Painting a ceiling is just like painting a wall, right? Well, not exactly. You can shove furniture and other stuff to the side to paint a wall, but EVERYTHING under a ceiling is in danger of drops of paint so EVERYTHING has to be moved or covered – including carpet. The we come to ceiling paint itself. Most ceiling paint is cheaper per litre than wall paint. I guess this is because its more watery and has been formulated to be white over white – no show through to worry about. Mostly this works fine – as long as there are no stains. And there’s always stains. Possums and Rats love to use your roof space as a toilet – bless ‘em! So a ‘stain blocker should be used first then the regular ceiling paint goes over that. Orrrrrr … if the ceiling is particularly old/stained/patched, I’ve found painting the whole thing with a good blockout/primer can work wonders. I use Taubmans 3 in 1. http://www.taubmans.com.au/paints/taubmans-3-in-1 So even a simple paint job on the ceiling needs careful consideration and attention to detail. If you have a house on Sydney's Lower North Shore, let's talk about painting your ceiling the way it should be. I’m not exactly fashionable. But, i find I look much better if I don’t let my hair get all haywire. With a very cheap (often free) haircut, I feel I look 50% better. Its so quick and easy. Timber exterior windows are the same. A few shabby windows make even the nicest house look shabby. And as the paint peels off the rot sets in. And soon the whole frame has to be replaced at huge expense. All exterior windows need is a good scrape, sand, prime and paint finish and they (and your whole house) look sharp again. So, if you live on the lower north shore, lets have a chat about painting your windows so they look great and work well. Another day, another independent hardware store closes. This time it’s the one in Pyrmont. These places are essential for painters, builders and handymen – not to mention local residents. When you need a small pot of paint or a couple of screws, these guys are great. But I’ve seen too many close their doors. That’s why I like Ewens Hardware on Military Rd, Mosman so much. The guys have just about any small thing and they are really helpful. Click here for more details. Doors, windows, skirting boards and other ‘trim’ has traditionally been given a hard wearing layer of oil paint. But oil based paint smells – very strongly. I had one client leave his house for the night, so bad was the smell. Oil paint is also very slow to dry. The second coat always has to be applied 24 hours after the first. Modern acrylic paint can pretty much be used on trim instead, with a few provisos. - While ‘dry’ in two hours, it can take over 30 days to ‘cure’. In this time it is quite soft. - On very hard wearing areas such as a stair newel (the big banister), rings etc. often scratch acrylic paint to bits. - Sharp corners like door frames, that get a lot of bumps often fail early. But with a with dab of touch up paint most scratches are quickly fixed. PS. If you need an local interior painter/handyman in Mosman or the lower north shore click here. Most interior walls are painted some variation of white/cream. But if you’ve ever looked at a paint chart there are dozens of white/creams and each one can be made paler (called haf or quarter strength). Our friends at Dulux are no dummies. They can see what folks like and have created a range of pre-mixed colours to save painters the time of having wait while a colour is mixed. The funny thing is that most people aren’t trying to copy the neighbours. They just like a colour and it turns out Mosman's favourite paint colours are Australia's too. So without further ado, here are Mosman/Australia's top 3 paint colours from third to first (drum roll please). 3. Hog Bristle. Hog Bristle is quite a strong creamy colour. It’s often toned down to half or quarter strength. 2. Whisper white. Pretty much plain white. Good for units or modern houses. 1. Antique White USA. By about a country mile. This is a great colour. It’s bright but not harsh white. And it’s a little creamy without being yellowy. It actually has a tiny bit of black in it! Antique white USA is light enough to go unnoticed but cream enough to hide a few finger marks. With so many advantages it's no surprise Antique White USA is number one. Dulux whites and neutrals aren't the only game in town but they have the widest range and can be bought pretty much wherever paint is sold. If you click on the word Dulux above, you can look at some more whites BUT remember your screen is only an approximation of the colour. Make sure you look at a proper colour swatch from a paint supplier before committing! PS. If you'd like to discuss further, the many 'white' options in Mosman or the lower north shore click here. I read a great quote from an old painter once who reckoned when it came to painting preparation people either did not enough or TOO MUCH! He said if you were puffing while sanding, you were sanding too hard. The idea is to give your surface a ‘key’ or vey light scratching that the paint can stick to. We are not trying to sand old paint completely off. For interior painting trim such as doors, windows, skirting etc. the same applies. Paint manufacturers often advise that old painted timber should be stripped back to bare timber! Well, I suppose anything is possible – if you want to pay for it. A good scrape, fill, sand, wash and wipe is really all that is needed. Similarly good solid walls and ceilings may only need a quick sweep to remove dust or cobwebs. Its not usually necessary to undercoat the whole area. Surfaces to be painted need to be clean and smooth with a ‘key’, but stripping off ALL previous evidence of paint is just a waste of my time and your money. Before any of that wonderful coloured paint you’ve chosen goes on, a lot background work has to happen. With some painting jobs (such as re finishing outdoor furniture) the preparation time can be up to 60% of the job. For outdoor furniture, I use a high pressure wash, a cleaning product THEN a brightening product before the stain goes on. Some of the muck that comes off could grow potatoes. The exposed chips and scratches of old painted timber (especially dark