Get Started With Painting Tools and Techniques
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Find The Right Painting Tools and Techniques
This is a 4 piece series on painting tools and techniques. Here in section 1 I will examine masking and protective gear. Later in part two 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 decade. Today there's an instrument for practically every situation. Even I'm impressed by the innovative devices arriving on the market, for example, dripless caulk guns, which have solved a messy problem.
Before you commence your project, take a minute to check your equipment. You'll probably need to stock up on a few items. Make an entire list of what you need. Keep an eye out for tools that save time and labor. The more expensive equipment, such as sprayers and scaffolding, can be rented.
Protective Gear
Some people don't think it's necessary to wear protection gear when they're painting. I assume they think it's wimpy. But I've been around enough toxic substances to understand how dangerous they could be. Dust, painting mist, and vapors affect the lungs very quickly, and skin pores are an wide open target for solvents and dust borne debris. Avoid being foolish... protect yourself.
Respirators Risk
A particle mask is preferable to almost nothing, but it doesn't form a good seal and it will not filter all the dust. If you do use a particle face mask, get one with double elastic bands. A damp handkerchief tied around your face gives better security than particle masks that use light-weight rubber bands.
Double cartridge respirators are the safest solution. They'll give you the protection you will need for many vapors, mist, and dirt. 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 evaluating the seal of your diving face mask. Breathe in then keep your hand over the side valves. The mask is acceptable if it presses against your face and stays there when you hold your breath. Good respirators cost from $25 on up and usually come with replacement filters. Double cartridge respirators have color coded filters for different pollutants; check that you are using the right filter for the job. Make sure to read the instructions, and note that you should change the cartridges if deep breathing becomes hard or if you begin detecting vapors.
Learn About Protective Clothing
Respirators do a good job of protecting your lungs, but you need to protect the rest of your body as well. Having been certified in lead abatement, I know that the body can only eliminate an extremely small percentage of lead, even more than a 30 year period. Many painters make the error of believing that a little contact with dust or VOCs won't damage them, but everything adds up as time passes. I usually dress for protection, keeping at least one good Tyvek painting suit on the job. Tyvek breathes well, weighs little, and offers good protection. The excess layer is somewhat warm, but I would prefer to wear a paint suit than be covered with dirt or overspray (during a hot day be sure to drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration). In the event that you choose not to wear 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 though I'm brushing. They keep my hands clean and my grip dry. I take two pairs of gloves if I'm painting more than one color, to ensure I don't contaminate the colors. Commercial strength rubber gloves are another must. I wear rubber gloves to stain, to wash out brushes, sprayers, and rollers; to open up, mix, and strain paints; also to handle toxic substances such as paint thinners.
Rounding out my paint anywhere clothing collection are safety eye glasses or goggles to keep chips, dust, and spray mist out of my eye, and, if I'm spraying, a hood. In the event that you spray without a hood, be prepared to spend plenty of time cleaning paint out of your hair.
Masking Secrets
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're only painting one inside home window, masking the floor is a good idea. Having an open can of paint makes me anxious if there isn't a drop cloth on the floor. I've discovered the hard way. Masking becomes even more crucial if you're staining, because stain spatters just about everywhere. A few simple items can save you a great deal of touching up, cleaning up, and struggling 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. Touching 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 usually best, but drop cloths don't have to be costly, professional painter's cloths. You will often find fairly large drapes at thrift stores, for the cost of one thin plastic drop cloth. Search for drapes with vinyl fabric backing, for added waterproofing. I cut 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 if you can find 3 foot wide paper (such as the kind used for flooring insulation) to lie on top of the clear plastic. If I'm painting a large new home and I have to mask the entire floor, the plastic material/paper masking system is inexpensive and is effective.
An excellent masking system is crucial whether you're brushing, rolling, or spraying the paint. All you need is masking tape, paper for the outside edge of the floor and baseboard, and a skinny layer of clear plastic for the glass windows and furniture. 3M makes a good masking system that includes special painter's tape and dispensers with pre-taped plastic material. If you've ever before spent hours scraping tape adhesive off home windows, you can appreciate advanced masking tapes. Commercial masking dispensers are available at professional painting retailers and sometimes at local rental shops. If a commercial dispenser is difficult to find, simply buy a roll of heavy paper and use your wrist to carry 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 house windows and smooth areas. Always wait at least four hours 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 main areas to be painted, it is 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 will be taping with vacuum cleaner, foxtail broom, or clean rag, to ensure a tight seal. When you mask, concentrate on obtaining a clean edge with the tape, and make sure the tape is solidly attached.
Tape and paper dispensers are well suited 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 favor going corner to corner with one long strip of tape, which reduces the number of seams that should be taped. After the perimeter is in place, I use drop cloths for the rest of the floor. For better protection, I always substantially overlap the masked perimeter with the drop cloth. On sides I also double the cloth over to the inside, for extra protection and stability.
Getting a tight seal with a drop cloth is critical when you're spraying an area, but guarding carpet or flooring with a sealed drop cloth is a good plan even if you're just brushing or rolling. A drop cloth will move if it isn't taped where it lies, and you'll end up on your knees cleaning paint off the floor.
Learn How To Mask Walls And Fixtures
No matter how you plan to use the paint, you will have to mask permanent fixtures like the ceiling lights, fans, and door knobs. Even if you have excellent hand control, cutting in (edging) the fittings that aren't masked is time consuming, especially for multiple coats of paint. To mask accessories, pull off enough newspaper and tape to wrap the fixture, being careful to keep the tape just on the base of the fixture (newspaper also makes a good masking material for fixtures). When possible, loosen the fixture covers and wall mounts to paint under them; this ensures a seamless border.
The quantity of masking that you must do depends on what kind of house painting you'll be doing. The only time the wall surfaces need to be masked is when you intend to spray the ceiling and you need to keep the wall surfaces dry, for instance, if the ceiling is getting another color or finish. If the trim is clear coated or you would like to paint only the wall surfaces and ceiling, it makes sense to mask all around the trim, especially the windowsills.
How To Mask Windows
Really the only time I mask windows is once I intend to spray. Taping home windows isn't extremely effective. It takes too much time and paint still gets under the tape, and masking tape has a knack for really adhering to glass.
For interior or outdoor windows, I take advantage of the same system as for masking walls. The one difference is the fact masking windows usually is faster than masking whole walls. Masking home windows and walls is usually done with plastic, which allows light in to the room and is handy for covering large areas (paper is best for masking floor surfaces and trim). To measure plastic, I roll it out along the window, cut as straight of a line as it can be, and tape the perimeter of the windowpane. Then it's just a matter of sticking the plastic onto the exposed tape, working from the top down and being careful to keep it straight and level.
Masking paper also is effective to safeguard windows, floor, and molding from paint spatters. To safeguard home windows, apply masking paper over the top of the window’s casing. The width of the paper is enough to block most of the roller spatter. This same strategy protects the floor and molding. If you are comfortable about your brushing and rolling abilities try using 1 ½ inch masking tape instead of masking paper.
Masking For Spraying Tutorial
Spraying calls for that anything not being sprayed should be completely masked. Because spraying requires such comprehensive masking, wait to mask until you're prepared to spray. Exterior surface spraying might require extensive masking, depending on the variety of colors and whether there are surrounding structures 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 a lot less than the time you'll have spent touching up afterward. A good seal with masking tape is critical because sprayed paint gets almost everywhere. Overspray is like the occasional drip from a brush every so often... one will get away from you, no matter how careful you are. Nevertheless, you can decrease overspray by double checking before you spray.
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