After unloading most of the paint on the roller in a zigzag
pattern, spread it out evenly, top to bottom.
Painting the walls is nearly the same as paint-
ing ceilings—cutting in with a brush and rolling
larger areas—except that you can load more
latex paint, unless you’ve waited several weeks
paint on the roller. To reduce spatter, roll up on
between coats; until latex is 100% dry, new coats
the first stroke; the excess will fall back to the
adhere easily.
roller. Continue rolling in a zigzag pattern to
unload the roller before rolling out the paint. A
Painting interior trim begins with preparation
Rather than masking windowpanes or 6-in. hot-dog roller can paint the areas over doors tasks. Prepare the trim, window sashes, and attempting to cut in clean paint lines, and windows that are too narrow for a standard doors by filling nail holes with nonshrinking paint slightly (1⁄16 in.) onto the glass.
After the paint dries, use a razor to
9-in. roller. Rolling is always faster than brushing wood filler, priming bare wood, caulking gaps
cut a clean line.
because you don’t need to dip a roller in paint
with acrylic latex caulk (letting it dry overnight),
continually. If you’re careful around electrical
lightly sanding all trim with 180-grit sandpaper,
outlets, you can also use a hot-dog roller there.
and vacuuming dust and debris. Enamel paint—
With more paint on your roller, you can cover
which dries to a hard, glossy finish—is best for
P R O T I P
slightly larger expanses of wall, say, 3 ft. by 4 ft.
trim, window sashes, and doors because it’s the
If you start at the top of the wall and work down, most durable. By the way, there are both oil-
When cutting corners or trim,
you’ll roll over any drips from above. Cover
based and latex enamels.
slightly overlap the paint on the
brushmarks by rolling within 1⁄2 in. to 1 in. of the
Painting straight edges requires a quality
adjacent surface 1⁄8 in. to 1⁄4 in.
ceiling; this is important when applying darker
brush and a steady hand. If you can develop a
overlapping prevents unpainted
hues because rolled-on paint reflects light differ-
steady hand, you won’t need to use masking tape,
spots, fills minor irregularities,
ently than paint that’s been brushed on. Slightly
which is time-consuming. In most cases, all you
and ultimately produces a cleaner
overlap adjacent sections. To avoid unloading
need is a 21⁄2-in. or 3-in. angled sash brush, unless
line. it’s also faster. Remember:
excess paint along outside corners, lighten up as
your baseboards are exceptionally wide. Start
You don’t need to paint a per-
you roll.
with crown (ceiling) molding, proceed to door
fectly straight cut line until you
Finally, sand lightly between coats when you
and window trim, and finish with the base-
apply the finish coat to the trim.
apply oil-based paint, especially enamels on cabi-
boards. Always paint with the grain, cutting trim
nets or trim. On walls, use 220-grit sandpaper or
edges first, then filling in the field with steady
a dry sanding block. It’s not necessary to sand
back-and-forth strokes. To avoid lap marks, paint
520 Chapter 18
Faux-Painted Walls
Faux (pronounced foe) is French, meaning “false”
or “imitation.” it’s used here to describe various
advanced painting techniques that create layered
finishes, sometimes to imitate stone or wood or
simply to allow underlying layers of paint to show
through. typically, two accent colors are applied to
already painted walls and ceilings. if the surfaces
are irregular—say, rough plaster—all the better,
for colors will look more varied and unpredictable.
in general, thin coats of paint allow you to see lay-
ers underneath. the photos here show a few faux-
painting basics; if this whets your appetite for
more, there are lots of good books on the subject.
Faux texturing
in this sequence, the painter was trying to achieve
an old look, as if an imperfectly plastered wall had
been painted many times. there’s no single right
way to apply a faux finish, so you can experiment
1. After pouring a small amount of the first accent color into a shallow
with methods and materials until you get a look
container, load your stippling brush lightly. Then quickly jab the bristles at the
wall to create a stippled effect. Follow with a dry rag, lightly patting the just-
you like. then just try to re-create that look consis-
applied paint to flatten the stipple points. Just flatten the points; don’t remove
tently throughout the room.
the paint itself.
3. Pat the second accent color on. Then flip
the sponge to its dry side and gently move the
color around, spreading paint, not removing it;
the wet side of this sponge would have
streaked the paint. Stand back periodically to
check whether the faux effect is consistent
2. Apply the second accent color with a sponge, while the first coat is still wet.
from wall to wall.
Tip: Because dipping a sponge will load too much paint onto it, instead brush
the paint onto one side of the sponge, as shown.
