Painting can be a fun and exciting experience, but the preparation and cleaning can be a pain. With a few simple painting tips, however, your interior or exterior painting can be a tidier, faster process.
*Create a disposable paint tray liner with aluminum foil.
*Set a paper plate or aluminum foil pie pan beneath your paint can.
*When you pour from your paint can, tip the can quickly at first, so the paint pours out rather than dribbling down the side. When you finish pouring, immediately use your paint brush to wipe off the side of the can and clean out the rim of the can.
*Use a rubber band across the top of your paint container as a place to wipe off excess paint from your brush. That way you’re not wiping the brush on the side of the can, making more drippy messes.
*If you are going to be painting again within 24 hours, don’t wash out your brush. Simply wrap it in plastic, secure the plastic in place with a rubber band, and put the brush in the fridge.
*If you are using a small brush and painting smaller surfaces, such as trim, baseboards, spindles or molding, pour some paint into a small plastic container, and dip your brush in this, rather than in the paint can. Make this easier to clean by placing a Ziploc bag in the container as a disposable liner.
*Make a brush-shield for overhead painting. Use a plastic lid and cut a slot in it, and make a hole in the middle. Then slide this over your brush handle, and you’ve got a drip-catcher. Even with this precaution, try not to load the paint brush with too much paint.
*Touch up with a toothpick. When you do touch up painting, you want to apply the absolute minimal amount you can. This is because the paint will be likely to dry a different shade than the surrounding wall, even if it’s from the same bucket. Using a toothpick, you can apply the paint with pinpoint accuracy, and you don’t have a brush to clean up afterwards!
Read these tips if you are thinking about hiring a painting contractor.
A.G. Williams is a professional painting contractor. We work in New York and Connecticut, in and around Greenwich, Darien, Yorktown, Pleasantville, Dobbs Ferry, Edgemont and Mamaroneck.