Successful Painting Tools and Techniques

This is a 4 article series on painting tools and techniques. Here in section 1 I will examine masking and protective gear. Later in article 2 I’ll examine ladders and scaffolding and in article three I’ll talk about brushes and rollers. Finally, in part 4 we’ll look at sprayers, caulk guns, wire brushes, braces and knee pads, and swivel hooks.

The painting industry has made tremendous strides within the last 10 years. Today there's a tool for nearly every situation. Even I'm impressed by the impressive devices arriving on the market, for example, dripless caulk guns, that have solved a messy problem.

Before you commence your project, have a minute to check your equipment. You'll probably need to stock up on several items. Make an entire list of what you need. Keep an eye out for tools that save time and labor. The more expensive equipment, such as sprayers and scaffolding, can be rented.

Using Protective Gear

Some people don't think it's necessary to wear protection gear when they're painting. I guess they think it's wimpy. But I've been around enough toxins to comprehend how dangerous they can be. Dust, painting mist, and vapors impact the lungs rapidly, and skin pores are an open target for solvents and dust borne particles. Don't be foolish... protect yourself.

Secrets To Respirators

A particle mask is preferable to almost nothing, but it doesn't form a good seal and it won't filter all the dust. If you do use a particle mask, get one with double rubber bands. A damp handkerchief tied around your face gives better protection than particle masks that use light-weight rubber bands.

Double cartridge respirators will be the safest solution. They'll give you the protection you will need for many vapors, mist, and dirt. Respirators come in three sizes. Ensure that yours fits. If it generally does not fit well, it will not work well. Checking the fit of a respirator is like evaluating the seal of your diving mask. Breathe in then hold your hand over the side valves. The mask is acceptable if it presses against your face and remains there while you hold your breath. Good respirators cost from $25 on up and usually come with replacement filters. Double cartridge respirators have color coded filters for different pollutants; be sure you have the right filter for the work at hand. Be sure to read the instructions, and remember that you should change the cartridges if deep breathing becomes hard or if you start detecting vapors.

Why You Need Protective Clothing

Respirators do a good job of protecting your lungs, but you need to safeguard the rest of the body as well. Having been accredited in lead abatement, I know that your body can only just eliminate an extremely small percentage of lead, even more than a 30 year period. Many painters make the error of believing that a little contact with dirt or VOCs won't harm them, but it all adds up as time passes. I always dress for protection, keeping at least one good Tyvek painting suit on the work site. Tyvek breathes well, weighs little, and offers good protection. The extra layer is somewhat warm, but I would prefer to wear a paint suit than be covered with dirt or overspray (on a hot day make sure to drink lots of water to prevent dehydration). In the event that you choose never to wear a painting suit, wear clothes that you won't mind turning into something resembling a painting palette.

I more often than not wear leather gloves, even when I'm brushing. They keep my hands clean and my grip dry. I carry two pairs of gloves if I'm painting more than one color, to ensure that I don't contaminate the colors. Commercial strength rubber gloves are another must. I wear rubber gloves to stain, to clean out brushes, sprayers, and rollers; to open, mix, and strain paints; and also to handle toxins such as paint thinners.

Rounding out my paint anywhere clothing collection are safety glasses or goggles to keep chips, dust particles, and spray mist out of my eye, and, if I'm spraying, a hood. If you spray without a hood, anticipate to spend tons of time washing paint out of your hair.

Worried About Masking?

Usually the area you're painting will have a finished floor or carpet and the proverbial ounce of prevention can save your day. Even if you are only painting one inside home window, masking the floor may be beneficial. Having an open can of paint makes me anxious if there isn't a drop cloth on the floor. I've discovered the hard way. Masking becomes even more critical if you're staining, because stain spatters all over the place. A few simple items can help you save a whole lot of touch up, cleaning up, and attempting to get paint from the carpet before your spouse sees it. Before I finally quit and admitted that my strategy wasn't perfectly right and dripless, I spent more time touching up than I could have. Touch up is a fact of painting life, but these days I do significantly less of it because I take the time to mask.

First, you need a drop cloth. Heavy cloth is often best, but drop cloths don't have to be expensive, professional painter's cloths. You can sometimes find reasonably large drapes at thrift stores, for the price of one thin clear plastic drop cloth. Look for drapes with vinyl fabric backing, for added waterproofing. I pull out the top stitching for an additional 3 inches of fabric.

The difficulty with plastic drop cloths is that they weigh next to nothing and billow everywhere. Plastic material works best when you can find 3 foot wide paper (such as the kind used for flooring insulation) to lie together with the plastic material. If I'm painting a big new home and I need to mask the whole floor, the plastic/newspaper masking system is inexpensive and works well.

