Archive for the ‘Painting’ Category

Paint consists of:

o Pigments for color.

o Binders that hold the pigments together.

o Liquid that disperses and delivers the pigments.

o Additives that supply traits such as moisture resistance.

Painting Tips

Paint Safety

Before beginning any paint project, make certain you are working in a well ventilated room.

Clean As You Go

When painting, keep a damp rag handy to clean up as you go. It’s much easier to clean paint that is still wet.

Paintbrush Overload

For a quicker and more efficient paint job, don’t overload the paintbrush or roller. If it drips, there’s too much paint.

Door Painting

When you’re painting a door, waiting between coats for each side to dry can be time consuming. Here’s a shortcut. First, drive nails into the four corners and attach a length of rope. Loop each rope once around a rafter or beam. After painting one side, you can flip the work over, unlooping the ropes, to paint the other side.

Paint Spray Technique

Using a paint sprayer can give you some versatility for your next project. Using a spray gun rather than a roller or brush allows you the option of varying color schemes by fading and layering colors. You can achieve this by moving closer or farther away from your surface. To ensure a smooth finish, move at a consistent speed across your surface and remember to always clean your machine and hoses to avoid clogging.

Power Paint Sprayer

Use a power sprayer to cut days off your next big exterior paint job. Apply a thin coat first as a primer, using even, steady strokes that overlap. Start at the bottom and work your way up, so you can get at the underside of your clapboards or shingles. Allow this coat to dry and apply final coats the same way. Remember to keep the sprayer and its attachments clean and clog-free.

Paintbrush cleaning

Cleaning paintbrushes is a messy job, but someone’s got to do it. First wipe off as much excess as you can. If you’re using latex paint, work the bristles in warm soapy water. For oil-based paint, first clean brushes in a glass or metal container in an inch of solvent, then use warm soapy water. Smooth clean bristles with an old comb.

Painting Time

When painting a room which has surfaces that are in good shape, plan on spending about half as much time on preparation and clean-up as the actual painting. Where surfaces are in poor shape, non-painting time will increase accordingly, and may take more time than the paint application itself. To save time in cleaning up paint trays, either line them with aluminum foil before starting, or simply slip smaller trash bags over them.

Carrying Paint

Smaller quart-size paint cans are hard to carry and easy to tip over. To avoid these problems, try this: Put the quart paint can inside of an empty gallon can that has a handle. It will be easier to carry and, if it spills inside of the larger can, you can just pour the paint back into the quart can.

Painter tape

When masking off areas around trim etc. Use quality painters tape. This tape is wider than most masking tape, it doesn’t absorb the paint and is easy to apply and remove. It usually comes with an adhesive strip along one edge which covers about a 1/3 of the width of the tape. Don’t use plain old masking tape.

Paint Storage

To prevent air from entering partially used paint cans, store them upside down after placing the top on firmly.

PainterClick.com

How-to information on painting and other aspects of home improvement.. Includes do-it-yourself guide, and links.

Read more painting articles on:

http://www.painterclick.com

Author: Mario Sanchez
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Netbook, Tablets and Mobile Computing

Before I give you house painting tips, let me say that if your last set-to with a paintbrush involved the use of those old-fashioned oil base paints, you’re in for a jolt. The new coatings that have arrived on the market go on like no paint you’ve ever handled before. They’re available in a range of colors varied enough to confuse an electronic brain (but not a housewife). What’s more they set new records for durability, washability and beauty.

Since you are after house painting tips, you’ve probably found out about the latex or alkyd paints that are on the market under quite a few different brand names. Most of these do an excellent job. However, when you buy paint don’t try to skimp on quality.

Foremost of my house painting tips is that for the most part this is one field where you get precisely what you pay for. Top quality paint put out by a reputable firm is not cheap.

While not one of my house painting tips, I have to say the strangest and, to a large extent, the most fantastic paint that has come along in a good many years is the new Lucite wallcoating. This stuff isn’t a liquid and it isn’t a paste. It’s a sort of jell about the same consistency as mayonnaise. Lucite paint is ready to apply directly from the can with no stirring or thinning.

