Do-It-Yourself – Painting for the holidays

By: K. Anthony Bissoon

The holidays are around the corner, and I bet that you are already looking at the house, eyeing the old paint and either thinking about a completely different colour or touching up…
Considering professional painters tend to be on the pricey side, it may be well worth it to do it yourself, given time, some elbow grease and working smart, you can have a professional quality finish.
Speaking of quality, you shouldn’t skimp on money when it comes to buying paint, buying low quality paint may end up costing you more in the long run, so it’s best to get the good stuff.
Even though we usually do painting around the holidays to spruce up the aesthetics of our home, just a reminder that it’s not just about looking good, paint forms a protective layer on whatever surface it is applied on, and increases the materials’ life, a good example is wood. We don’t want water seeping in between cracked paint into the wood, that’s bad news for exteriors especially.
So, off you go to the paint shop, you will need 4-6 inch brushes for exterior work and smaller sizes for interior work and trimming. Roller brushes work really well; they can cover large surface areas quickly and neatly. Make sure you get the correct roller though. Shaggy rollers are for rough textured surfaces, while those foam rollers are for smooth surface finishes. You will also need paint stripper, sandpaper along with primer if needed and whatever paint will go with. Good paint shops offer colour matching services, so make sure you get the right colour!
You may need ladders and maybe scaffolding if you have access to that, especially for outside work.
Before painting, you may have to do some cleaning, stripping and sanding. If you will be painting outside, good idea to start on a warm, dry day and early in the morning. Divide your work into workable sections and remember safety first when working at heights! No over-reaching. For interior work use small brushes to cut and trim edges, and you can use a roller to fill in the large areas, make sure you work small areas at a time, so the edges don’t dry out by the time you are going to the next, or else you will have unsightly lines along the paintwork. If you are working with brushes, a pen grip is best, and you should work in vertical then horizontal strokes, laying it out evenly, avoid drips and uneven application.
Don’t forget, work smart-wall by wall, or room by room and you will have the place looking great in no time.