Painting hints

Press, 11 October 1979, Page 13

Painting hints

When painting woodwork, start at the top and work in this order: Picture rail, door frame, window frame, skirting board, door. In this way you can deal with any splashes on the lower work. Also you will not scuff wet paint on the skirting board when painting window frames. If the stock of a brush gets full of paint the brush will not be flexible and does not work very well. Press the brush into the edge of a piece of wood and force the paint into the lower part of the bristles, then apply the brush in the usual way. If you do not possess dust sheets old newspapers will protect the floor from splashes. To prevent re-arranging them as they get scattered by a gust of wind through an open window or even by the process of walking around the room it is worth while buying a roll of adhesive tape and sticking the papers together and to the floor. Tie a piece of string

across the bucket you use to mix your wallpaper paste. You will then have something to rest your brush on and using it gently you can remove any excess paste on the brush. A piece of old metal sheet can be used as a shield when using a blow lamp on window frames to prevent the glass cracking. Stuff a piece of old rag in the top of down pipes when clearing in preparation for painting. It will prevent dust and rust from falling down the pipe and perhaps clogging them up. With thixotropic, or jellied, paints it is often difficult to hold small amounts on the brush for painting narrow strips such as glazing bars on windows. In spite of the instruction on the tin. it is possible to whip up a little of the paint, on the tin lid, until it liquifies. The paint then can be applied as any ordinary gloss paint, but do not adopt this method on any other than narrow strips.