Before I go on to painting techniques for my house painting tips, I have to say that with Lucite wallcoating you can dunk a brush into this glop and pick up a tremendous portion at one time without having the paint run down your elbow. An odd thing happens when you touch the brush to the wall and start to flow on the paint too. It goes on with a sleek smoothness that seems almost unbelievable.

Painting Techniques

On to some useful house painting tips concerning painting techniques – with a brush, paint the areas along base_boards, trim and corners. These are tough to cover with a roller. Paint the ceiling first. Your best bet here is a paint roller coupled to an extension handle. DuPont and several other companies put out a special paint for ceilings that has added hiding power so that one coat will often do the job of two.

Here’s one of my handy house painting tips: the trick to handling most of the new paints is to first concentrate on slobbing the paint onto the wall, then, before you move onto another area, smooth the coating with several side-by-side roller strokes running in the same direction.

You’ll find this next set of house painting tips helpful: take care of the walls next. The job will be easier if you plan to work in a series of vertical panels about as wide as you can comfortably reach. Roller coat the top part first. Your extension handled roller makes this job simple. Finish up the rest of the panel with a standard roller. Most of the new paints can be touched up even after the coating has dried – just be cautious.

This is one of my simpler house painting tips: if you notice a spot you missed, even days later, just give it a quick swipe with a brush or roller.

Many of the new paints dry so quickly that a second coat can be applied even an hour or so later. This means that by the time you’ve finished painting your way around the room you’re back to the starting point and all set for the second coat. Because of this, a two-coat job can be a one-evening job – you’ll be able to apply all of your house painting tips in one go!

You’ll notice that in my house painting tips, little space has been devoted to the subject of primers or undercoating. Most of the new paints are their own undercoat. This varies from brand to brand, however. Check the manufacturer’s instructions on the label and if a primer is required use the right type and apply it as detailed.

Above all, have fun with your painting!

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Author: Russell R. Freeman
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Hybrid and Electric Cars

Remember, everyone starts as a beginner at painting. Just because you have never painted a house doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try. The money you save by painting your own house is money you can put into other home improvements. It can also be a fun thing for the whole family to do.

Now we need to choose the colors we want to paint the house. There is a really cool tool online that you can use. http://www.benjaminmoore.com/wrapper_pcv.asp?L=owner&K=intproj&N=intproj Click let’s paint. Choose exterior or the interior options. Choose the project closest to yours. Get started and you will soon know what color you want to paint your house and you’ll have a vision of what it is going to look like when you’re finished.

Here are some of the basics. Of course the first thing you need to do is wash down the walls of your house. A pressure washer can be rented at almost any rental yard and is the best way to do that. Now go around with a scraper and remove all loose paint and chipped areas. You don’t have to scrape the entire wall, but any areas where the surface is not flat can cause you problems as you paint your house.

Next, figure out your square footage so you can determine the amount of paint you will need to buy. Buy your paint in 5-gallon pails, rather than gallons to save more money.

Talk to the helper at your local paint store and tell him about your project. They can help you decide on how many brushes and rollers and other items you will need. You can buy natural or synthetic bristles for oil based paints, but only use synthetic bristles with latex paint. The same rule applies to rollers. Good rollers can run you around $7, but buy high-quality paintbrushes. A good brush for cutting in around edges will run you about $30.

Make sure you purchased some painter’s tape. It’s blue tape that comes in different widths and is easy to remove without messing up your paint job. That brings us to preparation. Tape off all areas you don’t wish to get this color of paint on. If there are large areas to cover, make sure you pick up some rolls of plastic. You can tape the edges of the plastic down over whatever you need to cover.

Don’t paint out of the paint cans. First reason is that leaving the paint can open will dry out the paint and make it difficult to apply. Another reason is that your brush or roller picks up dirt and foreign objects, which will end up in your paint and may even change the color as you go along.

Do all of your cutting or trimming in before you paint the walls. Use a 4″ brush and with a smooth stroke guide it around the edges where you taped off. Make sure you have plenty of paint on your brush. The biggest mistake people make is trying to stretch the paint too far. Keep drips cleaned up as you go with a small rag. Remember you will be rolling up to the edge of your cut, so don’t worry about that, just make sure you cover the edges well.

Start on the edges of your walls and work your way toward the middle. Most people don’t do this and problems can result. If you start and new can of paint in the middle of the wall and there is any difference in the color at all, it will show up there more than it would on the edges. So with each new can of paint you open, start at the edges first.