wood) needs a dab of undercoat before the new coloured top coat goes on. Exterior window frames, sash windows, bay windows etc. catch a lot of dust and dirt. They need to be swept, washed, sanded and swept again. A recent 6 day painting job I did, had two days of fiddly preparation before I even picked up a paint brush. Then there’s ‘sealing’. A raw plaster patch is much thirstier than the old painted wall around it. The plaster needs to be sealed with either PVA glue or a good primer/undercoat. Leaving the sealing step out results in the plastered part sucking up the paint and leaving a clearly visible difference when the top coats are done. So even though none of the paint preparation is seen, it is vital to a first class finished paint job. PS. If you need a specialist interior painter/handyman in Mosman or the lower north shore click here. Mould (or Mold) is often found in bathrooms, laundries, kitchens and behind furniture. It looks bad and it’s bad for your health - especially for asthmatics and older people. Unfortunately many methods of removing mould are unhealthy too. Bleach for example, creates strong and dangerous vapours. And bleach is often only a short term fix, that whitens but does not kill the mould. At The Tidy Painter I’ve developed a simple system to rid your home of mould. First I apply a natural mould removal blend with no dangerous vapours that actually works. Then I recommend repainting the wall or ceiling with Dulux Kitchen and Bathroom paint. This paint has Mould shield and Anti-Bacterial technology. Dulux give a 7 year guarantee against mould growth on this product! After I’ve gone, simple ventilation and occasional wipe downs will keep your home mould free for many years to come. Call me for an obligation free Mould Removal inspection and quote. PS. My sister who lives in Brisbane, was given two quotes for Mould Removal. One involved re-building her roof. The other proposed painting her roof tiles! Both options would have been very expensive and completely ineffective. 9 out of 10 mould problems can be quickly and effectively solved without major upheaval. PS. If you have a mould or paint problem click here and I'd be happy to help. If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between oil based and water based (or Acrylic) paint was, wonder no more. Oil based paint has been around for centuries. Until fairly recently it was what the professionals used. But Acrylic has come a long way and is technically much better than it used to be. I have it on good authority that water based paint can do almost everything you’ll need. So here are the pros and cons. Oil Based Paint – Pros - Dries hard and resists knocks. - If correctly applied can achieve a smoother more even gloss finish. Therefore Oil based paints are good for internal doors, external doors (that have some shelter from the elements), internal trims and skirting boards: All surfaces that get bumped into a lot. Oil Based Paint – Cons - Smells for a few days. Anywhere from ‘not too bad’ to ‘abandon the house’. - Slow to dry. The second and third coats usually have to wait 24 hours. - Messy (and smelly) to clean up. Turps has to used to clean brushes etc. - Becomes brittle in the elements. Australian sun, rain and dust are tough on exposed painted surfaces. Oil based paint’s ‘hardness’ becomes a liability, as constant expansion and contraction eventually cracks the surface. Water based (Acrylic) paints – Pros - Dries quickly. Can often be re-coated in 2 hours. - Has very little smell. - Washes out in water. - More choices of can size/finish. - Dries to a kind of ‘rubbery’ skin which can stretch and contract without cracking in the sun and rain. Therefore Acrylic paints are good for external windows and other exposed wood work, and all interior walls and ceilings. Water based (Acrylic) paints – Cons - Hard to sand back – especially gloss finish. - Gloss finish rips when bumped. - Can get very gluggy on hot days and dry too fast on surfaces and brushes. So it seems that paint, like so many things in life, is a case of ‘horses for courses’. If you like gambling you’ll love shopping at Bunnings. Some staff are brilliant and very knowledgible – others are far worse than useless giving completely wrong advice (“a four stroke mower has four cylanders and a two stroke mower has two cylanders.” Just nonsense!) The lottery is finding the good guys and dodging the idiots. So here’s my advice. 1. Do a GOOGLE search including the word Bunnings. (Don’t search within the Bunnings site because its rubbish at searching.) 2. Find what you want online, print it off and take it to the store. 3. Interestingly, not all stores carry all Bunnings products, so it may not be there – but no one really knows! DO NOT believe the first staffy that tells you they don’t have one. Ask more than one person until you exhaust the possibilities or yourself. Mid week or early evenings are best for this. Forget weekend visits. NOTE: I followed my advice the other day looking for a plaster-sanding-tool, I’d found on the Bunnings site. Team member 1 said “Dunno, try tools”, Team member 2 (in tools) said “No way. It was an online order item.” I’ve never heard of online orders despite searching the Bunnings Website and shopping there every second day for over two years. Team member 3 suggested we wander over to the plastering section and voila! There it was. All up, about 45 minutes and 3 team members to track down a tool advertised by Bunnings on their website! Questions. 1.Why can’t the Bunnings website tell me what items are at what stores? 2. Why can’t a page printed from the website be checked at store to see where it is? 3. Why do Bunnings train their staff to be more knowledgable about the products on the shelves? Answer. It's my fault (and all those shoppers like me). We want low prices and a wide range of products. We grizzle about terrible service but keep on spending. There WERE plenty of Hardware stores with great service (but higher prices) and guess what? Most have closed down. Bunnings NEVER have to close down a store; they just keep opening new ones. PS. If you have a paint or handyman problem click here and I'd be happy to help. |
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