Painingt walls, tips for a good result

Before painting

To prepare wood surfaces or walls for subsequent application of paint or enamel, use the cementite, a mat paint formed from a mixture of oils with white pigments. It is preferably used as a primer. Let it dry well and treat it with sandpaper to get a perfectly smooth surface.

Check the painting

An infallible test to test the strength of an old painting is to apply a strip of tape and pull abruptly if with the strip is detached also the dye, proceed with the scraping of the entire wall.

Washing of walls and ceilings

Both the walls and ceilings, before being painted, must be subjected to a degreasing.

Melt liquid detergent (great the one for dishes) in warm water and with a rag soaked and well wrung out, wipe the surface with circular movements. Rinse and repeat, if necessary, a few times.

Once completed, wipe with clean water. If on the walls there are formations of mold, treat them with a bleach solution in 16 parts of water. Let sit for two hours, then wash the surface with water and detergent. Finally rinse the treated area with clean water.

Prepare the wall

You can paint an old wall provided it is in good condition. A background scaly or cracked should be discarded, because the new layer would not hold and it would immediately fall off.

However, if the previous paint is in good condition, wash the surface with a very diluted common detergent. Then apply a solution of water and white glue to 10% with a brush or sponge, always working from the top down and circular motions with the brush.

Dilute the emulsion paints

When using water-based paints that require dilution always follow the instructions on the packaging by the manufacturer. If it is recommended to dilute from 10% to 20%, dilute the first coat is not more than 20% and the second no more than 10%.

If you want to create your own shade, mix the white with another color preparing it at once, so you do not have to redo the mixture during construction with the risk of getting a shade different from that used up to that moment. The surplus water paint, to be retained, must never be diluted with water and should be stored in a tightly closed container.

The right dilution

To determine which is the correct dilution of a painting, pour a certain amount in a graduated funnel and time the time that this takes to get empty.

Carried out some experiments with different degrees of dilution and, once identified the ideal mix and noted the relative time, you always know exactly how to remake it with the same type of paint.

Filter painting

When you buy a new tin of paint is not necessary to filter it. But if the can is being opened long before, the surface will have formed a hardened layer to be removed. If necessary, an old pair of stockings help to solve the problem of filtering.

Knowing how to use the roller

If to paint a room you want to use the paint roller, drain the excess paint on a special mesh, if you use the brush do the same thing on the edge of the can. Never interrupt the work at half the wall but always arrive at a sharp corner or at the door. Paint the ceiling first, starting from the corners and then going towards the center of the wall; pass a layer diagonally, and the last in the direction of the window.

Painting following straight lines

Brushing the walls may be necessary to follow straight lines. Often it is not a simple task because of the inability to support the hand that holds the brush.

To give the hand a secure support and very useful in these circumstances make a hand support.

Fixe to one end of a rod of appropriate diameter and length a pad of rubber or fabric.

Hold the rod with one hand and place it against the wall so as to support the hand holding the brush.

Whitewash clean

For painting in an optimal way you need to dip the brush in such a way that does not retain an excessive amount of paint. A perfect dosage is obtained stretching between the attacks of the handle a cord or a wire diagonally across the jar. On this slide the bristles of the brush, dropping the paint in excess.

Lighten the shade

If you apply a color based on water too dark you can easily lighten the shade passing, on the surface still wet, a damp cloth. The water colors are applied to each type of finish and are easier to use; they are non-toxic and do not exhale bad smelling steam.

Walls finishing

The effective use of color is a simple and inexpensive way to increase or reduce the space. The apparent shape of a room can vary by painting a wall in a dark shade. If you want to delete a wall, creating the idea of more space, you paint the wall with a very light color. Warm colors reinforce the effect of dark shades. The cold colors highlight the light dyes.

Finishing of the ceiling

By painting a ceiling too high in a dark and warm color, you get the visual effect of having a lower ceiling. If you paint also the area below the ceiling, this will seem even lower.

Instead, when painting in white a low ceiling, you will tend to back it off and increase the reflected light. A narrow corridor, with high ceiling will seem larger by painting the ceiling and the floor and walls with dark colors with light colors.

Whitewash without drops

If you need to whitewash the ceiling and want to avoid the drops of paint will fall on, strung the brush in a plate or a tray of paper and fix it with masking tape. Before painting a chair or a table put a jar under each leg to catch the drips of paint. Protect the lamps also by wrapping plastic bags around it.

Eliminate the smell of paint

To get rid of the smell of paint, add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract per liter of paint. Put into the room freshly painted a basin of water in which you will have poured a spoon diluted ammonia and let it there for one night. Or put a large onion cut into a bowl of cold water. The onion will significantly reduce the smell of paint.