January 2006, Volume 4, Issue 1
Well as you can see we have
gotten full swing into the rainy season. Here’s a few interior paint tips that
are useful this time of year.
2 coats:
Sometimes, if you are painting the same color over a previously painted
surface, you can get away with one coat. We always do two coats. Better to do 2
thinner coats than one thick one, especially on textured walls, as the second
one will fill in those areas that didn’t get covered by the first coat. If it
is a deeper toned color the first coat usually is a little splotchy so the
second coat evens it out. You can
always thin your first coat down a bit for easier application, since you will
immediately be following it with a second coat.
Cutting in:
Usually
cutting in the edges of walls and ceilings is done with a brush before rolling.
If you have two people, one person cuts followed by the other rolling. If you
are doing it alone then best to do this one wall at a time (cut and follow up
with rolling) as opposed to cutting the whole room and then rolling it out. The
reason for this is that the cut in paint will dry leaving brush lines as
different from roller texture so you end up
“picture framing” your walls (meaning the cut in line all the way
around will stand out.)
Tack cloth.
Before painting any doors and wood trim always prepare them with any patching,
sanding, priming, etc. Paint is not meant to be filler so if you have a rough
surface and paint over without prepping, you will have a painted rough surface.
Best to sand smooth first. After sanding and wiping, use a tack cloth to pick up
additional particles. A tack cloth is a piece of cheese cloth saturated in a
sticky material, which when wiped over a surface picks up all the loose
particles so you have a nice smooth surface to paint over. You can get these at
any paint store.
Get on the schedule.
Last year was a banner year for us; we were flooded with work. If you have
interior projects for yourself or a client buying or selling, get it done now
while the outside weather is lousy. The schedule gets busier and busier as the
year goes on, so this is the time of the year to call. We do complete interiors
and exteriors, and we can refer you to someone for smaller projects that
aren’t cost effective for us to take on. Call us at 408 448 1683 or
email us at molto@earthlink.net, tell
us about your project, and we will do our best to help you out.