Good painters are punctual, courteous and respectful. They are considerate to other trades, and work well with designers and property owners. The paint crew are usually among the last of the trades to visit a job site, (although the real pros get a jump on things while others are still using the space). They’ll wait until they can own the site entirely and keep others away; if this is not possible they’ll compartmentalize accordingly. A good construction painter is versatile, which means he or she is competent with her own tools and respectful of others. She’s a veteran roller applicator and skilled with brushes, spray guns, and can do both interior and exterior painting, surface preparation, and will replace or repair siding, fix plaster and clean masonry.
The painter’s ultimate goal is to be invisible. Good interior painting is unremarkable because people should instead be commenting on the colour, and how the rooms make them feel, and which carpets, window drapes, and furnishings would best compliment the space. To achieve this high level of un-remarkability, pro painters evolve their own techniques and stockpile trade secrets.
Professional Painters Claim, Clear and Colour the Space
Eastview Homes’ painters are meticulous; we strive to achieve flawless work, smooth textures, and straight edges. To achieve perfection we use the best application methods for each project and won’t hesitate to question suppliers and doublecheck product to ensure we have the specified colours in the proper amounts.
Professional painters would prefer not to share their workspace with other trades. They like to take-over rooms and keep others out for good reasons. The first is because we’ve probably covered-up and masked-off areas like marble countertops, shelves, and bookcases. Good painters weight the corners of drop sheets with woodblocks or tape them to trim so they don’t drift. People passing through the area can create wind and sometimes even that little breeze is enough to lift tape and leave protected areas exposed. Another thing is consider is that modern paint is so transmissible, especially when applied with a spray gun. Just being in the painters’ area, nevermind working alongside them, means other workers will get paint on the clothes and where they travel afterwards will likely also get painted. Thirdly, paint fumes are dangerous. It’s best to wait at least two to three days for the paint to dry and the fumes to subside before working in freshly painted areas and people with stressed breathing conditions and elderly people should avoid exposure to paint fumes. This means waiting several days before living or working in newly painted rooms.
Pro painters own the space and cover everything with plastic or cloth drop sheets. If certain furnishings are too big to remove from the area, they’ll shift these items to the center of the room and cover them with a canvas drop cloths. Unlike plastic, the cloth sheets can be laid over such bulky items without tape and they aren’t slippery and they’re less likely to shift with a sudden breeze.
Pro Painters Clean All Surfaces Prior to Painting
Professional painters scrub surfaces and let them thoroughly dry before painting them We remove drywall dust, cobwebs, and other debris from walls with a mop, and even a Swiffer brand cleaning mop will suffice and may even be advisable in some situations. Its so important that paint be applied to a dry surface that pros carry hairdryers which they’ll plug into the wall and run all day until the motor burns out just to keep the air circulating in closed-off areas.
Eastview Homes repairs damaged surfaces before we paint them.
After you’ve removed all of the dirt, cobwebs, and so on, it’s time to carefully inspect the surface for damage. Any cracks, gaps, chips, holes, or rough areas will be obvious even with a new coat of paint if they are not repaired beforehand. For any small cracks or gaps, or to fill the openings that can occur near baseboards and trim, use caulking to fill them in and create a smooth surface.
For larger issues, such as big cracks, holes, and rough areas where it’s more difficult to cover the damage, special products and tools may be required.
Pro painters sometimes use spackling paste or drywall compound or use window caulking to fill-in and repair these areas before painting them whereupon the blemishes should disappear. If dealing with damaged plaster walls, which commonly have nicks and abrasions that need repair, one painter will harness their experience as a drywaller and will carve out and remove a square in order to create a more effective patch. If there’s lots of damage to repair, they’ll reach out to professionals, but it’s nice to know that someone on the team has the experience to do small repairs on the jobsite and will not delay because of a few holes in the wall.
Begin with Trim, then Paint Ceilings, and then Walls
Professional painters often paint the trim first, and then the ceiling, and then the walls. That’s because it’s easier (and faster) to tape off the trim than to tape off the walls. Making this the order of things saves time because now the pros know they don’t have to be neat because the walls will be painted next; they can concentrate on getting a smooth finish on the wood. They don’t worry if the door and trim paint gets slopped onto the walls because they’ll cover it later when painting walls and taking their time and being thoroughly professional. Once the trim is completely painted and dry which requires at least twenty hours, they’ll tape it off using an “easy release” painter’s tape, and then paint the ceiling, and continue on to wall painting.
