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Learn how to paint your own home with
painting tips and advice from a qualified Painter &
Decorator with over 30 years experience in the painting
industry. Painting can be easy when you know what you are
doing and hopefully the information on the site will help
you with your painting project. The most exciting part about
painting is how it can transform the look of a room or the
appearance of a house. There are some simple
techniques that will help you with your next painting
project, one that people often get wrong is
how to load a
paint brush. It may sound laughable but there is a technique
to this and it will make a difference when you are painting.
The other classic is how to hold a paint brush, there is a
correct way to hold it and there is more then one way to do
this. I do get a lot of people inquiring about work
and they all say they know how to paint but when it comes to
actually applying the paint they look awkward and are
usually very slow. After showing them the correct way most
will agree that it is a lot easier and quicker. So if you
learn some of the basics then you will be off to a good
start and hopefully it will make your next painting project
much easier to do. |
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One of the
main issues with painting is getting your preparation right,
this is the key to any painting project, if you don't prepare
the surface correctly then you may end up with paint peeling off
within a few years or in extreme circumstances it could come off
within days. When prepared correctly and painted correctly you
should have pleasure in knowing that you will not need to
repaint any time soon, so take a little bit more care and get it
right the first time. |
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There are three basic reasons for painting. |
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(1) Preservation - This is one of the most important reasons for painting,
unfortunately a lot of people leave there out side painting
until its too late. Paint is designed to protect your exterior
surfaces from the elements, a well maintained house will look
great and the over all maintenance expensive will be less. |
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(2) Sanitation - Over time most places
will get dirty and look unclean specially commercial kitchens and
public toilets, you can imagine how dirty some of these places
would get. Paint can only be washed so many times before the
coating is worn down, at this stage its harder to wash and can
retain bacteria. So its important to maintain a healthy
environment by regularly cleaning areas like this and repainting
when they need to be. |
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(3) Decoration - This is the most
popular reason for painting, most of the time people will
repaint a room because they don't like the existing colour. This
is also the fun part, changing the look of a room or house by
painting it a different colour. |
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(4)
Identification - I almost forgot about this one. its more
so for commercial and industrial premises as they need to colour
code all gas, water and electrical lines for quick
identification. |
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How Long Does A Paint Job Last |
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Internal Paint Work -
Can last many years but there are a lot of varying factors to
exactly how long it will last or how long it will look good for.
One issue is movement, this will over time open up cracks around
the ceiling, windows and door frames, this is normal for all
houses but structural cracks can appear for other reasons. Water
damage is another issue, a leaking roof can cause water stains
on a ceiling and smoke stains from a smoker or an open fire
place can cause smoke damage. I painted a room that hadn't been
done for 30 years, the only place where paint was peeling from
was around a water leak, so paint can last a long time
internally but it may not look the best.
External Paint Work -
Location is one of the main factors in how long your paint work
will last for so as a bit of a guide on how often you should
repaint the exterior will depend on how it looks. Generally have
a look at how well your paint work is holding out, see if your
windows are starting to peel in the corners also check other
timber surfaces as they are normally the first to show signs of
wear and tear. Beach Front - repaint every 2 - 4 years
General Exterior - repaint every 7 - 10 years Personally I
had an old customer ring up after 12 years to repaint their
exterior (all timber work) and all that was required was a touch
up and one coat. |
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How Long Does Paint Last In The
Can |
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Often people will ask me if its
ok to use paint that is years old and general yes it is as long
at the tin has been sealed and the paint hasn't gone hard. I
have opened a paint tin that was 12 years old and it was as good
as the day it was purchased but it was a full can. If there is
only a small amount of paint in the can then it will go off a
lot quicker, some times within twelve months or less. Oil based
paints generally form a skin on top and that skin can be removed
and the paint can be used but if you remove the skin and the
paint has gone really thick then don't use it. |
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This article covers the processes that you
will need to follow when painting a room. The step by step guide is fairly standard for the first few steps but as
you read further down the information becomes a bit more detailed and
will guide you on the best way to
paint a room. |
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A lot of people ask me if they need to prime the walls before they
start painting. This article covers issues regarding when you need to prime and when primer is
not required. |
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This is one of the most difficult areas of painting, people
often ask me for my opinion but I think it is a personal thing
when choosing paint colours. However some paint colours do go better
together than others and some paint combinations just look
terrible. In this article I
talk about how you can use one colour but different shades or strengths for different surfaces. |
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There are a few different types of stains
that are available and this article goes into detail about what
stain may suit your needs and how to apply the stain of your
choice. |
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This article covers some of the basic tips
that will help you with your painting project, some are just
simple tips but could save you some headaches later. |
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There are a variety of different materials
that can be used for a roof, this article covers the
technique used for painting each one and what options you have when
it comes to purchasing roof paint. |
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This article covers the basics of how much
paint you will need, there are variables when it comes to using
paint and manufactures coverage rates are only a guide. |
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This article takes a look at what paint is best suited for
painting interior and exterior woodwork with information on
how to paint wood or trim including how to paint MDF
When painting the exterior of a house there are a few ways
you can do this, this article goes through the steps required
and explains the different ways you can tackle your exterior
painting project. |
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