Dip your roller in water (for Latex) or solvent (for oil-based paint), before you start. Whether you use a pan or a 5-gallon bucket with a screen, make sure you roll it out a little to make sure it isn’t dripping. You don’t need to go all the way from the top to the bottom as you paint. Do what you can reach.

Apply the paint in a Y or an N pattern, then apply paint in columns up and down smoothing out all the edges or ridges as you go. Again don’t try to stretch the paint out, make sure you have enough paint on your roller to give it a good coat. If you are applying more than one coat, make sure the first coat is completely dry before applying a new coat of paint.
Corners are a difficult part to learn to paint. If you aren’t careful, this is where you will see paint drips later. Get as close to corners as you can, but don’t scrape the roller against the corner. That will cause drips. If you are unsure, have a paintbrush handy to smooth out drips. That is also a good idea overall. Keep a paintbrush ready for taking care of any drips or ridges you leave behind. Doing this as you go is much easier than trying to fix it after it’s dry or partially dry.

Using tray liners for your paint trays will save you a lot of time at cleanup. Soak your brushes when done for awhile and they will also be easier to clean. For water based paint, soak in water and for oil based paint soak them in solvent.

I hope some of these tips have been helpful to you. Have confidence that you can do this job yourself. You will appreciate and enjoy it much more knowing that you or you and your family completed the job rather than hiring someone else to do it.

D. David Dugan has a website, http://homeimprovement.divinfo.com/ to help homeowners find all the information they need about remodeling, home repair, building decks and carports, room additions, and more. He also actively participates in a forum at http://forum.dugancom.com/ that can help you with computer problems you may be having.

Author: D. David Dugan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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House Painting is serious business for homeowners. Once it is completed, you’ll have to live by the outcome for years to come, so everything must fall in to place in order to attain beauty and good quality results. One essential demand in house painting from start to finish is good quality house painting tools. This is very important because the quality of your paint job depends on the quality of tools you use to deal with the paint. There are a variety of house painting tools and equipment designed to do the job and they are classified as Pre-painting Tools and the Paint Applicators.

Pre-painting tools are the materials used in preparation for future paint application, mainly to create a clean working surface and to make sure that the painting process will go as smoothly as possible.

Pre-painting tools include:

Washing Compound

-Washing Compound is composed of trisodium phosphate which washes off grease and tobacco smoke off the exterior surfaces of a home.

Sandpaper

-Sandpaper is a common household material which is used in sanding to level the surface for a finer finish.

Patching Material

-Patching material is used to cover up or fill in deep holes. This material can be difficult to work with and very hard to sand smooth. Choose accordingly.

Painter’s Rags

-Rags are used to help produce a good-looking, clean, professional Paint job. These must be lint-free and absorbent to wipe off excess caulk for paint from the wall.

Caulking Gun

-Caulking Gun is used to patch cracks in areas where siding meets trim. This dries quickly and can be painted without being primed.

Spackle

- Spackle is primarily used as a patching material. It is easy to work with because it is quick-drying and sands easily.

Scrapers

-Scrapers are treated as the most important Pre-painting tool. It primarily scrapes off old paint on siding or trim, curved wood moldings, and other surfaces, to give way to a new one. It also removes accumulated dirt.

Another type of house painting tool are the Paint Applicators. Paint applicators are the tools used in the actual painting process; these tools are responsible for holding and releasing paint.

Paint Applicators may include:

Paintbrushes

-Paintbrushes are the most common tool used in house painting. Although using them requires experience and skill, it is the most versatile and the best in different types of painting work.

Paintbrushes come in different sizes according to the area of application and consist of two types, the natural which is made of animal hairs or the synthetic which is made of nylon. The main difference is that Natural bristles work only with alkyd paints and not with the water-based latex paints due to the fact that water causes the bristles to go limp, while synthetic bristles work with both alkyd and latex paints.

Rollers

-A paint roller is composed of steel frame, a metal cage, and a threaded handle that can hold an extension pole. This is used to paint most interior walls, ceilings or any flat surface because it is four to five times as fast as the brush and it produces more professional looking results even in the hands of an unskilled user.

