Benefit From These Painting Tools and Techniques

This is a four piece series on painting tools and techniques. Here in part one I will examine protective gear and masking. Later in part 2 I’ll examine ladders and scaffolding and in part 3 I’ll talk about brushes and rollers. Finally, in part 4 we’ll look at sprayers, caulk guns, wire brushes, braces and knee pads, and swivel hooks.

The painting industry has made tremendous strides in the last 10 years. Today there's a tool for almost every situation. Even I'm impressed by the impressive devices coming on the market, for example, dripless caulk guns, that have resolved a messy problem.

Before you commence your project, have a minute to check your equipment. You will most probably need to stock up on several items. Make a complete list of what you need. Keep an eye out for tools that save time and labor. The more costly equipment, such as sprayers and scaffolding, can be rented.

Top Rated Protective Gear

Some people don't think it's essential to wear protection gear when they're painting. I assume they think it's wimpy. But I've worked around enough toxic substances to understand how dangerous they can be. Dust, painting mist, and vapors impact the lungs rapidly, and skin pores are an wide open target for solvents and dust borne particles. You shouldn't be foolish... protect yourself.

Secrets To Respirators

A particle mask is preferable to almost nothing, but it doesn't form a good seal and it won't filter out all the dust. If you do use a particle mask, get one with double elastic bands. A damp handkerchief tied around a person’s face gives better protection than particle masks that use lightweight rubber bands.

Double cartridge respirators are the safest solution. They'll give you the protection you will need for most vapors, mist, and dust. Respirators come in three sizes. Make sure that yours fits. If it doesn't fit well, it will not work well. Checking the fit of any respirator is similar to testing the seal of your diving face mask. Breathe then keep your hand over the side valves. The mask fits if it presses against your face and stays there when you hold your breath. Good respirators cost from $25 on up and usually include replacement filters. Double cartridge respirators have color coded filters for different pollutants; check that you have the right filter for the work at hand. Make sure to read the instructions, and note that you should change the cartridges if deep breathing becomes hard or if you start detecting vapors.

Secrets To Protective Clothing

Respirators execute a good job of protecting your lungs, nevertheless, you need to safeguard the remainder of the body as well. Having been accredited in lead abatement, I understand that your body can only just eliminate a very small ratio of lead, even more than a 30 year period. Many painters make the mistake of believing that a little contact with particles or VOCs won't harm them, but it all adds up over time. I usually dress for protection, keeping at least one good Tyvek painting suit on the job. Tyvek breathes well, weighs little, and provides good protection. The extra layer is a bit warm, but I'd rather wear a paint suit than be covered with dust or overspray (on a hot day ensure that you drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration). In the event that you choose never to invest in a painting suit, wear clothes that you won't mind turning into something resembling a painting palette.

I more often than not wear leather gloves, even when I'm brushing. They keep my hands clean and my grip dry. I carry two pairs of gloves if I'm painting more than one color, to ensure that I don't contaminate the colors. Industrial strength rubber gloves are another must. I wear rubber gloves to stain, to wash out brushes, sprayers, and rollers; to open, mix, and strain paints; and to handle toxins such as paint thinners.

Rounding out my paint anywhere wardrobe are safety glasses or goggles to keep chips, dust, and spray mist out of my eyes, and, if I'm spraying, a hood. If you spray with out a hood, be prepared to spend plenty of time washing paint out of your hair.

Worried About Masking?

Usually the area you're painting will have a finished floor or carpet and the proverbial ounce of prevention can save your day. Even if you are only painting one inside window, masking the floor may be beneficial. Having an open can of paint makes me nervous if there isn't a drop cloth on the floor. I've discovered the hard way. Masking becomes even more vital if you're staining, because stain spatters everywhere. Several simple items can save you a whole lot of touching up, cleaning up, and attempting to get paint out of the carpet before your spouse sees it. Before I finally quit and admitted that my technique wasn't perfectly right and dripless, I spent more time touching up than I could have. Touch up is an undeniable fact of painting life, but nowadays I do much less of it because I take time to mask.

First, you require a drop cloth. Heavy fabric is always best, but drop cloths don't have to be expensive, professional painter's cloths. You can sometimes find pretty large drapes at thrift stores, for the price of one thin plastic material drop cloth. Search for drapes with vinyl backing, for added waterproofing. I pull out the top stitching for an extra 3 inches of fabric.

The difficulty with plastic drop cloths is that they weigh next to nothing and billow everywhere. Clear plastic works best when you can find 3 foot wide paper (like the kind used for flooring insulation) to lie on top of the clear plastic. If I'm painting a sizable new home and I have to mask the entire floor, the clear plastic/newspaper masking system is inexpensive and is effective.

