Professional Tips and TricksIn my 40 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 days and 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. Tip: When you're rolling paint onto a ceiling, roll side-to-side across the front of your body, not forward and backward towards yourself and away. By rolling side to side, you get a better view of the work you're doing and you also have far less chance of spattering paint from the roller onto your face and body. When painting a ceiling with a roller, start at one end (side) by facing towards the wall and then work backwards away from the wall. This allows you to see the work you've completed and smoothly blend the paint onto the surface. If you want the best view of the work you've done, start the ceiling where there is a window and work away from it. The light from the window will highlight any problems with your work, so that you can correct them. Anecdote: * A homeowner painting a ceiling with oil-based paint was in a tight corner and felt it was necessary to roll towards himself. Paint squirted out from the surface and covered his hair and eyeglasses. If he had been rolling side-to-side, the paint would have gone sideways and landed on the tarps. Copyright ©2011 by Nathan Harms |