Pad Applicators

-A pad applicator is like a paint roller except it slides rather than roll. It has the same application as the brush except it lets you apply a different color to the wall without irregularity or spillover along juncture lines.

Mitt

-A mitt is the same as a paint glove which is worn and dip it into the paint, allowing you to wrapped around the object until the surface is coated with paint. Examples of this would be staircase balusters, railings, gutters, or pipes.

Airless Sprayers

-An airless sprayer is a machine that applies paint in the form of a spray. It greatly reduces the time required to paint a house. In the hands of an experienced painter it can produce smooth, even painted surfaces. When properly used, airless sprayers can produce excellent results.

House Painting is never easy, especially to those who are novice, but practice makes perfect. With a proper set of tools in your hand, good quality work is assured while saving time.

Nicky Taylor is CEO Of a house painting and home improvement company. Nicky is a leader among the painting contractors in the North Atlanta Georgia area. He shares his knowledge on exterior painting and other home improvement topics at the above painting contractor link through articles and resource materials on various topics. The company website contains helpful information for anyone planning to undertake their own projects.

Author: Nicky Taylor
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
News of Solar Power and Alternative Engery

When it comes to painting a room these words of Abraham Lincoln seem especially appropriate; “If I have been hired to cut down a tree in 8 hours, then I would spend 7 of them sharpening my axe.”

A quality paint finish requires more time spent in preparation over application. Choosing the best paint, the right brushes, and preparation of the room, are the 3 main ingredients to ensure superior results.

Choosing Paint:

Paint comes in 2 standard compositions; alkyd (oil based) or acrylic (water based). For interior applications the standard recommendation is acrylic paint for its quick drying time, easy clean up and minimal toxicity during application. The only exception is if the wall has been previously painted with an oil base. Acrylics do not adhere well and will often cause cracking and peeling

To determine if the existing coat of paint is oil or water based – Apply a touch of mineral spirits on some out of the way space on your wall. Acrylics will be unaffected. The alkyd will dissolve.

Choosing to prime is dependent on specific wall circumstances. The following questions will help determine if you need to prime the wall:

Do I need to cover stains? Stains include crayon, ink and water spots. Am I dramatically changing the color of the wall? If moving from a dark to a light toned color, priming will limit the number of coats needed to apply to provide an even spread of the new color. Tinting the primer with the new color also speeds up this covering process. Is my wall a raw surface? Drywall, wood paneling or some other rough, unfinished surface will need to be primed.

Use an acrylic based primer when your primary color is acrylic. If an oil, either one will work.

Choosing Paint Color:

When choosing a wall color, buy small sample cans of your selections. Each color should be painted on a 2′ square piece of foam core board. Position the boards around the room during different times of the day or night, to get a sense of how the color will change as the light shifts. Test color in natural light as well as with evening lamps.

Choosing Price Points:

“You get what you pay for” especially holds true when selecting paint. The quality of this product is reflected in the price. Look for the word “premium” on paint cans. This is a standard term for paint that is formulated for:

Higher percentage of pigment and binding agents Greater durability Fade resistance Superior can to can color matching Fewer coats needed to cover surface Better overall sheen results

Premium Paints usually run approximately $28 to $38 a gallon.

Selecting Brushes and Rollers

Brushes:

The best type of brush to use on standard interior walls is a quality synthetic. Synthetic brushes will grab more paint, keep their shape during paint application and their tapered cuts will make corners and edges easier to maneuver. Smaller angled brushes work well for finishing around windows. Larger angles are good for your trims and moldings.

To test the quality of the brush, pull gently on the bristles. Tug on the brush bristles, if several bristles pull out easily this is a cheaply made brush that will lose bristles in the paint or on the wall. Keep shopping.

Rollers

Choose your roller by evaluating the walls surface. Rough surfaces need a longer nap roller (orange colored). Smoother surfaces will need the smaller nap (yellow). Testing for a quality roller is to simply separate the nap, if you see the cardboard core, keep looking. Also, “squish” the roller to see if it returns to its original shape quickly.

Do not use foam rollers. These are best used for stencils and other decorative wall treatments.

Preparing the Room – Step by Step

Step 1 – The best way to paint a room is to start with it being entirely empty. If this is not possible begin by pushing everything, including window treatments, to the center of the room. Cover with drop cloths. Place a large trash can in the middle of the room, lined with plastic, to keep your work space clean and ready for any mishaps.