A good masking system is critical whether you're brushing, rolling, or spraying the paint. All you require is masking tape, newspaper for the outside edge of the floor and baseboard, and a slim layer of plastic material for the glass windows and furniture. 3M makes a good masking system which includes special painter's tape and dispensers with pre-taped plastic material. If you've ever spent time scraping tape adhesive off windows, you can appreciate advanced masking tapes. Commercial masking dispensers are available at professional painting shops and sometimes at rental shops. In case a commercial dispenser is difficult to find, simply buy a roll of heavy paper and use your wrist to hold the masking tape roll.

Some tapes need more stickiness for fixing plastic material to rougher textures like walls. Other tapes need to come off without leaving adhesive on glass windows and smooth surfaces. Always wait at least four hours time before removing tape to avoid tearing the paint. But don't leave tape on for longer than a day or it will be hard to remove.

Masking Floors

In addition to masking off the primary areas to be painted, it's also good prevention to mask main traffic areas and wherever you plan to store and mix the paint. Distribute all the required drop cloths, then clean the areas you'll be taping with a vacuum, foxtail broom, or clean rag, to ensure a good seal. When you mask, concentrate on getting a clean edge with the tape, and make sure the tape is securely attached.

Tape and paper dispensers are perfect for masking off the outer edge of a room. They ensure a clean edge along the floor and minimize clean-up. I use shorter strips of masking (1 ft. to 2 ft.) for corners and closets. On long, straight runs I prefer going corner to corner with one long piece of tape, which reduces the amount of seams that should be taped. Once the perimeter is set up, I take advantage of drop cloths for the rest of the floor. For greater protection, I always significantly overlap the masked perimeter with the drop cloth. On corners I also double the cloth over to the inside, for extra security and stability.

Obtaining a tight seal with a drop cloth is critical when you're spraying an area, but protecting carpet or flooring with a sealed drop cloth is a good plan even if you are just brushing or rolling. A drop cloth will move if it is not taped in place, and you'll end up on your knees cleaning paint off the floor.

Masking Walls And Fixtures Lessons

No matter how you intend to apply the paint, you will have to mask permanent fixtures such as the ceiling lighting, fans, and door knobs. Even though you have excellent hand control, cutting in (edging) the fittings that are not masked is time consuming, especially for multiple coats of paint. To mask fixtures, pull off enough newspaper and tape to wrap the fixture, being careful to keep the tape just on the bottom of the fixture (newspapers also makes a good masking material for accessories). When possible, release the fixture covers and wall mounts to paint under them; this ensures a seamless border.

The amount of masking that you must do will depend on what kind of house painting you'll be doing. Really the only time the surfaces have to be masked is when you plan to spray the ceiling and you need to keep the wall surfaces dry, for example, if the ceiling is getting a different color or finish. If the trim is clear coated or you want to paint only the wall surfaces and ceiling, it makes sense to mask all over the trim, especially the windowsills.

Fast And Easy Window Masking

The only real time I mask windows is whenever I intend to spray. Taping house windows isn't extremely effective. It takes too long and paint still gets under the tape, and masking tape has a knack for really adhering to glass.

For interior or exterior windows, I use the same system as for masking surfaces. The one difference is that masking windows usually is faster than masking whole walls. Masking home windows and wall surfaces is usually done with clear plastic, which lets light in to the room which is handy for covering large areas (paper is most beneficial for masking flooring and trim). To measure plastic, I roll it out across the home window, cut as straight of a line as you can, and tape the perimeter of the windows. Then it's simply a matter of sticking the clear plastic onto the exposed tape, working from the top down and being careful to keep it straight and level.

Masking paper also works well to protect windows, floor, and molding from paint spatters. To protect house windows, apply masking paper over the top of the home window casing. The width of the paper is enough to block almost all of the roller spatter. This same approach protects the floor and molding. If you are assured about your brushing and rolling abilities try using 1 ½ inch masking tape rather than masking paper.

How To Mask For Spraying

Spraying demands that anything not being sprayed should be completely masked. Because spraying requires such extensive masking, wait to mask until you're prepared to spray. Exterior surface spraying may need extensive masking, with respect to the variety of colors and whether there are bordering buildings such as fences and electric power lines. When masking for spray, be sure you be comprehensive. Overspray is hard to control, especially under windy conditions. The more you've prepared for overspray, the better. The time spent masking is much less than the time you'll have spent touching up afterward. A good seal with masking tape is crucial because sprayed paint gets all over the place. Overspray is like the occasional drip from a brush every so often... one will get from you, no matter how careful you are. But you can lessen overspray by double checking before you spray.

Sound Quality Painting

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