Twitter: Reliable Painters

Professional Tips and Tricks

In my 45+ years as a house painter and contractor, I've gathered many tips and practices that are now part of my every day routine. Some of these tips simply make my work faster or more efficient. Other tips help produce higher quality results.

I'm certain that homeowners painting their own dwellings will benefit from these suggestions. Less-experienced contractors may also find my suggestions helpful, so over the coming weeks I hope to provide this information freely via my Twitter feed.

Why am I sharing this hard-earned experience? It's my belief that generosity of knowledge and practice brings benefits to the giver and the recipient. I hope you'll call on me the next time you require a professional house painter.

You can access previous tips and keep up-to-date by "following" me on Twitter.

If you don't use Twitter, you can view an index of my tweets below.

Index of Tweets

Setting up to begin work
Dealing with furniture
Writing a detailed quote
Using a "cutting bucket"
Carrying tools from vehicle to house
Avoiding accidents
Protecting light fixtures
Rolling ceilings
Brush care while working
Wood or aluminum ladders
Protecting ladder legs
Uses for "painter's plastic"
Drywall mud, not spackle
Painting next to masking tape
Cleaning trim before applying masking tape
Burnishing masking tape
Use a continuous course of masking tape
Buy good quality masking tape
When not to use masking tape
Slow drying paint creeps under masking tape
Problems removing masking tape
Stale masking tape
Synthetic brushes versus bristle brushes
Too soft a brush
What size brush?
Standing paint brushes on their bristles
Say "yes" to masking tape
Safer use of a roller pole
Cleaning a vinyl roller tray
Dealing with roller spray from ceilings
"Spot priming" repairs
Dealing with paint "flashing"
Keep children and pets away from paint
Proper patching compound for repairs
Pad your ladder's "feet"
More about "spot priming"
Paint your trim first
Use primer on new drywall
Correct paint for "popcorn" textured ceilings
Removing "popcorn" texture from ceilings
Stains on "popcorn" textured ceilings
Paint "popcorn" texture without painting walls
Use a "split foam" roller for painting "popcorn" texture
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