Psst! Want to know a secret? We have gotten some of the top home painters in Calgary to spill their secrets of the trade and show us how to paint your home like a pro step by step ! From golf balls to turning detective, house painting is a lot more complicated, you think. So, […]
RECENTLY
Deep Cleaning Kitchen Cabinets
In this busy fast-moving world, your cleaning lady would probably wipe down your kitchen counters and mop and sweep the floor every alternate day to maintain the cleanliness of the kitchen, but what about your kitchen cabinets? They definitely might not get the same attention as the floor and the kitchen counters which they should. […]
8 Tips For House Painting On A Budget
House painting can be challenging. And house painting on a budget can be tougher still. For many folks, decorating on a budget may seem like folly and something that will inevitably end up costing them a packet. But it doesn’t have to be. Girl Thursday has put together some top tips for doing the job […]
FROM THE BLOG
6 Secret Painting Tips from A Pro Painter
Psst! Want to know a secret? We have gotten some of the top home painters in Calgary to spill their secrets of the trade and show us how to paint your home like a pro step by step !
From golf balls to turning detective, house painting is a lot more complicated, you think. So, before you even get started, check out these tips!
Clean The Walls
One of the things newbie painters often neglect is giving the walls a damned good sugar soaping before paint.
To achieve a professional level job, it is important to think like a pro. This means getting the walls clean before you even spill one drop of paint on them.
Painting onto a dirty wall will result in peeling. Also, it will not bond as well. Likewise, fill any cracks well before you start.
Figure Out What Paint Was There Before
You probably didn’t think that home painting meant going forensic, but there is more to it than you might think. And before even buying any paint, you need to know what was there before. There are two main types of paint, latex and oil-based. And you don’t want to mix them.
The way to test is to soak a cotton wool ball in some rubbing alcohol and put it on a small wall section. If paint comes off, then it’s latex paint. If it doesn’t budge, you have an oil-based paint and use an oil primer to prep your walls.
Prime It Right
Newbies make the mistake of just slapping paint on the walls, but this is a mistake. It needs priming, and, it needs priming right.
If it’s a brand-new wall, use a water-based primer. If it’s water damaged outdoor wall, use oil primer, and see the previous tip for internal walls.
Also, pick a tinted primer, as it will cover the old paint better than white does. This will help you paint fewer coats in the long run.
Add A Paint Extender
Paint extender is one of the best-kept secrets of house painting pros. This is the way to eliminate lap marks forever.
It also delays the drying process – this might sound like a bad thing, but trust us, it’s not. Ultimately, this will give you more chance to correct blotches and mistakes.
And it will banish all brush strokes!
Prep The Paint Right
There is so much more than just opening the tin of paint and putting it on the wall. First, it needs to be prepped.
The first thing you need to know is how to mix it. If you are using more than one tin, it should be combined in a bucket before use. It might surprise you to know that there can be subtle differences between the same paint tins, so mixing ensures evenness.
When mixing, the paint should be stirred with a DIY stirrer for best results. Our top tip is put holes in them, to mix the paint more evenly.
Paint drying out is the scourge of the professional decorator. There are various ways to prevent this. Believe it or not, pros place golf balls into the paint tins, to cover the air space,
Not a golf fan? You can cling wrap the lid and seal it, then store the painting upside down.
Wash But Don’t Wash Your Rollers?
Confused? Well, it is a bit, for sure, but the stellar advice from our experts is that although rollers should be washed thoroughly before use, from new, when there is color on them, they shouldn’t be washed – until the end of the job.
Whilst you are still on the go, keep the rollers (or brushes) from drying by clinging them in plastic kitchen bags – or foil. These can be put in the fridge, but allow them to come to room temperature before using them again!
Did you try any of these tips? Did they work? I would be fascinated to see what you think!
If you can’t follow the pro steps, why not try with the beginner one HERE.
Deep Cleaning Kitchen Cabinets
In this busy fast-moving world, your cleaning lady would probably wipe down your kitchen counters and mop and sweep the floor every alternate day to maintain the cleanliness of the kitchen, but what about your kitchen cabinets? They definitely might not get the same attention as the floor and the kitchen counters which they should. The collection of dirt, dust, grease and other cooking residues over time mixed with the atmosphere and forms tacky black glue which is impossible to remove.
Besides becoming a health sword, it will also over time enhance the risk of bacteria which can mix with the food and easily contaminate all the handles and knobs. Overall, it’s a mess.
How often should you clean kitchen cabinets?
