Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Painting Wall Paneling 

Today I will show how to paint lower part of the wall paneling in a mudroom. Upper part of the room is the drywall. I am going shortly to show what technique and a tool choice I will use in this case. 
First of all I painted the ceiling and the upper part of the wall already.


Next step I need to prep the paneling surface (existing finish is semi gloss paint). By using 180 grit sanding sponge sand the surface of paneling, The goal is to take paint sheen off the old paint for the better new paint bonding result with the surface.


After vacuum cleaning the surface we can start painting. For that purpose I will use small roller cover and the paint brush. Because all paneling area is small I will go with the brush up and down along all the surface and especially trying to fill the paneling groove with the paint. After that i will role over with the small roller for better finish texture (with no brush marks) Small nap roller (for smoother finish texture) couldn't reach these grooves, that's why we use the brush. 




If the paneling surface would be bigger (whole basement room), I would brush just along those grooves and finish flat flat part of the paneling with the 3/16"x 9" roller for the semi gloss finish and bigger nap 1/4" - 3/8" for egg shell, matte or flat paint finish. 
Mudroom is finished although today it looks like a new shiny "cleanroom"to me☺. 




Friday, January 24, 2014

Tape baseboards before painting walls

In the previous post I talked about painting all stained trims and doors. Today I am ready to show how to tape baseboards and door trims before painting the walls and how to remove
the tape after walls are done.


Step1 After floor and furniture is covered, start taping baseboards. I like to put tape on the top of the baseboard by keeping distance from the wall of about 1/8" or less. If you "step" on the wall you are going to have a wavy line on the wall when it is painted. Push the tape along with 5 in one scraper to have better contact with the surface. You can leave this easy tape along the wall painting process for several hours. Baseboard paint is not very durable yet (they were painted just yesterday). The highest durability sets in about 2 weeks. You can test if the paint holds well by sticking a peace of tape on the top of the baseboard and removing it right away. Just check if you have some trim paint on the tape. If not you are safe to go.





Step 2 If the wall surface is prepared you can start to paint the walls. Usually I tape the door trim just before painting with the brush around the door trim, because the trim paint is still fresh (painted yesterday)  and the trim side is much thicker than the top of the baseboard. Sometimes when removing the tape the paint rips from the trim if you leave the tape for several hours, so its better to just tape the door trim, keep distance from the wall 1/8' or less


Step 3 Paint along the door trim and remove the tape right away


Step 3  And when you paint the second coat, paint by hand and keep the brush away from the line by 1/8" or less distance, so the straight line stays untouched.  


Step 4 When the walls are finished with 2 coats you can remove the tape from the baseboards. Take the tape off gently, because sometimes egg-shell finish paint gets ripped from the wall by the tape. If this happens, use a utility knife with the new blade and gently cut the paint on the top of the baseboard along the tape by the wall and then remove the tape.



Painting is finished, clients and kids are happy with the new bedroom colors- I am happy too☺!


Feel  free to leave comments or questions below this post. Thanks and see you in the next project!










Thursday, January 23, 2014

Painting trims and doors with stained -varnished surface

Usually it takes 3 coats (1 coat of primer and two coats of paint) to cover stained-varnished surfaces.

Step1 Tape the carpet along the baseboard. Push the tape as close to the bottom of the baseboard as possible 



Step2 Sand the sheen of the baseboard and doors, using 150 grit sandpaper or sponge and vacuum clean after all surfaces are sanded




Step3 Put one coat of primer (I like Stix) on the stained-varnished baseboards and doors






Step4 Caulk top of the baseboard and sides of the door trims if it is needed.



Step5 Put one coat of the paint on the baseboards and doors and after it is completely dry, put second coat on all surfaces




Step 6 Take off the tape from the carpet. Use scraper to separate tape from the baseboard





Finally trims and doors are done! Ceiling is painted as well. Tomorrow I will use easy tape and start walls by Painting it Easy!☺

Feel free to leave your comments or questions...













Wednesday, January 22, 2014


Remove Glow in the dark stars
Paint the ceiling

Today I am going to paint the ceiling with plastic Glow in the dark stars on them. So I will need to "clear the sky"☺, before start painting the ceiling. 

Step1 Remove stars using scraper


Step2 Spray oil based primer (like Kilz) to block glue spots 


Step3 After primer is dry, patch and sand ripped spots. Put one coat of ceiling paint on these primed spots


Step4 Paint the edge with the brush around the ceiling perimeter 


Step5 Role the ceiling with 3/4" nap roller cover using flat finish ceiling paint



Ceiling is finished, no more stars in the sky☺. 




Next post will be about painting trims and doors with stained -varnished surface.




