Find out more about painting with these easy-to-follow fact sheets.
We don’t just help you with the painting, we help you do it properly so you’re really pleased with the end result. These fact sheets are full of hints and tips to make it all much easier.
Planning
Preparation
Application
FAQs
Having the right tools
Always use the best tools you can afford. Having the right tool for the right job saves time and effort. Here is check list to consider before starting to paint, but it may not be necessary to use everything.
- Scrapers – of different widths for corners, ledges and walls.
- Shavehooks – for scraping mouldings.
- Sandpapers – of varying grades. Use a wooden block to hold the paper firmly.
- Bucket and sponge – to wash down walls.
- Brush – for removing dust. Wire bristles are good for metal.
- Step ladder – safe and sturdy.
- Hot air stripper, blow torch or liquid paint stripper – whichever you prefer to work with.
- Dust Sheets – plastic sheets are better than newspaper as any spillage will not soak through.
- Filler and filling knives – an all purpose filler for larger cracks and fine filler for smaller cracks with various sizes of filling knives depending on the work to be done.
- Masking Tape – to protect areas and edges not to be painted. This is easy to apply and peel off.
- Sugar Soap – to clean dirty and greasy surfaces.
- Paint Pad or Paint Roller – good for applying paint to larger areas; a deep pile roller is recommended for rough textured surfaces, medium pile for smother, lightly textured surfaces.
- Paint Tray – to hold paint for roller and paint pad application.
- Brushes – available in different widths, narrow brushes 2.5 cm wide are good for finishing off around edges and for applying gloss, wider brushes of up to 15cm are needed for applying emulsion to large surfaces.