The factors are wall texture, the painting effect that we want to achieve and painting skills. To make the best use of a paint brush and/or paint roller, understanding the wall surface and required finishing is important. Though a Paintbrush and a paint roller is used for the same purpose, both have very different functions.
Valspar Polyester Angle 2-in Paint Brush. Valspar's Wall and Trim brush is ideal for almost any interior painting project. It's thin, tapered design provides ultra-clean lines with trimming around windows, door frames, and molding.
Don’t throw away that thickened can of latex paint! With this simple tutorial, you can thin it out and get back your painting project in under 10 minutes.
A flat wall brush is the right tool for covering flat surfaces and large areas, such as walls, smooth doors, and paneling. They generally come in 3-, 4-, and 6-inch sizes and various bristle types.
Photo: istockphoto.com
Thanks to its easy clean-up and short drying time, latex paint has a leg up over oil-based paint for easy weekend projects. But the water-based product also has a downside: It tends to thicken when stored without an airtight seal, at below-freezing temperatures, or for an extended period of time.
The consistency change–which occurs because heavy paint particles settle at the bottom of the can while the solvent rises to the top–is problematic for two reasons. First, gooey paint won’t readily work with rollers, brushes, and sprayers. Second, it looks uneven and bumpy when applied to a surface.
Although commercial paint thinners can help loosen up your latex paint, there’s a quick and easy way to salvage the can yourself with a few household products. Keep reading for how to thin latex paint to the perfect consistency for your next paint job.
How to Thin Latex Paint
STEP 1: Ready your work area
Ventilation is a must when handling paint due to the potency of the fumes, so carry your latex paint can and supplies into a well-ventilated room or outdoor space.
Pop open the can on a sturdy work surface. Take care not to bend and distort the lid so much that it won’t reseal completely—this will affect the quality of your paint if you intend to save the excess. The best way to do so is to open using a 3-in-1 painter’s tool. If you don’t have one, though, position the flathead end of the screwdriver between the lip of the lid and the rim of the can. Lever the handle down gently and, rather than pry the whole lid off in one go, turn the can so that the screwdriver can break the seal on all sides and slowly drive the lid open. Remove the lid and set aside.
STEP 2: Determine if thinning is necessary
First determine if the paint needs to be thinned. Donning a dust mask and protective gloves, dip a stir stick into the paint for a few seconds, then remove it and hold it over a paint tray or paper plate.
If the paint drizzles off of the stir stick in an even flow with the consistency of heavy cream, it’s ready for application. Thinning it further will lead to messy application and inadequate coverage of the surface.
If, on the other hand, the paint sticks to the stir stick, or if it comes off of the stick in uneven globs, you should thin it before use. Continue onto the next step.
Photo: istockphoto.com
STEP 3: Just add water
Pour all of the paint from the can into a clean five-gallon bucket, and add a half-cup of room temperature water for every one gallon of paint. Then thoroughly combine the paint and water with a stir stick, using a combination of upward and downward spiral motions.
Remove the stir stick from the paint can and hold it over a paint tray or paper plate. If the paint readily drizzles off of the stir stick, it’s ready for application.
If the paint still comes off in globs, add an additional ounce of room temperature water to the bucket and then mix the paint again with the stir stick. Keep adding water, one ounce at a time, until the paint reaches the consistency of heavy cream. Perform the stir stick test to check for the desired consistency.
STEP 4: Paint as you normally would
Pour the paint from the bucket into a clean empty paint can, then proceed with your painting project as usual.
STEP 5: Store the paint properly
Before resealing the lid of the can at the end of your do-it-yourself project, add an ounce of water over the top of the paint to keep it from drying out or forming a skin.
Store the can at above-freezing temperatures in a dry place without wild temperature fluctuations, and make sure it’s protected with an airtight seal. Remember that the useful lifespan of an opened can of latex paint is two years.
Ever wonder just how to paint a smooth surface without leaving brush marks?
You see all these items in your house that are painted with a brush, such as cabinets, furniture, railings, trim, baseboards, and other woodwork, yet you don’t see brush marks when a professional does it.
What’s their secret?
When you do it, after everything dries, you see a line-up of deep canyons left behind by the brush. They show your every move, each bristle and strand of brush marks going where you went with your brush.
The truth is there’s no magic going on with the pros. They just use the tricks of the trade. Knowledge + technique + a little experience goes a long way to getting your professional painting look.
Covered below, we open up the book on how to avoid brush marks and also see if you can fix brush marks that are already there.
5 Steps to No More Brush Marks
Here’s the best 5 tips to use to get the most professional look out of your brush painting.
1. Fast Isn’t Always Best
When it comes to painting fast, the most important speed we’re talking about is paint drying time. What’s that old saying about something extremely slow and boring– “it’s like watching paint dry!”
The main reason you get paintbrush marks in the first place is because the paint hasn’t flowed out completely before it’s dried.
So, the first tip in avoiding paintbrush lines is to buy slow-drying paint. This is usually higher quality paint that is labeled to take up to 24-hours to dry.
Beware of labels that say “dry to the touch” after a couple hours, or Quick-Dry. While this might be helpful if you’re in a hurry to complete a project, it may not lead you to the best results.
You really do want to remember that phrase from above about watching paint dry. Remember an even better phrase too when it comes to painting: “Slow Makes Paint Flow!”
And flowing paint means a smoother finish.
The only word of caution here is to be careful not to bump the paint or handle painted surfaces while they’re drying since you may be used to faster drying times.
2. Go Horizontal
A second trick to help you avoid those unwanted brush marks is to always paint on a horizontal plane if possible.
In other words, take down doors for painting or paint trim before installing. This will allow you to lie them flat and paint on top of them, so paint can flow evenly as it dries.
One of a painters best tools is actually a pair of saw-horses. Install macos mojave in virtualbox. These also help make painting large or long pieces easy as they can be positioned at just the right level.
What Is The Best Paint Brush For Walls
This tip really piggy-backs off of the first one above about paint flowing. A nice, flat surface will allow gravity to pull the paint in all directions evenly…like a small pebble dropping in a placid lake.
So what happens when you paint vertically?
When you paint up and down with a brush those vertical brush lines just stay there as nothing allows them to spread out into each other.
You want those ridges from your brush strokes to flatten out, going side-to-side.
3. Go with the Grain
Thin Cleaning Brush
Another tip that you may already know (but need to do!) is to paint with the grain on wood surfaces.
Go in the same direction as the grain so that any brush strokes that do end up showing, will not be as noticeable.
4. Don’t Skimp, Do Two Coats
Next, realize that just about every paint job, done well, will need at least two coats. This is exactly whatgood, professional painters do.
That means, don’t try to lather it on thickly and soak it on in one coat.
Just make sure to cover the surface area with a good amount of paint evenly. Let it dry, and then come back and apply the second coat.
5. A Quality Brush Means a Quality Job
Finally, always (a big always!), buy a quality paintbrush. You’ll know it’s good because it’ll be a little more expensive than the rest on the shelf.
With proper paintbrush cleaning and care, you’ll have your brush for a long time. Bristles and hairs on these brushes will be of varying lengths and have a “slit-end” look at the ends of them instead of coming to a small point. Jonathan swan twitter.
This “non-uniform” end lets paint clump more there, giving you a smoother application as paint glides on. Think of layered bangs in a good haircut, or carpeting with many fibers of different lengths – that’s what you’re after.
Now, if for any reason you didn’t end up with a really smooth surface and the paint has already dried, you can carefully sand down the fine grooves and ridges left by a brush with a fine, 120-grit type sandpaper.
Go over with a lint-free damp cloth to clean and try painting again keeping the tips above in mind.
Wall Paint Brush Sizes
There you have it, a few basic how-tos on avoiding paintbrush marks.