Do You Struggle 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 the first article I will examine masking and protective gear. Later in article two I’ll examine ladders and scaffolding and in article three I’ll talk about brushes and rollers. Finally, in the last article we’ll look at sprayers, caulk guns, wire brushes, braces and knee pads, and swivel hooks.
The painting industry has made tremendous strides within the last 10 years. Today there's a tool for nearly every situation. Even I'm impressed by the impressive devices arriving on the market, for example, dripless caulk guns, which have resolved a messy problem.
Before you get started on 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 expensive equipment, such as sprayers and scaffolding, can be rented.
Top Rated Protective Gear
Some people don't think it's necessary to wear protection gear when they're painting. I guess 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 have an impact on the lungs very quickly, and skin pores are an available target for solvents and dust borne contaminants. Don't be foolish... protect yourself.
Best Practices For Respirators
A particle mask is better than nothing at all, but it doesn't form a tight seal and it will not filter all the dust. If you do use a particle mask, get one with dual elastic bands. A damp handkerchief tied around a person’s face gives better security than particle masks that use lightweight rubber bands.
Double cartridge respirators are the safest solution. They'll give you the protection you'll need for many vapors, mist, and dust. Respirators come in three sizes. Ensure that yours fits. If it doesn't fit well, it will not work well. Checking the fit of a respirator is similar to testing the seal of a diving face mask. Breathe then hold your hand over the side valves. The mask is acceptable if it presses against the 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 impurities; be sure you are using the right filtration for the job. Be sure to read the instructions, and note 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, nevertheless, you need to protect the rest of the body as well. Having been qualified in lead abatement, I understand that the body can only just eliminate an extremely small percentage of lead, even more than a 30 year span. Many painters make the error of thinking that a little exposure to dust particles 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 offers good protection. The extra layer is a little warm, but I would rather wear a paint suit than be covered with dirt or overspray (on a hot day make sure to drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration). In the event that you choose not to wear a painting suit, wear clothes that you will not mind turning into something resembling a painting palette.
I almost always 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 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 clothing are safety glasses or goggles to keep chips, dust particles, and spray mist out of my eyes, and, if I'm spraying, a hood. If you spray without a hood, be prepared to spend lots of time washing paint out of your hair.
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 home window, masking the floor may be beneficial. Having an open can of paint makes me stressed if there isn't a drop cloth on the floor. I've discovered the hard way. Masking becomes even more critical if you're staining, because stain spatters all over. A few simple items can help you save a great deal of touch up, cleaning up, and struggling to get paint out of the carpet before your spouse sees it. Before I finally gave up and admitted that my approach wasn't perfectly right and dripless, I spent more time touching up than I could have. Touching up is a fact of painting life, but these days I do much less of it because I take time to mask.
First, you need a drop cloth. Heavy cloth is usually best, but drop cloths don't have to be expensive, professional painter's cloths. You will often find fairly large drapes at thrift stores, for the price of one thin plastic material drop cloth. Look for drapes with vinyl backing, for added waterproofing. I pull out the top stitching for an additional 3 inches of fabric.
The trouble with plastic drop cloths is that they weigh next to nothing and billow everywhere. Plastic works best if you can find 3 foot wide paper (like the kind used for flooring insulation) to lie on top of the plastic. If I'm painting a sizable new home and I have to mask the whole floor, the plastic/paper masking system is inexpensive and is effective.
A good masking system is crucial whether you're brushing, rolling, or spraying the paint. All you require is masking tape, paper for the outer edge of the floor and baseboard, and a skinny 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 before spent hours scraping tape adhesive off house windows, you can appreciate advanced masking tapes. Commercial masking dispensers can be found at professional painting shops 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 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 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 much longer than 24 hours or it will be hard to pull off.
Masking Floors Blueprint
In addition to masking off the key 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 necessary drop cloths, then clean the areas you will 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 perfect for masking off the outer edge of an area. They ensure a clean edge along the floor and minimize clean-up. I use shorter lengths 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 will have to be taped. After the perimeter is in place, I take advantage of drop cloths for the remainder of the floor. For greater protection, I always substantially overlap the masked perimeter with the drop cloth. On corners I also double the cloth over to the inside, for extra protection and stability.
Obtaining 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 an excellent plan even if you are just brushing or rolling. A drop cloth will move if it isn't taped in place, and you'll wrap up on your knees cleaning paint off the floor.
Masking Walls And Fixtures Secrets
No matter how you intend to use the paint, you will have to mask permanent fixtures such as the ceiling lights, fans, and door knobs. Even if you have excellent hand control, cutting in (edging) the fixtures that aren't masked is frustrating, specifically for multiple coats of paint. To mask accessories, pull off enough paper and tape to wrap the fixture, being careful to keep the tape just on the base of the fixture (newspapers also makes a good masking material for accessories). If 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 is determined by what kind of house painting you will be doing. The sole time the wall surfaces have to be masked is when you intend to spray the ceiling and you will need to keep the wall surfaces dry, for example, if the ceiling is getting another color or finish. If the trim is clear coated or you want to paint only the walls and ceiling, it makes sense to mask all around the trim, especially the windowsills.
How To Mask Windows
The one time I mask windows is when I intend to spray. Taping glass windows isn't very effective. It takes too long and paint still gets under the tape, and masking tape has a knack for really sticking to glass.
For interior or outdoor windows, I take advantage of the same system as for masking surfaces. The sole difference is the fact masking house windows usually is faster than masking complete walls. Masking glass windows and walls is usually done with plastic material, which lets light into the room which is useful for covering large areas (paper is best for masking floor surfaces and trim). To measure plastic, I roll it out across the home window, cut as straight of a line as is feasible, and tape the perimeter of the home window. 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 protect glass windows, apply masking paper over the top of the window casing. The width of the paper will do to block the majority of the roller spatter. This same strategy protects the floor and molding. If you're self-assured about your brushing and rolling abilities try using 1 ½ inch masking tape rather than masking paper.
Concerned About Masking For Spraying?
Spraying demands that anything not being sprayed should be completely masked. Because spraying requires such intensive masking, wait to mask until you're ready to spray. Outside surface spraying may need extensive masking, with regards to the number of colors and whether there are surrounding structures such as fences and power lines. When masking for spray, be sure you be detailed. 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 crucial because sprayed paint gets all over the place. Overspray is similar to the casual 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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