What Should I Use To Fill Nail Holes In Trim

hand dipping a paint brush into a large tin of pink paint as it drips back into the pot

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one Sand Away Flaws

To apply a perfectly shine coat of pigment to walls, ceilings, and woodwork, yous must showtime with a perfectly smoothen surface. 1 pro told us that "sander," would be a more plumbing equipment job title for him than "painter," since he spends so much time pushing sandpaper.

Sanding with the appropriate abrasive paper helps level out spackling compound and drywall joint chemical compound patches, flattens ridges effectually nail holes, and feathers out repairs to inconspicuously blend into the surrounding surface. Sanding as well removes burrs and crude spots in painted wood trim, such as baseboard moldings and window and door casings. And roughing up a sleeky painted surface with fine-grit sandpaper allows the new paint coat to adhere more easily.

Use a sanding pole fitted with 220-grit sandpaper to sand the walls vertically from the baseboard up to the ceiling. Be sure to overlap each stroke slightly to go on from missing whatever spots. Then, sand horizontally forth the peak of the baseboard molding and forth the tops of the walls at the ceiling. Don't employ besides much pressure on the sanding pole or its swiveling head might flip over and damage the wall. Plus, sandpaper tends to load up (clog) when you press downwardly likewise hard.

To sand decorative woodwork, try using a sanding sponge, which gets into crevices and hands conforms to contours.

ii Printing Record With a Putty Knife

Painter'southward record is an indispensable part of every paint job, especially when masking off wood trim. But nothing is more discouraging than peeling off the tape only to notice that pigment has bled through the tape and gotten all over the trim. To avoid the pain-in-the-neck chore of scraping off the errant paint, exercise a thorough chore of adhering the tape to the trim before yous start painting.

Apply the tape to the wood trim, and then run a putty knife over the tape to firmly press it downwardly for a practiced seal. That'll stop any paint bleeds. And be sure to use true painter'southward tape, not masking tape. Masking record leaves backside a sticky balance that's hard to clean off. Plus, paint tin can cause masking tape to buckle and wrinkle, which lets paint seep beneath it. Painter's record can exist left on for days (some types up to two weeks) and still pare off cleanly.

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iii Embrace Furniture

When painting a room, don't carp lugging all the article of furniture out of the room. Instead, push all the furnishings to the center of the room and then cover it with plastic sheets that are taped at the bottom. This will protect the furniture from paint drips and splatters, and as well from all the sanding dust.

4 Use Tinted Primer

Before the pros paint walls, they fill up holes and patch cracks with joint compound. But if you paint directly over the patched areas, the compound will suck the moisture out of the paint, giving it a flat, slow wait—a problem called "flashing." And those spots volition expect noticeably dissimilar from the rest of the wall. To avoid seeing patched areas through the finished topcoat of pigment, it's of import to first prime the walls.

Notwithstanding, instead of using white primer straight from the tin can, pros tint the primer with a fiddling grayness paint or with the color of the finish paint. Tinted primer does a better chore of concealing patched areas and covering upwardly the old paint color. As a issue, the stop paint glaze will be more vibrant and may require fewer coats. This is especially truthful when painting over colors like red or orange, which could require 3 or more topcoat coats if you don't first use a tinted primer.

5 Buy the Best Supplies

Don't cheap out on paint and brushes. Cheap brushes are false economy. Purchase the best brushes you can afford, make clean them well, and they'll last yous a lifetime. A $three plastic brush is going to make it look as if you smeared paint on the wall with a rake. And, the beard will autumn out into the pigment. Buy Wooster or Purdy paintbrushes, which cost a fleck more than than standard brushes, just are much more durable and apply paint very smoothly. A quality 2½-inch-wide angled sash brush is an excellent all-round paintbrush. It'south versatile and you lot can launder and reuse it until the bristles vesture downwardly to a nub.

It's as well of import to buy the all-time pigment y'all can afford. Information technology'll continue easy, offering the best coverage, and final a long time. Plus, you'll be able to wash off grubby fingerprints without taking off the paint. And the whole painting job will get quicker and easier—and await meliorate in the end.