Painting
521
about 3 ft. of trim at a time, overlapping adjacent Windows sashes vary greatly in design. But as a P R O T I P
sections while they’re still wet. If the paint is dry-
general rule, paint them from the inside of the
ing too fast, add Flood’s Floetrol to latex paint or
sash out. That is, if sashes are divided into multi-
too often, amateurs dab paint
its Penetrol® to oil-based paint.
ple panes by muntins (narrow wood sections
on, which leaves crooked lines
If trim edges are thinner than 3⁄16 in., they’ll be between panes of glass), paint the muntins first.
and uneven paint thickness. as
difficult to cut in without spreading trim paint on Then paint along the insides of sash rails and
you cut in or paint trim, use long
brushstrokes. apply paint gener-
the wall. In that case, overlap the wall paint onto
stiles where they meet glass. Finally, paint the
ously to the surface, then smooth
the trim edge so that it covers the edge completely, faces of sashes. To develop a rhythm, paint all the
it out. For best brush control,
producing a clean, straight line. In other words,
vertical muntins—one side at a time—then the
hold the handle, not the ferrule,
the thin edge of the trim will be covered with wall horizontal muntins. By painting similar window
as if you were throwing a dart.
paint, not trim paint, but your eye won’t notice.
elements at the same time, rather than jumping
around, you’ll be less likely to miss elements and
the
work will go faster.
Don’t worry about cutting in clean edges at
the glass. Instead, paint slightly onto the glass
(1⁄16 in.), even if unevenly, thus creating a tight
seal. After the paint dries, use a razor to cut a
zzzzzz Painting a double-hung Window (interior view)
clean line on the glazing.
1. Before painting, make
Open windows to paint their edges. When
sure both sashes are
painting double-hung windows, follow the steps
Raise inner sash.
operable. Raise the inner
at left. If you are repainting the exterior of the
sash, as shown, so you can
house at the same time, go outside and paint the
paint it completely,
accessible parts of the window. Slide the window
including the tops and
sashes back to their original position, and finish
bottoms of its rails
painting. To prevent binding, move the sashes as
(horizontals).
soon as the paint is dry.
Lower the outer
sash and paint its
Painting a door is easiest if you pull the hinge
lower half.
pins and lay the door across a pair of sawhorses.
(If that’s not possible, shim beneath the door so it
can’t move.) For the best-looking results, remove
all door hardware except hinge leaves, especially
if you’re spray painting. Cover the hinges with
masking tape. If you prefer not to remove the old
2. Reverse the position of
latch mechanism and escutcheons, carefully
the sashes and paint the
Raise outer sash.
mask them, too.
rest of the upper sash.
If you’re brush painting a flush door (flat sur-
face), divide it into several imaginary rectangles,
each half the width of the door. Apply paint with
Lower inner sash.
the grain and overlap the edges of adjacent sec-
tions. Work from top to bottom. Painting panel
doors is similar, but work from the inside out:
Paint the insides of the panels first, next the rails
(horizontal pieces) top to bottom, and finally the
vertical stiles.
Painting cabinets is faster if you remove and
spray paint drawers and doors, and brush paint
cabinet frames. You’ll need a spray room isolated
3. Once the paint is dry
Jambs
from the house (a clean garage is ideal); a drying
enough to handle, lower
rack for doors; and a sprayer, which you can rent.
both sashes completely and
Lower and later raise
Be sure to read the earlier sections on painting
paint the upper half of the
both sashes to paint
safety and spray painting, which emphasize ven-
jambs. When that’s dry,
jambs and trim.
tilation and wearing a respirator.
raise both sashes, and paint
Start by washing doors and drawer fronts,
the lower half, and then
especially those near the kitchen stove. If your
the window trim.
cleaner isn’t cutting the grease, try TSP or dena-
522 Chapter 18
P R O T I P
to paint both sides of a door
without waiting for the first
painted side to dry, drive a pair
of nails into the top and bottom
of the door, then rest those nails
on a pair of sawhorses. You and a
helper can grab the nails and flip
the door over. When both sides
are dry, pull the nails, then fill
and paint the holes.
P R O T I P
Most amateurs fold sheets of
sandpaper in half, then in quar-
ters. but sheets will last longer if
you fold them in thirds. Folding
sandpaper in fourths places abra-
sive surfaces face to face, caus-
ing premature wear.
To spray paint a door, first place it across sawhorses at a comfortable working height. Mask hinges to keep paint off and ensure that the doors will hang correctly when reinstalled. Then move the sprayer smoothly and continuously,
maintaining a constant distance from the surface. Overlap preceding passes by about a third. On each pass, begin
spraying before the spray tip is over the door, and don’t release the trigger until the paint fan is past the far edge.
