How about trying a bit of painting?
Do you ever wonder how decorators make painting and decorating look easy?!
Well here are a few tips and ideas for you to try at home to make things a little bit easier for you with less mess (hopefully)....
The first thing to remember is that preparation and having tools to do the job is really important! You may need some basic tools, such as good paintbrush, roller, paint/roller tray, some old towels to wipe paint away, bucket.....Oh yes and old clothes so you don't ruin your good clothes.
You don't want to end up looking like this....
So if you want to paint a wall it's quite easy, but if you have marks on the wall or any holes you will need to make sure you clean everything off and then fill any holes with some basic filler!
You can wash walls down with some soap and warm water, get them nice and clean and take any dirt of the walls before painting!
You can buy wall filler quite cheap at most DIY shops (Wilko is open in St Helens or you can order wall filler online).
You need a wall filling knife as well, but.....If you have an old bank card you don't need you can even use that! Just as good and free!
Step 1
Start by raking any loose plaster from any cracks with the corner of a filling knife or scraper. With a small paintbrush, dampen the crack with water to make the filler dry slowly. This helps stop it from shrinking and falling out of the crack!
Step 2
Put some filler onto the filling knife and push it across the hole at right angles to the crack. Press firmly until the filler comes just over the surface. Leave this to dry, then smooth it down with medium-grade sandpaper. You can use a sanding block for this or cheaper way is to wrap the sandpaper around a bar of soap! Cheaper and just as good!
Once everything is dry get ready to paint !
Quick Tip!
Make sure you cover any furniture and your floors with old sheets! We don't want paint on your lovely carpet or sofa!!!!
Quick Tip!
If you use a roller tray put some kitchen cellophane (the clear wrap) or tin foil in and around the tray, make sure it is over the edges of the tray.
Pour your paint on top of the cellophane or foil. When you have finished, you an take it off and throw it away! No need to clean the tray!!
Have a little look at an example
Quick Tip!
Always make sure you put any paint tins or paint trays on old newspaper. If any spills out it will only go on the paper......Not on your floor !!
Step 3
Use masking tape along the bottom of all the skirting boards and around the borders of anywhere you're not painting (such as light switches and windowsills). This helps keep the rest of the paintwork in your room sharp and doesn't need a really steady hand for your interior painting!!
Remember!!
There are different types of paint, and depending what type of paint you use will determine how you clean up and clean your brushes !! Water-based paints dry quicker and have less fumes. They also can be cleaned up with just water if you do spill any! Plus you can clean your brushes in just warm water...Easy and cheap!
Emulsion paint is commonly used on walls and ceilings and often where the surface is uneven, this is water based and easy to clean!
Oil based paints like some gloss paints need white spirit or turpentine to clean brushes or any spills.
Really important to remember......oil based paint can be hard to clean up if you spill it! Plus, you need to clean the brushes with White Spirits or Turpentine. If you don't, your paintbrush will dry up and will be very hard to clean! So as soon as you finish painting with gloss type paints, get the brush in White Spirits or Turpentine and clean those brushes!
Paint Brushes
There are loads of different ones, so here is a quick guide!
- Synthetic brushes/bristles are the best for water-based paints as it doesn't absorb water and won't cause brush marks.
- Natural bristle is best used for solvent-based paints like gloss as it creates a smooth finish.
Step 4
So now we get to paint the wall!
Here are the easy steps to make it much easier for you and less hassle!
Ever heard the painters and decorators say 'cutting in'? Well it just means painting around the edges of the wall!
Take a look at the picture below......Using masking tape on the ceiling then start painting the wall using your brush, it doesn't have to be neat as the masking tape will stop it going on the ceiling!
Then once you have painted all the way around the edges......Just use the roller and paint the middle bits!!
All Finished!?
Make sure you clean that roller, if you're using emulsion paint just use warm soapy water, and clean the brush as well......in water!!
Easy and ready for the next job!
Painting and decorating is not always hard to do, you just need to have the right tools, know what paint to use and how to clean everything up!!
Most importantly be confident and give it a go!
Steve Oakes, Futures Team Personal Adviser is willing to come out to any of our young people decorating and help you out with a few quick tips!!
Believe in yourself and you can decorate your home just as well as anyone else!!
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