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6 Eliminate Brush and Lap Marks with Paint Extender

The telltale sign that a room has been painted past a novice DIYer, not a pro, is that there are visible lap marks in the finished paint coat. The undercover to a cease that's free of noticeable lap marks and castor strokes is mixing a pigment extender (AKA paint conditioner), such as Floetrol, into the paint.

This does ii things:

i) It slows downwards the pigment's drying fourth dimension, giving you more time to paint over only-painted areas without getting ugly lap marks, which happens when you lot employ fresh paint to dried paint.

2) Paint extender levels out the pigment, nigh eliminating brushstrokes. Pros use extenders when painting drywall, woodwork, cabinets, and doors. Read the can'southward label to make up one's mind how much extender to add to your pigment, only it'due south typically 8 ounces of extender per one gallon of pigment. If the pigment is peculiarly thick, or if y'all're painting in very common cold weather, more than extender can exist added—up to about xvi ounces.

7 Scrape a Ridge in Textured Ceilings

When painting along the top of a wall in a room with a textured ceiling, it's almost impossible not to get paint on the ceiling bumps. Pros have a elementary solution: run the tip of a slotted screwdriver effectually the perimeter of the ceiling, scraping off a little flake of the texture. The screwdriver creates a tiny ridge in the ceiling, which the tips of your paint bristles naturally glide into. Now, you lot can cutting in effectually the ceiling without getting paint onto the ceiling. And you lot'll never fifty-fifty notice the missing texture.

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eight Scrape (Don't Record) Windows

When painting windows, don't carp taping around the window frame and grill. That takes likewise long and pigment usually ends upwards on the glass anyway. Effort this pro trick instead: equally you paint the window, let a niggling paint lap onto the glass. In one case it'southward dry, merely scrape it off with a razor scraper. Just exist conscientious not to slice through the paint bond between the forest and glass. Otherwise, moisture can seep into the forest and cause rot.

9 Box Paint for Consistent Color

When you buy two or more cans of the aforementioned color paint, guess what? They're most never the same exact color. That'south because paint color varies very slightly betwixt cans. And that small deviation tin be glaringly obvious if you open a new gallon halfway through roofing a wall. To ensure colour consistency from start to terminate, pros mix their cans of paint into a v-gallon bucket, a technique known as "boxing" pigment. Then, y'all can pigment directly out of the larger bucket, which eliminates the need to pour paint into a roller tray (though yous should keep in heed that the heavy bucket is harder to motility).

10 Cease One Wall Before Starting Another

Most DIY painters cut in all the room corners, and then go back and roll paint onto the walls, simply that's not the correct mode to paint a room. Pros get a seamless look past cut in 1 wall, and then immediately rolling on the pigment before the cut-in sections dry. This allows the brushed and the rolled sections to blend together beautifully.

Also, cover your paint bucket, tray, or container with a clammy towel when switching between brushing and rolling; that'll go on your paint and tools from drying out when not in employ.

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eleven Purchase an Extra Bucket or Two

Information technology'due south smart to have a couple of make clean, empty buckets
on paw when painting because freshly shaken paint doesn't stay freshly shaken for very long. And you tin can't bring settled paint back to life with a stir stick alone. Then, y'all must pour pigment dorsum and forth betwixt two buckets until you've mixed in the solids that have collected at the bottom of each can. That's the best way, and really the merely manner, to ensure your pigment is properly and thoroughly mixed. And if you have paint in several unlike cans, mix those too to ensure color uniformity.

12 Wash Roller Covers

Odd every bit it may audio, it's important to wash brand-new pigment-roller covers earlier using them to spread paint. Pre-washing gets rid of loose bits of fuzz that inevitably come up off once you kickoff painting. Wash the covers with water and a little bit of liquid lather, then run your hands up and down the covers to pull off whatever loose fibers, a exercise called "preconditioning." And you can start using the roller covers correct abroad; you don't have to expect for them to dry.

13 Use Sail Drop Cloths

Professional person painters don't utilise old bed sheets as drop cloths, and neither should you. Sparse sheets won't stop splatters and spills from seeping through to your floor. And don't use plastic sheeting either. While plastic does contain spills, the paint stays wet for way too long. And if y'all stride in wet paint, you'll end up tracking information technology throughout the house. Plus, wet paint on slick plastic becomes very slippery.

