If you’re a bit of a DIY enthusiast, the time will eventually come where you decide that your favorite bedroom wall needs a change of color, perhaps from white to mauve. And when that happens, you’ll whip out a bucket of paint and brush and start slathering it all over the wall.
At the end of it, though, you’ll step back, observe your work and conclude that it looks terrible.
If you want to avoid regrets, check out these painting hacks. They will make your life a thousand times better.
Wrap Your Brushes In Plastic And Put Them In The Freezer
If you hate cleaning your brushes, then this hack will make your life so much easier. Once you finish painting, take a piece of plastic wrapping and when tightly twist it around your paintbrush. Then, when you need to use it again, you can just thaw it out and get painting, as if you never left off.
Use Tape
Painters tape isn’t something that’s just “nice to have”: it’s essential. It prevents you from painting over the skirting board, coving and door frames, keeping everything looking neat. The tape is, in a sense, cheating. Once you rip it up, you’re left with perfectly straight lines even the great Leonardo DaVinci would be jealous of.
Use Latex Paint
Latex paint might sound like an environmentalist’s nightmare, but it is excellent for people who tend to generate splatter while they work. So long as it falls on a laminate floor, all you need to do is wait for it to dry and then pick it off with a fingernail.
Use A Rubber Band To Wipe Your Brush, Not The Rim Of The Can
Using the rim of the can to wipe your brush is a technique that people have been using for decades. It’s also a bad idea. It doesn’t take long for layers of gunky paint to build up around the rim, which eventually falls into the tin, leading to big globules. Not what you want.
Professionals, therefore, use the rubber band technique. The way this works is easy: you just stick a section of the rubber band over the opening of the tin and then use that to clean the brush instead.
Check Color Consistency
We’re used to products having the perfect color and consistency. But in the world of paint, it is not guaranteed, especially if you order a custom color. It is crucial, therefore, to check each new tin to ensure that it perfectly matches the last. Where possible, buy the biggest paint containers that you can – and stir them well before use with a clean implement.
Use Canvas Floor Coverings
A lot of amateur painters will put down plastic floor covers – even groundsheets. But professional painters never take this tack. They use canvas instead. Canvas isn’t slippery underfoot; plastic is.
Save Money On Rollers Using A Pringles Tub
If you plan on returning to your work within a day or so, wrap your roller in plastic and then place it in a Pringles’ tub. Then, unwrap it and finish off the remaining work.