Step 2 – Turn off electrical power to safely remove all switch plates, fixtures and outlets. If painting the ceiling with a ceiling fixture, drop its canopy allowing it to rest on the chandelier or fan. If applicable, remove door knobs.

Step 3 – Clean and repair wall. For dirt and grease spots, use TSP (trisodium phosphate). This is a non soap cleaner that needs no rinsing for spot cleaning. Dust down the rest of the wall with a dry rag. Next, repair any dents, dings or small holes in the wall.

Once repair is completed, vacuum entire room, including the walls and base boards.

Step 4 – Tape off areas to protect using the painter’s tape. This tape is specifically designed to leave no sticky residue on wall. Choose blue tape for latex paint applications. The purple is for the alkyds.

The secret to painter’s tape is to pull it off immediately after painting. Removing it while the paint is still wet will allow you to deal with smears and drips before the paint dries. By letting the paint dry with the tape, could cause the paint to peel with the tapes removal.

Painting the Room – Step by Step

Step 1 – Always keep fresh air circulating. All paint is toxic, to some degree. The best days to paint are ones with low humidity and open window opportunities. Consider a mask and goggles as well.

Step 2 – Unless you have just returned from the paint store, stir the paint to ensure pigment consistency.

Step 3 – If painting the ceiling is in your design scheme, start there. Start with edges and then, using an extension bar, finish the rest of the surface. Avoid using a ladder to paint; it’s hard to paint evenly.

Step 4 – When loading a brush, dip into the paint up to 1/3 of the brushes bristles. Tap – don’t scrape the excess paint off the brush.

Step 5 – To avoid wrist fatigue, hold the brush like a pencil when applying paint to wall. When working around windows and trim, blend the paint out as you move away from the trim. Leaving a crisp edge will be harder to cover up with the roller.

Step 6 – Finish the large surfaces with a roller. Roll the roller into the paint tray until the paint covers all sides without dripping. Begin applying on wall using a “W” type pattern. Go over the wall again with long floor to ceiling finishing strokes to even out the application.

Step 7 – If touch ups need to be done, give the paint 24 hours to dry.

Paint is the most affordable way to dramatically change the look of any room. By applying these painting steps to your living space will ensure a result that you will be delighted with.

For tons of money saving, frugally fabulous professional design tips and secrets – visit: http://frugalhomedesign.com Frugal Home Design has been created to help the “frustrated interior decorator in each of us”. Affordably fun information combined with your implementation will create the home you have always wanted.

Author: Sue E Krippner
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Painting walls is one of the largest tasks when painting the interior of a house. This article will help shed some light on a few tips and tricks to using masking tape to paint great looking walls.

With interior house painting, having nicely painted walls is important. The typical way of painting walls is to first ‘cut-in’ the edges with a brush and then fill in the center areas by rolling the paint on. For the beginner or average DIY person cutting-in is typically done using tape to mask off the edges of the painted wall; paint is then applied without much accuracy in hopes that when the masking tape is removed the freshly painted wall will have a clean edge. Usually the outcome is less than desirable and the problem can at times be attributed to the tape being applied improperly, luckily there are a few ways to improve the results of tape when used for interior house painting work.

When applying the tape, apply it gently without stretching or over-pulling. This gives the tapes adhesive a better chance to do its job and stick more fully to the surface it’s being applied to, reducing the amount of paint that can seep under the edge. Once the tape has been gently applied, press the tape onto the surface using a rag. Occasionally with some uneven or bumpy surfaces the tape can be punctured by the surface irregularity but in most interior house painting applications the surface is relatively smooth so there shouldn’t be a problem. The rag helps to disperse the pressure and again allows the adhesive to more fully adhere to the surface and prevent paint seepage.

When painting your wall with a brush, start brushing and spreading the paint next to the tape before painting directly onto the tape. Once you’ve spread some paint on the wall next to the tape line brush the paint in-line with the tape instead of brushing directly into the tape. This will reduce the likelihood of paint seeping under the tape and/or paint being forced under the tape by the brush.