Use what the pros use—canvas drop cloths. They're more expensive, but canvass isn't slippery, it absorbs splatters, and it'due south durable enough to last a lifetime. And unless yous're painting a ceiling, yous don't demand a jumbo-sized drop cloth to fill the entire room. A canvas cloth that'due south but a few feet wide and runs the length of the wall is ideal for protecting the floor.

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14 Light Information technology Up

Hither's another painter term for you: "holiday." That's when you miss a spot without realizing it. Information technology's piece of cake to do, especially with similar colors or rooms with bad lighting. So, go yourself a good, bright work light and use it to check your work, either every bit you become or when you finish a section. Holidays typically occur around the edges of a room, where you used a brush instead of a roller. Holidays are piece of cake to fix when you're yet working, but much more annoying afterward you've cleaned up and put everything away.

15 Clean Dirty Walls With Degreaser

Pigment won't bond to greasy, muddy, dusty surfaces, such every bit kitchen walls above a stove, mudrooms where kids kick off their dingy boots, or areas around lite switches that get swatted by dirty hands. In those cases, employ a degreaser to clean the surface prior to painting. Degreasers, which are also called deglossers, cut through grease and grime to allow better pigment adhesion. Be certain to read the label and follow directions because this stuff is potent. And article of clothing prophylactic gloves and eye protection.

sixteen Accept Off Those Electirc Plates

This is a no-brainer. Instead of laboriously masking off or cutting around electric outlet plates and switch plates, grab your screwdriver and take them off. Then you'll be able to apace and easily paint effectually each electric device without making a mess. Simply be sure to continue track of all the screws, so you tin can put the cover plates back on once the pigment dries.

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17 First With a Loaded Castor

Pros have a "load-and-go" approach to painting. They load the bottom 1½ inch of their brush bristles with pigment and then tap each side of the brush confronting the inside of the can. That knocks off heavy drips and prepares the brush for painting.

By contrast, homeowners often take a "load-and-dump" approach: they dip the castor into the paint, then drag the loaded bristles along the sides of the container, wiping off most of the pigment. The effect is a castor that's too dry and has likewise petty pigment.

18 Push Paint to Avert Runs

When your castor is loaded with pigment, information technology's like shooting fish in a barrel to create drips and runs past applying as well much pigment in room corners or along wood trim. To avert those issues, start brushing nigh 1/2 inch away from the cut-in area. As the brush unloads pigment, move closer and slowly elevate the brush along the trim or corner. Let the bristles gently push button the paint confronting the cut-in expanse where the walls see. You may have to do this a couple of times to become consummate coverage, but it'll avoid backlog paint collecting forth woodwork and in corners.

19 Give Yourself a Good Fix

In painter lingo, a "bad ready" is when you're in a physically bad position while painting. For example, maybe your ladder isn't quite close plenty, or y'all're in an bad-mannered spot with your castor. The good news is that most bad sets can be avoided. Only climb down and move the ladder. Sure, information technology'due south annoying, but information technology's not as annoying as falling into your paint bucket considering you were hanging off your ladder like an America'south Loving cup coiffure member. And sometimes a bad fix can be resolved by moving an obstacle. If the refrigerator is forcing you into a tough painting position, stop and coil it out of the way.

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20 Handbag It Up

When you're ready to quit for the day—but haven't finished painting—leave the roller cover on the roller frame, then soak the cover in paint. Wrap the cover in a plastic bag to create an airtight seal. That'll go on the roller cover fresh until you lot render to painting the next day. If yous can't return to painting for several days, pull the roller embrace off the frame and toss it out. And then utilize a new roller comprehend the next time.

Equally for your brushes, rinse them make clean with warm, soapy h2o, especially if you're using latex paint, which is water-based. Use paint thinner to clean off oil-based paint. Then rake the beard out straight with a brush comb and slip the brushes back into their original covers or wrap them in newspaper.

Ezra Dyer Senior Editor Ezra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist.