a good time to share some of those skills with you, in the hope that your next painting chore won't be so much of a chore.
The old timers I learned my trade from had a saying - "the difference between amateurs and pros are - the pros know all the shortcuts." I say, anyone can paint, but a pro will do a better job in less time with less effort, and probably use less materials to boot.
Follow me over the jump for more...
There are SOME things that can help a lot when painting:
Don't try to brush out paint too much when first applying it - just get it ON the piece and then spread it out, using long, smooth strokes for the best finish. Can you see thru the paint as you apply it? You probably aren't applying enough. How do you tell if you're applying too much? That's easy - it runs and forms drips.
Paint opposite your handedness - I'm right handed, so I paint to my left, and from dry onto wet. I begin applying the new brushload of paint a few inches left of my wet edge and carry it back onto the wet with the first stroke, then back onto the dry part, extending the length of each stroke of the brush a little each time, then reload as soon as the new paint is relatively smooth. Paint usually has to "lay out", by which it "settles" into a smoother wet surface before drying. The length of time you have to achieve that depends on the mix and material, but it's important for a better finish, especially on glossy finishes, as they tend to show every little imperfection, brush stroke, etc. If your coat just isn't covering, is streaky, or just looks thin, you're not applying enough paint - try taking shorter strokes with the same amount of paint. There's no reason to try and stretch paint because if properly applied you may not even need a second coat, and that means getting the right amount on the surface as you move along.
Don't try the old "W" application method to roll paint onto walls - it gets uneven, and I can see the difference. Instead, apply in "stripes" going all the way from ceiling to floor, beginning halfway up and rolling first UP to get the bulk of the roller load onto the wall, then DOWN, in longer and longer strokes, until you're rolling all the way from top to bottom, then "feather" off the wet edge a little with your now-nearly dry roller to remove any hint of an edge, and reload for the next strip. Go back over the entire section with your roller without loading it with paint, to smooth the entire section over and make it even. Then reload and go to the next stripe, rolling back about halfway over the previous stripe as your last stroke, from floor to ceiling. Your walls will look better than ever, and the more even thickness of the paint will help get good results with those "one coat" applications!
Next, always use the proper size tool, and ALWAYS buy good quality painting tools - NEVER, EVER, try to use cheap brushes or rollers! For example, a 4" flat brush for large sections, a 2 1/2" angled ("cutting") brush for trim work, and QUALITY roller covers - 1/4" nap for VERY smooth surfaces, all the way up to 3/4" for concrete block painting. Get a screen for your bucket if painting out of 5 gallon buckets instead of using roller trays - saves tons of time. And don't slap off or roll out TOO much paint - most people don't have enough paint on their tools when they apply it, but also don't let the wet paint get all the way to the ferrule, either - it makes things messy! Leave a good inch of your bristles clean at all times if possible... (Our local auto parts plant had an interesting "test" for prospective painters; the interviewer would ask applicants to paint a board using a can of paint and a really cheap brush. The job always went to one of the guys who refused to use the cheap brush...)
My speciality was brush and trim work; I think if you can drag a pencil down a sheet of paper and get a reasonably straight line, you can cut with a brush. Use an angled trim brush the most, and make sure it's a good one, with "tapered" and "flagged" bristles - this is the shredding of the ends of the bristles that holds paint well and produces smoother finishes. Cheap brushes are often cut off flat, with no flagging, and it's virtually impossible to get a smooth finish with one; or the bristles may be flagged but thin - again, you can't carry enough paint, or spread it out well enough for a good finish. Hint - wet your tools before using, either with a small amount of solvent or water - I prefer to spit on my brush and roller, like a diver does with their mask. Work it in well, making sure it's not actually wet but merely damp. This makes cleaning up later on much easier, and helps with the first few brush or roller loads, as you're not trying to wet the tool with the paint itself.