There are also a couple of tricks to painting with masking tape, these tricks are only really applicable to interior house painting but can really make a difference and will change most peoples opinions of tape I believe. If you have the same color of paint that the tape is protecting, you can paint this color onto the tape before painting your new color. This will fill in any gaps in the tape, so when you apply your new color all the gaps and paint seepage areas have already been filled with the color beneath.

Another trick is to use caulking in a similar fashion as above. Take clear caulking, mix it 4:1 with water and apply this mixture to the tape before applying your finish top-coat. Be sure to let this dry, what this does is similar to the double paint layer, it fills in the gaps and prevents paint from seeping under the tape.

When removing your tape, pull it slowly and at a sharp angle away from the painted surface. It’s best to remove the tape when the paint is fresh (after a second coat or if you’re only doing one coat) as the paint has yet to dry and create a seal. It’s wise to always invest in decent quality products, some tapes have stronger adhesives or are made for specific uses, never be afraid to ask for advice from a home improvement or paint store. Typically you’ll find people versed in the ways of interior house painting working at these places, especially a paint store!.

Remember to be safe, read about your products and adhere to all safety and cautionary procedures. I hope these tips help to improve your interior house painting projects!

A H Young is an owner & operator of Painter for Hire, a Toronto area painting contractor specializing in residential and commercial painting.

Toronto Painters

Author: A H Young
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Low-volume PCB Assembly

In cities across the United States green living and healthy building strategies are becoming increasingly popular. From San Francisco, CA to Asheville, North Carolina, the green real estate market is hot and using Earth friendly products for home renovations is becoming standard practice. According to educational web sites and industry publications indoor air is often two or three times more polluted than outdoor air because of toxins found in paints, stains and finishes.

In his article entitled “Avoiding Paint Toxicity”, published on http://www.ArchitectureWeek.com, writer Rick Braunshausen says, “Poor indoor air quality is one of the most serious problems that architects and engineers work to rectify in both new and existing buildings.” “The effect of toxic agents from paints is especially dangerous when the building remains occupied during remodeling or repainting,” he continues. So what can you do to protect yourself and your loved ones from harsh chemicals when painting inside your home? The first and most important step is to get educated.

The Air is Always Greener in a Home Safe From VOC’s

Many homeowners and homebuyers are familiar with the dangers of lead paint. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, http://www.cpsc.gov/, has a public safety alert posted online that explains what you need to know about lead based paint in your home. Homes built prior to 1980 are most at risk for lead contamination from paint. Real estate agents are required to provide a lead base paint disclosure form to any homebuyer investing in a home built prior to 1978. This is especially important for families because children have a higher sensitivity to lead. Lead paint must be ingested or inhaled for poisoning to occur and tests can be done on paint in your home if lead is a potential concern. Lead is not the only toxic substance found in paint, finishes and stains, however, there are other chemicals that are dangerous for both people and animals.

Volatile organic compounds, also called VOC’s, are found in solvent-based paints and when used in enclosed areas can cause a variety of health conditions. According to writer Christi Graham, featured on http://www.HealthyHomePlans.com/, “The American Lung Association reports that VOC’s can produce a number of physical problems such as: eye and skin irritation, lung and breathing problems, headaches, nausea, muscle weakness and liver and kidney damage.” “VOC’s are consistently ten times higher indoors than outdoors, with numbers rising to 1,000 times higher after a new coat of paint,” Graham continues.

In the past VOC chemicals were considered necessary for paint to be high performance, but new environmental initiatives have promoted the development and sale of low-VOC and zero-VOC paints, stains and finishes. Low-VOC and zero-VOC paints are less harmful to humans and the Earth but are still durable and affordable. As green products become more readily available on the market these alternative paints will become more cost effective, especially for homeowners with children.

Green Living Tips for Painting the Interior of Your Home

Living a green lifestyle means many things to many people. Using non-toxic paints is a great first step to creating a healthier home environment. Here are some tips for getting started on your next painting project.

Tip 1. Use low-VOC, zero-VOC or natural paints. Currently there are a wide variety of paint companies on the market offering lines of non-toxic paint for indoor use. Alternative paint companies specializing in green products and even mainstream paint producers like Sherwin Williams have created low and zero-VOC products for indoor home use.

Tip 2. Always be certain you have enough air ventilation when painting your home and buy paints with sealing properties that help decrease outgassing. Keep in mind that outgassing is at its worst for the first four days. Large fans placed in open windows and doorways are essential for avoiding harmful fumes and even small amounts of VOC’s.