Avoid Overlaps When Painting With Brush And Roller
Uneven layers of paint buildup is a common problem when wall painting. When painting with brush or roller, professional painters strive to remove the ugly stripes. They occur when you roll over paint that’s already partly dry. In warm and dry conditions, latex paint can begin to dry and harden in less than a minute. Avoid these ugly lap marks by maintaining a “wet edge,” so each stroke of your roller overlaps the previous stroke before the paint begins to dry.
To maintain a wet edge, paint an entire wall all at once. Start at one end, running the roller up and down the full height of the wall, moving over slightly with each stroke. Move backward where necessary to even out thick spots or runs. Don’t let the roller become nearly dry; reload it often so that it’s always at least half loaded. Keep the open side of the roller frame facing the area that’s already painted. That puts less pressure on the open side of the roller so you’re less likely to leave paint ridges.
Professionals painters respect their client’s color choices.
Eastview Homes’ residential house painters have good communication skills which are always tasked when trying to decipher just what the client wants.
Possessing a paint block with all the different shades of a particular manufacturer’s or suppliers’ wood stain applied in advance is critical to achieving consistency and is handy to site when deciding and proving the colours.
See how some of the cells on the paint block are two-tone which is how the painters show the tonal differences achieved by doubling-up the product with a generous second coat. But sometimes one coat is a better colour. A good paint job is all about the little details, such as crisp, clean edges, even coats, and well-adhered layers. One small error can alter the look of an entire room or building.
Precision Masking is just as Important as Precision Painting
Masking tape does a good job of protecting woodwork. Here is a perfectly stained staircase that was a Herculean task in terms of masking and application, but it’s a job well done with no blemishes.
One of the hardest things to do after painting is getting off all that masking tape without damaging walls or furnishings. Pro painters use the tape to avoid painting any areas that don’t need painting, but sometimes the tapes sticks too well and inexperienced painters end up damaging surfaces. Pros know they can easily remove that masking tape by heating it first with a small heat gun or blow dryer. Once it’s warm, it peels right off.
Doorknobs – Slip a small plastic bag over your doorknobs, and tape the edge to avoid getting paint in places it isn’t supposed to go.. suggests covering knobs and levers with aluminum foil instead. This will allow you to fully protect awkwardly shaped trims. Another hack for painting around door hardware comes from Glidden. Apply two coats of rubber cement to your hardware before painting
Use painter’s tape that’s at least twice as wide as the trim and leave it flared out to protect the face of the trim from drips. When you’re done, remove the tape immediately while the paint is still wet or wait until the next day when it’s totally dry. Only noobs attempt to remove tape when the paint is partially dry as that will peel away fresh paint along with the tape.
Sometimes the screws that hold the doorknob in place are hidden beneath the cosmetic collar known as the “rose.” Removing and replacing the knob requires you to reach these screws without damaging the door. Pro painters wash doorknobs before sanding and painting as this keeps small particles of dust and debris from mixing in with the paint and marring the finish. They wash the knobs with water and soap.
Pro painters are not frightened by the prospect of painting metal doorknobs. Having this ability allows painters to customize the finish by choosing the color. For painting metal knobs or other hardware, veteran painters use automotive spray paint, which is designed to adhere to metal. For a glossy and durable finish, use a spray paint that is designated as “enamel.” The metallic paint is spray-applied as is the primer.
Shine a Light Across the Woodwork and Circle Flaws
Professionals know how to position a hand-held bulb so it shines low-angle the wood surface to detect loose paint, rough edges and other blemishes in the surface to determine what needs to be filled. Take a pencil and lightly circle spots that need work.
Any style spray gun can give you good results if it has the right fluid tip size. The recommended tip size for the paint or primer you are using can be found in its Product Data Sheet. Larger tip sizes are used with thicker material, like primers. They create less overspray, but more texture. Smaller tip sizes are used with thinner materials and can give a smoother appearance.