Ideally, it is imperative to clean the surface or the exteriors of the kitchen cabinets every week or every other week. However, it is essential to set a deep cleaning routine every few months. A deep cleaning routine of the kitchen cabinets includes emptying all the kitchen utensils in the kitchen, which may sound overwhelming. Still, it has the right approach to get a beautiful and shining, Grease free kitchen.
Types of equipment or tools required for deep cleaning
- Cleaning cloths
- Toothbrush
- Vacuum
- dish soap
- Vinegar
- warm water solution
- cabinet cleaner or cleaner with orange oil
- All-purpose cleaner
- baking soda.
Steps and instructions to clean
Cleaning solution: most of the contemporary kitchen cabinets are made of different types of materials, like plastic, painted wood, window cabinets metals etc., so this could include a block of liquid dish soap and warm water. This mild solution can get rid of surface levels grease and dust which has built up over the months on the cabinet.
Work from the top down: Another major tip which you can follow is to work from the top and move down the cabinets. If the cabinets are empty, you can directly use the spray to spray on the surface and then clean it using a clean cloth.
Rinsing thoroughly: Once you’re done with the soap solution, you ought to clean it with another clean cloth or just plain water and a dry cloth to remove all the soap stains and soap fragments from the surfaces.
Wiping handles knobs and pulls
A deep toothbrush is essential to wipe all the hard wires, Comprising of metal surfaces. A dash of vinegar and warm water solution could be used to dip the brush and scrub the metal surfaces. If the hard wires or the poles are detachable from the cabinets, then make sure you remove it, clean them thoroughly and then put them back.
Cleaning grease build-up
The orangish-yellow sticky substance, which is present on the cabinets that are so thick to remove, is called the grease. One of the best remedies to take this off the surface is to use an orange oil cleaner which penetrates through the grease when it’s left for about four minutes.
8 Tips For House Painting On A Budget
House painting can be challenging. And house painting on a budget can be tougher still. For many folks, decorating on a budget may seem like folly and something that will inevitably end up costing them a packet.
But it doesn’t have to be. Girl Thursday has put together some top tips for doing the job right, whilst still saving some dough along the way.
Do It Yourself
You’ve probably already worked this one out, but by doing the whole job yourself, you can save a lot of money. But not hiring professionals comes with its own set of headaches.
You need to plan around your available time and organize when you can fit your renovating in. Booking time off work might be better than it stretching out for an infinity of weekends.
Top tip – you can ask friends to help and even hold paint parties if it seems a bit too much on your own. Don’t let them get too drunk though!
Beg, Borrow, Recycle
When you’re broke, everything seems to cost money. And as you have no doubt found, all the incidental costs – brushes, rollers, tape etc. – quickly take their toll on your budget.
So, what can you do? We advise asking around – see if you can borrow any of these things. (Of course, you promise to clean them up at the end!) It’s also worth asking on Freecycle or similar sites, and people often have stuff to giveaway that might be of use.
Don’t Skimp On Quality
Tempting though it is to buy the cheapest paints in the store, we must insist on quality.
Cheap paints are never saving. You may end up re-doing the same wall twice, or even three times over to achieve the same results. Also, you will probably be spending extra in primer too. Stick to brands you trust when it comes to budget painting – although we think it’s ok to skimp on the lifetime guarantee, you probably won’t want it that long anyway.
Prime If Needed
Not every paint needs a primer, although to achieve a real five-star finish you might want to use one. If you’ve bought a self-priming paint, then there’s little reason to prime unless you paint a dark wall with a light color.
Reuse The Same Colors
You will likely have some paint leftover, so why not use it in another room? This doesn’t mean all the rooms have to look the same (unless you want them to), but you can mix and match different walls in the same room.
Do Your Prep
The cleaner your walls are, the more chance your project has of succeeding. And succeeding means not buying replacement paint!
Not letting your paint dry out, helps keep it in tip-top condition for longer – so if you want to reuse it, you can. We recommend re-sealing tins carefully and then covering them with plastic bags.
Work Out How Much You Need
If you’re looking to save money, you don’t want gallons of extra paint leftover after a job. Measure up correctly and find a paint calculator to work out just how much you need. Then buy them all at once, that way you can usually snag a discount.
Proceed With Caution
If you want to save money, slow and certain is the way to go. Rushing will increase the chances of mistakes and that means you might have to do it again. Take your time, paint as carefully and as smoothly as possible to ensure you get it right the first time.
Painting on a budget needn’t be a chore and it shouldn’t look like a rush job. Follow these tips to decorate like a pro and still save pennies!