Use your free hand, as shown, to keep the hose out of the way.
tured alcohol; make sure you wear goggles and
gloves. That done, examine the cabinet parts and
their hardware, and plan to replace the doors or
drawer fronts that are warped or not repairable,
as well as hardware that’s broken or outdated.
Before disassembling cabinet parts for spraying,
assign each door and drawer a number. Write
these numbers just inside the cabinet frame,
where they won’t be covered by paint. Number
lower cabinet doors on bottom edges and upper
doors on top edges (the least visible locations), or
number them behind the hinges.
Tape over door-hinge mortises if you’ll reuse
the hinges. Otherwise, paint buildup in the mor-
tise may misalign the hinges and thus the doors.
Either cover the mortises with tape or leave the
hinges on the doors and mask off the hinges.
Remove hardware before prepping the doors.
If existing paint is flaking or the doors are dented,
start with 100-grit sandpaper in a random-orbit
sander, wipe off dust with a damp rag, and fill
cracks and holes with nonshrinking wood filler.
When spray painting only the face of a drawer, mask off the rest.
Repeat the sequence as needed, ending with a
220-grit sanding by hand. However, if the old
paint is in good condition, a single pass with
220-grit paper and a damp rag is all you’ll need
to prep before painting.
Painting
523
For the most durable surface, apply a coat of
primer-sealer to unpainted surfaces. (A painted
homemade drying rack
surface in good condition does not need a primer.)
Follow this with three coats of enamel, which
this freestanding drying rack is constructed from 8-ft. lengths of 1⁄2-in. galvanized-
will hide well, even if you’re applying light paint
steel electrical conduit, 2x2 frames lag-screwed together, and two pieces of 3⁄4-in. ply-
over dark. Use acrylic-latex paint for the primer
wood. the plywood base is roughly 30 in. by 30 in.; the plywood top can be smaller,
and finish coats, even if the cabinets are presently
say, 18 in. by 18 in. drilling
covered with oil-based enamel. Top-quality latex
the holes in the 2x2s slightly
enamel is almost as tough as any oil-based
larger than the conduit diame-
enamel, it dries faster, and it’s much easier to
ter allows quick disassembly.
clean up. To minimize runs, keep the doors hori-
to keep the conduit from get-
zontal during spraying and drying. Between
ting dinged during transport,
coats, sand lightly with 320-grit gar
net sand-
store it in 3-in. plastic dWv
paper. Painting drawer faces is essentially the
(drain, waste, and vent) pipe
same, except that you should mask off the
with capped ends; wrapping
drawer sides. Paint cabinet frames from the
blue tape around the conduit
inside out, finishing with long, vertical strokes
prevents the metal from mar-
on the frame faces.
ring newly painted cabinet
doors. to avoid tipping, load
Stripping and Refinishing
the rack from the bottom,
Interior Trim and Wood
unload it from the top, and
balance the weight carefully
Paneling
side to side.
Natural wood can be handsome, but stripping
layers of old paint or a dulled finish is an enor-
mously tedious, messy job. The following ques-
tions and tests may give you easier options.
six questions beFore striPPing
What kind of paint? Trim paint in houses
built before 1978 likely contains lead, which
becomes hazardous if you sand it or heat-strip
P R O T I P
it. Yet it may be perfectly safe if it’s intact and
well maintained. Analyze a paint sample, as
For some old-house purists,
explained on p. 515. Also, the more paint
spray-painted finishes are too
layers, the bigger the mess.
perfect. so, after spraying two
What kind of wood? Builders often used
finish coats, they use a 6-in.
plain or inferior-grade softwood for trim they
roller to apply a thinned (10% to
intended to paint. Test-strip a small section to
15%) final coat. they then tip off
see if the wood is worth stripping. Common
the surface with light strokes of a
brush tip. use a 3⁄8-in. mohair
pine or spruce and badly gouged wood
roller cover, which will not shed.
probably aren’t.
easy does it: brushmarks should
Stains and clear finishes are thinner than paint and more
How thick is the wood? If wood paneling
be faint—barely visible, in fact.
inclined to run, so mask off adjacent areas before starting is a 1⁄16-in. veneer, it may be too thin to sand, let
prep work.
alone scrape and strip. After turning off the
electrical power, move panel battens (vertical
pieces) or electrical outlet covers to see the
P R O T I P
edge of a panel.
Will washing do it? Clear finishes that
Renovation 4th Edition Page 121