To clean, brush or roll off as much paint as you can, then begin washing with solvent or mild detergent (Joy is great for this) and water, making sure you get all of the paint crammed down into the inner parts. I like to use a hose outdoors, making my roller spin at high speed and throw off the paint (there's a tool to do this, called a "spinner", that works with both brushes and rollers), and finish my brushes by gethering the bristles in my hand and pushing them under the water stream so it gets down into the center, without letting the bristles go wild - they WILL set that way if you're not careful, ruining a good brush. I spin them as dry as possible using my spinner - you can do it inside an empty bucket to control the mess. Finish by wiping with clean, dry cloths to remove all but traces of moisture, then wrap the bristles with a cloth or something to hold their manufactured shape; they will dry whatever way you leave them, which is why so many brushes get ruined - you must shape the bristles as they dry! Quality brushes come in a formed cardboard sleeve which performs this function - use it. Overnight, you can toss a roller into the paint, but you'll have to clean it off before using to remove all the excess paint, so I prefer to roll them off until nearly dry and then wrap in aluminum foil and freeze overnight - just unwrap and begin the next day. Brushes can be suspended in paint if you must, but it's still better to clean them every night. My first boss was an old house painter, very strict, and we took a half hour every night to clean all the tools, without fail. I learned a lot that summer, but I still own and use the same brushes and other tools - after nearly 40 years the handles look beat up but they work like new! Quality costs but lasts.
Typical trim jobs include doors, windows, and also walls - which I like to cut in before rolling, leaving a good, crisp outside edge and making it about 3 inches wide with the inside edge tapering off to nothing so it won't show when you roll over it. To trim a door or window, cut in the glass or door panels first, beginning in each corner and working outward with a semi-loaded brush so you can get that crisp edge at the glass, and complete one piece, then brush back over it to smooth out the face of the trim - you won't have to go near the glass if you cut it right the first stroke. Pull your brush along to trim using the narrow face, looking at the edge of the wet paint as you go, because you can adjust on the fly to get that neat line you want. On door panels, cut around a panel, then brush in the panel face with the wider, flat side of the brush, finishing with lighter smoothing strokes the length of the panel, then along the trim; next, paint the horizontal boards between panels (again, use the flat of the brush),lifting your stroke as you get into the vertical boards so you don't leave a thick edge there, and finish with the vertical edge and face boards on both sides of the door - you always work outwards, just as you would with a window, finishing with the last, widest and largest outside pieces. Trim along the wall edge if you want, or when you paint the wall just paint that edge of the trim with the wall color and cut at the face edge when you do the trim - in an old house this is the accepted method and can provide a good seal at that spot, or you can caulk there if it has a gap, and just paint over the caulk.
One helpful trick is to use "logical edges" - spots where the eye can be fooled if you have to stop painting for the day, like outside corners, one edge of a window or door where you only have a few feet of wall above and below it exposed, inside corners, and the like. When you paint, never stop in the middle of any section, it's the hardest thing to cover up and will always show because the "new" paint will never match the "old" paint and the edges where you stop painting are likely to show through - but stop at a logical edge and practically no one will ever see the difference. To allow for painting more area with fewer stops, I also prefer to work out of a 5 gallon bucket rather than a paint tray. You get more painting done out of a bucket, all you need is a "roller screen" to fit your bucket size, loading and rolling off excess paint is easier with a screen and bucket then in a pan. At the end of the day you can just drop the screen into the paint and press the lid on, or drop the screen and roller into the paint and cover well with plastic or foil, so the paint won't dry out.
A trick I use when I can't pick a logical edge to stop at is feathering - run your roller nearly dry by moving further and further onto the dry section of wall as you roll out, so instead of leaving a fairly obvious straight edge, which is much harder to conceal, you actually have a gradual drying-off section. By then feathering in your new paint BACK onto the previously painted section - this works for spot repairs, too, like when you patch a hole in drywall and don't want to repaint the entire wall - you can literally feather a repair job out of sight. I've also added slight amounts of lighter or darker shades, or even other colors, to make repairs blend in, and the best way to tell what a finish color will look like (since some colors dry lighter and some darken) is to paint a piece of paper or cardboard, which dry very quickly to the finished shade, making it easier to mix up a color that matches your spot.
Don't be afraid to experiment - it can even be fun, and trying things out BEFORE you tackle a project like painting can save you lots of regret later.
(Claude, if you see this - I have nothing, and no one, lined up for next week...)