When you decide to paint a room, you are faced with a couple of decisions: who to use, what paint to use, how much to spend, and what is necessary to make it all work.
Techniqued lounge
Usually, a person would climb into his/her car to go look for a couple of guys sitting next to the road with brushes and paint rollers displayed on sticks. He/she stops there, enquire about the price, often negotiates the price down a bit, takes the guy to the paint shop to tell him/her what paint to buy, buys the paint and goes home, assured of the fact that this person knows exactly what to do and how to do it. You see, painting a room or a house is not difficult at all, anyone can do it, right? Wrong!
The thing you need to remember when painting is that if someone messes up, the problem is probably only going to show a couple of months after the job have been completed.
The purpose of this article is therefore to instruct you on how to paint, and what to look out for. These methods are the only way to ensure that your wash technique will be successful. In my opinion the following approach should always be used when painting, even if you do not plan to do any technique.
Firstly, the paint: Price is of great importance. Rule of thumb, the more expensive the paint, the better for you. Buying a cheap paint will probably look the same for the first few months, but thereafter you might start having problems. Usually a cheaper paint will be more watery when applying, will cover the wall with a thinner layer, will not stick to the wall that well, will get dirty easier and will start to rub off when you clean it; and most importantly, when you decide to repaint because the paint has become dull or flaky, or you have had enough of all the problems, it will not provide good adhesion for the new paint – even a nice expensive paint – because your new paint will stick only to the previous coat, not necessarily the one beneath that.
Tried and tested brands like Plascon is your best bet. Prominent Paints have also come out with good, and more affordable paints over the years. Do not trust most of the “in-house brands” that some paint shops advertise. They are just not good enough, especially when doing a technique. No matter what they promise.
Secondly, the application: The painter you use – if you do not want to do it yourself – must know what they are doing. Getting someone from the street will initially be cheaper, but can become extremely costly when mistakes start happening. A reputable company will give you guarantees, advice, and less worries. They will know about primers that you need to use if the previous paint has become flaky or was oil-based, or was already techniqued. They will have all the necessary equipment, and will provide drop sheets and other precautionary materials in order to protect you; and them.
French Provincial
The process of painting is not particularly difficult if you follow the right steps:
- Preparation.
This step will save you a lot of trouble. Before you start painting, take off all the plug and light switch covers. Remove the curtain railings and everything else that might be on the walls. Use masking tape to stick over the skirting and window frames. Place drop sheets over the floors and secure them. If you have chosen to use someone from of the street, make sure that there are as few things as possible that might get in the way of the brush, because it will get painted over!
- Cutting.
Cutting is the term used for taking a brush and painting a line in the corners, around the skirting and cornices, around cupboards, windows and light and plug plates. This is the most important step. This line should be at least 100mm wide, and should be done neatly with a steady hand. Mostly, you will find that painter that are not professionally trained will do this step last – it is much more fun to take a roller and paint than going painstakingly around the sides with a brush. Especially when you are planning to do a technique, this will be disastrous if done last.
You see, when painting with a brush, it creates streaks. If you do the cutting after you have rolled the paint on, those streaks will show, and your glaze will emphasise it. On the other hand, if the cutting was done first, (in a process of first layer cut, then first layer rolled on paint, then second layer cut, then second layer rolled on paint) and the rolling on was done as far as possible into the cut area, the streaks will be minimised, and your technique will be a greater success.
- Rolling
Rolling is the term I use to paint the rest of the walls with a roller. It is important to choose a good roller that is fit for the paint that you plan to use. When using an acrylic paint, a roller with medium length hair or a sheep skin roller is the best. I prefer a synthetic one due to its cost effectiveness. A Sheep skin roller makes for a lovely finish, but is more expensive and has a possibility of leaving a line where the skin has been stitched together around the roller. The difference in finish between the two is minimal. For oil-based paints, you need to use a roller with very short and fine hair. I would, however, very seldom suggest to use oil-based paints as the coat for you walls.
Before you start painting, take the roller out of its protective packaging and vigorously rub it through your hands from side to side in order to loosen any small hairs. If you do not do this, these little hairs will come loose and will create little bumps and fibres on the walls. It will not be that easily to notice just after you’ve painted, but as soon as you start with your technique, those little bumps will cause the glaze to accumulate around them and will drastically diminish your end-result.
When rolling, make sure that you have enough paint on the roller, but not so much that it drips everywhere. If there is too much paint on the roller, it will glide instead of roll over the wall. It should soon start rolling as more paint gets rubbed off onto the walls, but this can influence the quality of your finish. Every time that I put new paint onto my roller, I start painting about 30cm from where I left off – onto the surface to be painted – and then work it in toward where I stopped the last time. This ensures that you do not have any thick lines of paint that is difficult to see on the wet paint, but can cause drips of paint on the wall when it is dry.
- Coat and recoat
Baby room
With a good paint, you should not have to put on more than two coats. With a very dark colour, like red, however, it might be necessary to put on three or even four coats depending on what the old colour was.
Wait at least 45 minutes between coats. Before you start painting your second coat, make sure that the previous coat is completely dry and that there are no blotches of wet paint left on the wall. If you paint over wet paint, the wet paint will come off and you will be left with a mark that might be difficult to fix. Usually, if I start on the one side of a room, it will be dry by the time I am finished with the remainder of the room.
Work in a nicely ventilated area, and make sure that you give more time for the paint to dry if it is rainy or cold outside.
In the next article entitled “Techniquing your way to art” I will describe the wash technique paint process. We will also see some of the different glazes and methods that can be used to apply them.
About the author: Michael Pretorius is an experienced interior designer and owner of Creative Touches interiors. For more information you can visit www.creativetouches.co.zaor call him directly on 082-392-3336
This inmforation is off the hizool!
Walking in the presence of giants here. Cool thiknnig all around!
That’s the best anwesr of all time! JMHO