Thursday, January 16, 2014

Trim and 6 panel door Painting

As mentioned in a previous post I am going to paint trims. This time wall painting is included in a project. It means that we can paint baseboards and trims "relaxed", because we can step with the paint on the walls and then use easy masking tape after trims are completely dry and tape it on the top of the baseboards and trims. So in this case you won't need to paint baseboards by hand. 

Step 1 We will start with taping a carpet so we could paint a bottom of the baseboard 



Step 2 Sand the surface of the trims and 6 panel doors by using 150 grit sanding sponge. Vacuum clean the surface after sanding




Step 3 Caulk trims and allow to settle for minimum half an hour before painting


Step 4 Paint the door trims first. As I mentioned we can step on the wall with the paint, because walls are going to be painted


Step 5 Paint 6 panel doors with a brush and a small roller. I like mini roller covers from 
Benjamin Moore store. They make smooth finish and very fine texture. Actually you are not going to have ideally smooth finish without spraying (as does doors manufacturer). Any mini roller cover going to make some fine texture. The question is what cover is going to make the best possible finish on the door







I like to paint the panel both directions to leave roller texture finish around the panel (to cover brush marks)



Step 6 Next we can paint baseboards. As I mentioned earlier we can step on the wall above the baseboard, because we are going to paint these walls later 


Step 7 We can take off tapes from the carpet



 So this project stops right here. We are going to allow everything to dry. After color for the walls is going to be ready we will come back, put easy tape on baseboards and door trims and after walls painted we will take off tapes and will have excellent lines!







Friday, January 10, 2014

Crown molding- Chair railing-Baseboard painting

Today I'll  paint a trims where walls and ceiling are not included in a project. We need to be careful protecting existing painted walls, do not drop trim paint on them.

Step 1 Use new sanding sponge 150 grit to sand off the sheen of the old paint and prep surface for better paint bond with the trim. After sanding you can use vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment to collect the dust from the surface. 

 

Step 2 Detect cracks on the surface and caulk, it. In this case we have dark color walls and need to be cautious not to leave caulk marks on them.


  Step 3 Start painting  crown moldings if you have them in a project and then go down doing chair railing and baseboards. Today I have little friend watching me J.



Step 4 Chair railings would be the next thing to paint. Before painting we need to do the same preparation of the surface as in the step 1 (detecting cracks, sanding, vacuum cleaning, caulking)



Step 5  Baseboards would be the last thing to paint. All painting process typically goes from the top down, because of dust, accidental paint drops falling down in a painting process of crown molding and chair railing in this case. 


The next post will be about painting trims where painting of walls and ceiling are included.
See you soon!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Painting of Peeled Skylight Tunnel


If you detected water stain marks on your skylight tunnel or peeling paint on the interior part of frame or drywall it is important to find the reason whether the skylight is leaking or it could be condensation issue. Usually this problem is solved by home owner or roofer before painters are invited to fix and paint interior part of the tunnel. I will show steps how to prepare and paint skylight tunnel after exterior part is fixed.



Step 1. If you see signs of mold or mildew it is necessary to wear gloves and a proper mask. Tape the window around perimeter and cover the glass with a plastic if you are going to use spray primer. Make sure it is no film for the sun control, because tape can damage or rip off the film. Scrape peeled paint from the surface with a scraper (5 in one tool and finish with sandpaper (usually I use grit 100).


Step 2. Wash the surface by using bucket, sponge and towel with mold killing solution. For this case we have painted drywall, we can use disinfectant chlorine bleach 10% solution. Allow the surface completely to dry. You can use mobile fan directed to the skylight.


Step 3. Fix the drywall by using mesh tape and patching mud. After everything is dry, sand patched spots and prime all spots with the proper primer. I prefer oil based primers from the paint stores with anti mildew protecting qualities. Especially if you have spots with bare wood, oil based primer is necessary (my opinion).


Step 4. Allow primer to dry completely than fill every crack with the caulk. I like Sherwin Williams 950 white caulk, but you can have different choice. When caulk is settled (firm enough) it is time for painting. I used Emerald interior acrylic semi gloss finish paint and primer in one with stain blocking advanced technology. It is much more durable than regular flat paint, often used for ceilings and skylight tunnels. Especially if you don't change old skylight window with new one you can expect condensation water spots in the future, so washable paint is preferred.
Sorry if this post looked scary at the start, but good news is, that this looks much better now J. 




Step 5. The paint on the video is wet and fresh. After it will be dry you can check if the sheen is nice and even. Than you will decide if it needs second coat. On the end would be nice to compare these two "faces" J:



Before                                                                                                    After


 All comments are welcome on  any of my posts.

 Happy New Year Everybody!!