Brush Up on Painting: Tips Before Dipping In

Here are some tips on painting woodwork. Things we’ll look at include brushes, buckets, rollers and preparation of the woodwork. For quick touch-ups, use a small, inexpensive foam brush. Avoid wide foam brushes, which tend to drip when loaded with paint.

Consider brush shape when buying supplies.

A sash brush with its bristles cut at an angle is designed for painting thin areas and hard-to-reach corners. It’s the best choice for cutting in (painting up to a line) and painting windows. A square-cut brush is best for painting door panels or wide trim. Brushes with a long, pencil-style handle give you a good grip and provide balance.

You should own at least three brushes: a 1-inch and a 2 1/2-inch sash brush and a 2 1/2-inch straight brush. Buy the best brushes you can afford. Properly cared for, they will last indefinitely.

You can use a paint roller to work wide sections, such as flat doors. Use a roller with a nap length recommended on the paint can.

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Open paint cans by prying around the lid with a wide-tip screwdriver. Pour the paint into a paint pail or a clean paint can and stir it to make sure it’s mixed. You can pour some of the paint back into the paint can and work out of that, or work out of the pail. If you use the can, don’t fill it to the rim. It’s messy and inefficient.

Also, puncture the lid of the can in several places using a 4d finish nail to help drain the paint back into the can.

In preparing the woodwork, keep in mind that paint sticks better to a dull surface. One way to remove woodwork’s gloss is with a chemical solvent deglosser. Rub on the deglosser with a clean rag. This is strong stuff, so allow plenty of ventilation.

You can also use 120-grit sandpaper with a sanding block or an electric palm sander to dull a surface or smooth out chipped areas. Feather rough areas smooth.

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Remove several layers of deteriorating paint with heat guns or chemical strippers. Your paint store should have a variety of these strippers, among them low odor and water-soluble types.

Stripping is a messy job, so protect the floor and surroundings with a dropcloth. Wear old clothes and protective glasses.

To use the gun, let it heat up and hold it about a foot from the paint. When the finish bubbles up, scrape it away with a paint scraper. Move the gun slowly forward, and you can keep the paint hot without burning it.

Keep a fire extinguisher handy when using a heat gun, and never set it down on a flammable surface.

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Apply chemical strippers with an old paintbrush. When bubbles appear, use a scraper and steel wool to remove the old finish. (Clean off residue on the scraper on a sturdy cardboard box.) A second application is often needed. Let the surface dry, then sand lightly.

Most trim has cracks and holes in it that should be filled with Spackle or wood filler before applying paint.

Spackle, premixed or two-part fillers are applied with a small putty knife. To use, overfill the hole or crack, smooth the filler and let it dry. Sand the filler flush, and it’s ready for paint. Some fillers shrink when dry, so some large repairs might need two applications.