Tip 3. Compare prices on various nontoxic paints. As the trend of green paint products gains attention alternative paints will continue to become more competitive in price. Many paints and other green products can be researched and purchased online.

Tip 4. Choose the right paint for the right job. Different types of paint serve different purposes in the home. For instance, if you plan to paint a kitchen or bathroom make sure the paint can withstand scrubbing and cleaning.

Tip 5. Buy the right amount of paint for the job. Find out the square footage of the room or rooms you want to paint and purchase the amount of paint necessary for that square footage. This will reduce waste and save money.

Environmental concerns will become more prevalent in the future and green real estate practices can help preserve the Earth and keep you and our family healthy.

For more information on green real estate and healthy built homes visit [http://www.JaneSellsAsheville.com]

Jane Kayton is a real estate agent with Century 21 All Seasons based in Asheville, NC. She specializes in helping her clients find the perfect mountain homes and land near Asheville. Jane is also an avid whitewater rafter and hiker. To learn more about real estate in Western North Carolina visit her web site [http://www.JaneSellsAsheville.com]

Author: Jane Kayton
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Awe Inspiring Pictures

Paint Preparation
This is the most time-consuming part of painting. That blue tape or masking tape in the hardware store is a necessity in keeping clean lines and paint off the windows or doors. Tape the part that is not to be painted. The tape will stop the paint from leaking through if the line is not exactly perfect. Unfortunately, taping everything will take some time.

Move heavy furniture to the middle of the room. Move smaller furniture completely out of the room. Cover the furniture to protect against the occasional paint splatter. Accidents do happen. But hopefully, not on the furniture.

Cover the floor with plastic or a canvas. Plastic is better to prevent paint seepage into the floor when the paint can gets knocked over. Canvas will absorb the paint but it might seep through for large amounts.

Prepare the wall for paint by ensuring all the holes are patched up and the walls are clean. Painting over holes will not make them disappear. The end result will look weird if the holes merely have paint covering them. Follow the directions of the patch kit. Allow time for the patching to dry.

Equipment

1. Patch kit
2. Blue tape or masking tape
3. Plastic or canvas tarp
4. Furniture coverings
5. Ladder or extensions for high places
6. Wet towels for easy clean-up
7. Old clothes
8. Wall Paint
9. Pry bar, usually comes with the paint can
10. Paint brushes
11. Paint rollers
12. Roller pans
13. Straight Edge that can be painted

Types of Paint
Primer paint is good to use if the wall color is particularly dark or a lot of patching was needed on the walls. It hides the flaws and less coats of paint are needed when using a primer. The primer can be tinted if necessary for darker color choices.

There are two bases for paint. Latex and oil based paints. Latex paints have a few advantages over oil-based paint. They are more durable, have less fumes and clean-up easily with water. Interior house paint is best for indoor use.

There are three classifications for paint, flat, semi-gloss, and high gloss. This just explains the type of shine the walls will have when the painting is done. Flat will have no shine. Semi-gloss is not as shiny as high gloss. Semi-gloss is a happy medium.

Painting
Painting can begin either with the cutting in or the wall itself. Cutting in means painting all the edges that a roller can not reach. A straight edge can come in handy when dealing with ceilings, floors, or window edges. This will keep the unwanted surface from being painted and will help with keeping lines straight. Too much paint on the paint brush can cause drips, so wipe off some of the excess before painting.

When painting the main wall, use the roller and paint in a w shape. Overlap the paint until all surfaces are covered. Refill the roller as needed and do not allow it to get to dry. Painting with a roller will proceed quickly. Immediate progress will be seen. This will take the shortest amount of time to complete.

Textured paint and wall paint designs can add a different look to the regularly painted wall. Texture paint can hid flaws and have a variety of rollers that create a wide variety of looks. Wall paint designs are usually stencils but can be homemade. Painting a large sequence of stencils is very tedious and time-consuming so keep that in mind before making a decision.

Painting is a good project for a do-it-yourself beginner. Painting makes a visual impact and brings a sense of accomplishment. It can inspire bigger and better projects for the homeowner.

Painting Using Texture Roller

Author: Parth Mudgal
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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