Play It Safe and Box Your Paint, Even Today’s Store-Mixed Varieties

Question: In the old days when I used to paint I had to “box” or mix the cans of paint together to make sure the color was uniform. With today’s modern paints, is that really necessary?

W. N.

Laguna Hills

Answer: “It’s still a good idea, since you can’t always get the same lot if it’s been pre-mixed in the factory,” says John Walter of Los Alamitos Paint and Wallpaper. “And for store-mixed paints, if the base is from a different lot, you may have problems with paint matching. The alternative to boxing is to use one can and stop at a corner, instead of in the middle of a wall, where a difference is shade would be significant with a change in cans.”

Q: I have a 20-foot palm tree in the corner of the back yard that I’d like to cut down. It looks like a pretty straightforward job to do myself. What’s the best way to approach it?

B. G.

Cypress

A: “I’d never recommend that an amateur cut down a tree that size,” says tree pruner Craig Garfield of Costa Mesa. “It may not look too high when you’re looking up at it, but 20 feet is a good-sized tree. You should probably rent an extended ladder and try climbing up and cutting it down in pieces, then when it’s about 10 feet, you can cut it down from the trunk. And be sure to use a chain saw, whether it’s electric or gas powered. I’ve seen a lot of homeowners take on a big tree with a handsaw and end up with sore arms and blisters. If you don’t have a chain saw, they’re available at most equipment rental shops.”

Q: We have an old oak dining room table that’s in pretty good shape, but I am wondering about polishes. Do the usual furniture polishes people buy cause problems when used continually over the years?

R. E.

Santa Ana

A: “Sometimes you see antiques with a great deal of wax buildup, but for the most part polishes don’t hurt,” says David Moyes of Moyes Custom Furniture in Anaheim. “Most of the new polishes don’t have wax, and we recommend a simple lemon oil polish that can be bought almost anywhere. You can tell when your piece has too much wax because the finish will take on a cracked appearance, as though it needs refinishing. However, once you get the excess wax off, you’ll see the finish is fine.”

Q: Whenever I paint, I always have problems cleaning brushes and rollers. No matter how long I work with them in running water, there’s always some paint residue left over, and the next day they’re stiff. Is there some solvent I can use after working with latex paints? Also, I was told it wasn’t a good idea to let brushes and rollers soak overnight. Is that the case?

R. Y.

Irvine

A: “There are no tricks to cleaning paint hardware,” says Christopher Davis of Standard Brands in Anaheim. “You have to use just simple dish soap and water and keep on cleaning until you don’t see paint any more. As for soaking brushes and rollers, it’s fine to do that as long as you don’t let them soak for several days.”

Q: I have a lamp with a decorative chain that I’d like to take and move to another room and shorten the chain. To remove a few links, I’m going to have to pry them open with locking pliers. However, I don’t want to ruin the finish on the chain with the plier’s teeth. What can I use to protect the links?

A. P.

Buena Park

A: “What I’ve used in similar situations is a couple of layers of that tough polyethylene sheeting that’s used to pact goods for shipment,” says lighting installer Steve Ramon of Lake Forest. “Just get a couple of small pieces and tape them to the jaws of the pliers. They’re tough enough to hold the links without scratching them.”