An excellent masking system is critical whether you're brushing, rolling, or spraying the paint. All you need is masking tape, newspaper for the outer edge of the floor and baseboard, and a slim layer of plastic for the house windows and furniture. 3M makes a good masking system which includes special painter's tape and dispensers with pre-taped plastic material. If you've ever spent time scraping tape adhesive off house windows, you can appreciate advanced masking tapes. Commercial masking dispensers are available at professional painting shops and sometimes at rental shops. If a commercial dispenser is hard to find, simply buy a roll of heavy paper and use your wrist to carry the masking tape roll.

Some tapes need more stickiness for fixing clear plastic to rougher textures like walls. Other tapes need to come off without leaving adhesive on house windows and smooth surfaces. Always wait at least four hours before removing tape to avoid tearing the paint. But don't leave tape on for longer than 24 hours or it'll be hard to pull off.

Steps To Masking Floors

In addition to masking off the primary areas to be painted, it's also good prevention to mask main traffic areas and wherever you intend to store and mix the paint. Distribute all the required drop cloths, then clean the areas you will be taping with a vacuum, foxtail broom, or clean rag, to ensure a tight seal. As you mask, focus on obtaining a clean edge with the tape, and make sure the tape is securely attached.

Tape and paper dispensers are perfect for masking off the outer edge of an area. They ensure a clean edge along the floor and minimize clean-up. I take advantage of shorter pieces of masking (1 ft. to 2 ft.) for corners and closets. On long, straight runs I prefer going corner to corner with one long strip of tape, which reduces the amount of seams that should be taped. After the perimeter is set up, I use drop cloths for the remainder of the floor. For increased protection, I usually significantly overlap the masked perimeter with the drop cloth. On corners I also double the cloth to the inside, for extra security and stability.

Getting a tight seal with a drop cloth is critical when you're spraying an area, but guarding carpet or flooring with a sealed drop cloth is a good plan even if you're just brushing or rolling. A drop cloth will move if it isn't taped in place, and you'll wrap up on your knees cleaning paint off the floor.

Easy Method For Masking Walls And Fixtures

No matter how you intend to apply the paint, you will have to mask permanent fixtures such as the ceiling lights, fans, and door knobs. Even if you have excellent hand control, cutting in (edging) the accessories that aren't masked is frustrating, specifically for multiple coats of paint. To mask accessories, pull off enough paper and tape to cover the fixture, being careful to keep the tape just on the bottom of the fixture (newspaper also makes a good masking material for fittings). If possible, release the fixture covers and wall mounts to paint under them; this ensures a smooth border.

The quantity of masking that you should do is determined by the type of house painting you'll be doing. The only real time the walls need to be masked is when you intend to spray the ceiling and you need to keep the wall surfaces dry, for example, if the ceiling is getting some other color or finish. If the trim is clear coated or you would like to paint only the wall surfaces and ceiling, it makes sense to mask all over the trim, especially the windowsills.

How To Mask Windows

The sole time I mask windows is whenever I intend to spray. Taping home windows isn't quite effective. It takes too much time and paint still gets under the tape, and masking tape has a knack for really adhering to glass.

For interior or outdoor windows, I take advantage of the same system for masking walls. The one difference is that masking home windows usually is faster than masking whole wall surfaces. Masking windows and wall space is usually done with plastic material, which lets light into the room and is handy for covering large areas (paper is best for masking floor surfaces and trim). To measure plastic, I roll it out across the windows, cut as straight of a line as is possible, and tape the perimeter of the window. Then it's just a matter of sticking the plastic material onto the exposed tape, working from the top down and being careful to keep it straight and level.

Masking paper also works well to safeguard windows, floor, and molding from paint spatters. To safeguard windows, apply masking paper over the top of the window casing. The width of the paper will do to block almost all of the roller spatter. This same technique protects the floor and molding. If you're assured about your brushing and rolling abilities try using 1 ½ inch masking tape rather than masking paper.

About Masking For Spraying

Spraying calls for that anything not being sprayed should be completely masked. Because spraying requires such comprehensive masking, wait to mask until you're ready to spray. Outside surface spraying might require extensive masking, with regards to the number of colors and whether there are surrounding structures such as fences and electric power lines. When masking for spray, remember to be extensive. Overspray is hard to control, especially under windy conditions. The more you've prepared for overspray, the better. The time spent masking is a lot less than the time you would have spent touching up afterward. A tight seal with masking tape is critical because sprayed paint gets all over the place. Overspray is like the casual drip from a brush every so often... one is certain to get from you, no matter how careful you are. But you can lessen overspray by double checking before you spray.

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