Painting class

HeyBub · 2011-02-14T13:24:35+00:00

Went to the local Home & Garden Show and sat in on a painting class. Here are some hints I gleaned. You probably know most of them.* Don't mask window glass - use Chapstick! Use cling-wrap on mirrors, door-knobs, and anything else from which it would be irritating to clean speckles.* Don't wash your brushes, use a bucket containing water and (a lot) of liquid fabric softener. The brush will clean in ten seconds.* There's a big difference between a "paint" brush (expensive) and a brush only fit for slathering on finish remover.* Never paint from the can. Plus, your container should contain no more than 1/2" of paint. A swell container can be made from plastic milk jug or bleach bottle. Cut a large window in the bottle. You'll have a handy container, a handle to hold it, and a ready-made funnel for putting the excess back in the can. With a suitable cut, you can fashion a grip for your brush so the brush hangs vertically inside the bleach bottle.* Spray your hand (or other body parts) with PAM (regular, not garlic-flavored). The paint splatters won't stick.* The instructor made a painter's apron out of a 13-gallon trash bag, complete with neck loop and ties for around the back. I can't describe it here.* Punch 4 or more holes in the rim of your paint can. This allows paint to drain back into the can. The "point" on the painter's tool is designed for this purpose.* For your paint-holding hand, cover it with a nitrile or other plastic glove. Dump some talc or baby powder in the glove first, and seal the open end of the glove to your arm with blue tape.* Unused paint: Take a bit of the cut off trash bag, or plastic sack, spray it with PAM. Open the lid of the half-empty can, breathe into the can three times (CO2 to dispel the oxygen), place the bit of plastic over the can (PAM-side down), then the lid, and hammer into place. Turn the can upside down and store. The PAM will rise to the surface in the paint, forming a thin film atop the paint, protecting the paint from any...

Painting class

Feb 14, 2011 20 Replies

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Note that there are several different designs. I have one I use for mud in a 5gall bucket. I use it for 5gal paint buckets-- but only in one direction. Like this

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I have another one I use for gallon paint cans- direction doesn't matter.

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This guy?

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I got one of them 25 yrs ago when I bought this 100 yr old house. None of the double hung windows had been opened since the great depression. Many coats of paint held them together. It was time consuming, but that little tool sawed its way through layer after layer of paint.

I've replaced them all now, but that tool made them work for the years they were still in service.

Jim