Find The Right Painting Tools and Techniques
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Painting Techniques and Tools
This is a 4 piece series on painting tools and techniques. Here in the first part I will examine masking and protective gear. Later in part 2 I’ll examine ladders and scaffolding and in article 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 an instrument for practically every situation. Even I'm impressed by the impressive devices coming on the market, for example, dripless caulk guns, which have solved a messy problem.
Before you begin your project, take a minute to check on your equipment. You'll probably need to fill up on several items. Make a complete list of the things 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.
About Protective Gear
Some people don't believe it's essential to wear safety gear when they're painting. I guess they think it's wimpy. But I've been around enough toxic substances to comprehend how dangerous they can be. Dust, painting mist, and vapors impact the lungs rapidly, and skin pores are an available target for solvents and dust borne contaminants. You shouldn't be foolish... protect yourself.
Respirators
A particle mask is better than almost nothing, but it doesn't form a tight seal and it will not filter all the dust. In the event that you do use a particle face mask, get one with dual rubber bands. A damp handkerchief tied around a person’s 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 won't work well. Checking the fit of an respirator is similar to evaluating the seal of a diving face mask. Breathe in then hold your hand over the side valves. The mask will work if it presses against your face and remains 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 impurities; be sure you have the right filtration for the work at hand. Make sure to read the instructions, and remember that you should change the cartridges if respiration becomes hard or if you begin detecting vapors.
Easy Protective Clothing Lessons
Respirators execute a good job of protecting your lungs, but you need to protect the remainder of your body as well. Having been accredited in lead abatement, I know that the body can only just eliminate a very small ratio of lead, even over a 30 year course of time. Many painters make the mistake of thinking that a little contact with dirt or VOCs won't harm them, but it all adds up over time. I always dress for safety, 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 little warm, but I'd prefer to wear a paint suit than be covered with dust or overspray (on a hot day make sure you drink lots of water to avoid dehydration). If 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 though 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 I don't contaminate the colors. Commercial strength rubber gloves are another must. I wear rubber gloves to stain, to clean out brushes, sprayers, and rollers; to open, mix, and strain paints; and handle toxic substances 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 eye, and, if I'm spraying, a hood. If you spray with out a hood, be prepared to spend plenty of time cleansing paint out of your hair.
Masking Really Works
Usually the area you're painting will have a finished floor or carpet and the proverbial ounce of prevention can save the day. Even if you are only painting one inside home window, masking the floor may be beneficial. Having an open can of paint makes me nervous if there isn't any drop cloth on the floor. I've learned the hard way. Masking becomes even more essential if you're staining, because stain spatters everywhere. A few simple items can save you a lot of touch up, cleaning up, and struggling to get paint from the carpet before your spouse sees it. Before I finally quit and admitted that my strategy 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 significantly less of it because I take the time to mask.
First, you need a drop cloth. Heavy fabric is definitely best, but drop cloths need not be costly, professional painter's cloths. You will often find quite large drapes at thrift stores, for the price of one thin plastic drop cloth. Look for drapes with vinyl fabric backing, for added waterproofing. I cut out the top stitching for an extra 3 inches of cloth.
The difficulty with plastic drop cloths is that they weigh next to nothing and billow everywhere. Plastic material works best when 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 sizable new home and I have to mask the complete floor, the plastic material/paper masking system is inexpensive and is effective.
A good masking system is critical whether you're brushing, rolling, or spraying the paint. All you need is masking tape, newspaper for the outer edge of the floor and baseboard, and a thin layer of plastic for the home windows and furniture. 3M makes a good masking system that includes special painter's tape and dispensers with pre-taped clear plastic. If you've ever spent hours scraping tape adhesive off windows, you can appreciate superior masking tapes. Commercial masking dispensers are available at professional painting outlets and sometimes at 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 to rougher textures like walls. Other tapes need to come off without leaving adhesive on house 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'll be hard to remove.
Tools For 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 intend to store and mix the paint. Distribute all the required drop cloths, then clean the areas you'll be taping with vacuum cleaner, foxtail broom, or clean rag, to ensure a tight seal. While you mask, focus on obtaining a clean edge with the tape, and make sure the tape is securely attached.
Tape and paper dispensers are ideal for masking off the outer edge of an area. 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 strip of tape, which reduces the amount of seams that will have to be taped. Once the perimeter is set up, 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 edges I also double the cloth to the inside, for extra security and stability.
Getting a tight seal with a drop cloth is crucial if you are spraying a room, but safeguarding 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 is not taped where it lies, and you'll wrap up on your knees cleaning paint off the floor.
Learn How To Mask Walls And Fixtures
No matter how you intend to use the paint, you'll need to mask permanent fixtures like the ceiling lights, fans, and door knobs. Even though you have excellent hand control, cutting in (edging) the fittings that aren't masked is frustrating, specifically for multiple coats of paint. To mask accessories, pull off enough paper and tape to cover the fixture, being careful to keep the tape just on the base of the fixture (newspaper also makes a good masking material for fittings). When possible, loosen the fixture covers and wall mounts to paint under them; this ensures a smooth border.
The amount of masking that you must do is dependent upon what kind of house painting you'll be doing. Really the only time the walls need to be masked is when you intend to spray the ceiling and you will need to keep the walls dry, for example, if the ceiling is getting a different color or finish. If the trim is clear coated or you intend to paint only the wall space and ceiling, it's wise to mask all over the trim, especially the windowsills.
Masking Windows Secrets
The only real time I cover up windows is once I intend to spray. Taping house windows isn't quite effective. It takes too much time and paint still gets under the tape, and masking tape has a knack for really sticking to glass.
For interior or outside windows, I use the same system for masking wall surfaces. The only difference is the fact masking house windows usually is faster than masking entire wall surfaces. Masking home windows and walls is usually done with plastic material, which allows light into the room and is also handy for covering large areas (paper is most beneficial for masking floors and trim). To measure plastic, I roll it out across the window, cut as straight of a line as is feasible, and tape the perimeter of the windows. Then it's simply a matter of sticking the plastic material 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 glass windows, apply masking paper over the top of the window’s casing. The width of the paper will do to block the majority of the roller spatter. This same approach protects the floor and molding. If you're confident about your brushing and rolling abilities use 1 ½ inch masking tape instead of masking paper.
Masking For Spraying
Spraying calls for that anything not being sprayed should be completely masked. Because spraying requires such extensive masking, wait to mask until you're prepared to spray. Outside surface spraying may need extensive masking, depending on amount of colors and whether there are surrounding structures such as fences and electric power lines. When masking for spray, remember to be detailed. Overspray is hard to regulate, 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 tight seal with masking tape is crucial because sprayed paint gets almost everywhere. Overspray is like the occasional drip from a brush every so often... one is certain to get from you, no matter how careful you are. But you can reduce overspray by double checking before you spray.
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