Since we’re talking all the DIY right now, I have a question. Is there anything I should “know” about painting my bedroom? I’m taping up the molding, I’ve got primer, I’ve got paint, I’ve got brushes and rollers and dropcloths. I’ve just never painted anything before, and I’m concerned that I will forget some minor but crucial step like only stirring the paint clockwise unless it’s a primary color and screw the whole thing up. I’m going to be doing a great deal of painting over the next few months, so I could probably use all the advice I can get.
Oh, and Spats, that’s almost enough to make me dig out my corset and fishnets–but then I remember that I burned them in a cleansing freedom ritual about five years ago.
[Random Stupid Question] What’s the name of the American city that’s on Niagara Falls? Best Friend (other than Quasi-Daughter) had the bright idea that maybe we could go to Niagara-On-The-Lake with the inlaws, and have them drop us over the border. Then we could take a train or bus to Philly. Is this feasible? Any advice?
Lissla, I believe that would be either Niagara Falls itself or possibly Lewiston, NY. (I think.) But if you’re planning on taking a bus from there to Philly, I seriously hope you’re not thinking it’s something you can do in a day–it’s about seven hours one-way.
**Taters ** - been there, done that, have the headaches to prove it
Ellen Cherry - I missed the Texas Caviar recipe - could you post it again?
Lissla Lissar - you’re better off with a plane ride. It’s at least 7 hours by car - about that much by train. but if you’re not in a hurry - go for it.
HEY! Looka here! I’m posting from work! There is no rhyme nor reason to our security filter and this time I approve. No more giant posts of saved up drivel. Now the drivel will dribble throughout the day. Aren’t you all so glad?
Dear me. You do realize you didn’t christen your knives, don’t you? You gave them a taste for blood is what you did. Best just name them Audrey and decide which body parts you can do without.
Tonight I’m starting beouf boingingboing and then thursday it’s orange ducky. Yum! I hope. I’ve never made duck myself and only know to anticipate some greasy clean up.
**Draelin ** - Your first mistake was taping the moldings. Well, since you’re new to painting, I’l let that slide, but I don’t tape off when I paint. Learning to cut in with a 2" angled sash brush is a worthy skill to have. It’s so much faster than taping, painting, drying, peeling off tape, touching up the molding where the paint sneaked under the tape or where the tape pulled paint off. :smack:
Practice a bit in somewhere like behind the door. It seems odd, but you want the brush wet with paint. Not dripping, but not dry either - a dry brush will be harder to control.
Drape and tarp is essential, especially if you’ll be using a roller. Those things can send tiny splatters for several feet. A two- or three-foot extension handle for the roller makes it easier to handle with less reaching and stooping. Get a bunch of the plastic roller tray liners so you don’t have to wash the tray. Buy the bulk pack of roller covers so you can just toss them. Those things are nearly impossible to wash out.
Use high-quality tools! Cheap brushes will leave more bristles than paint on your walls, and cheap roller covers can leave a clumpy finish, lint and even swaths of pinhole bubbles revealing the old paint below. The roller itself can be cheap.
If you’re painting a different color than what’s already on the walls, be prepared to do a second coat.
Take off the plates around outlets and switches, and tape over the outlet/switch in case you swipe it with the roller later on. Nothing says “I’m an idiot” louder than painted-over outlets and switches, especially when there’s so much paint in the outlet slots that you can’t use it any more.
Keep critters out of the room unless you want painted paw prints through the house.
HEY! Looka here! I’m posting from work! There is no rhyme nor reason to our security filter and this time I approve. No more giant posts of saved up drivel. Now the drivel will dribble throughout the day. Aren’t you all so glad?
Dear me. You do realize you didn’t christen your knives, don’t you? You gave them a taste for blood is what you did. Best just name them Audrey and decide which body parts you can do without.
Tonight I’m starting beouf boingingboing and then thursday it’s orange ducky. Yum! I hope. I’ve never made duck myself and only know to anticipate some greasy clean up.
Well, gotti, the only problem I’m seeing thus far is that there’s no door to practice behind or keep the critters out. But I’ll practice behind where the bed’s going to go and find a way to corral the cats. I considered doing the molding and the ledges without tape, but there are sixteen windows, a chest-high ledge running around the room, and a steepled ceiling. Since I can be clumsy at best, I thought it would be a good idea to make sure the paint only gets where I want it to be. (And no, there’s no way in H-E-double-hockey-sticks I’m painting that ceiling. Five foot woman plus thirty foot ceiling equals trip to the ER.)
And thank you, Mika. That’s why you’re my favorite.
Hey, does anyone know if “Bongkot” is a boy’s name or a girl’s name? I’ve only ever conversed with this person via e-mail, and I can’t ask them, how rude.
Google trends this to be female. I plugged in “Mr. Bongkot” and got 8 hits. “Mrs. Bongkot” had 28 hits, and “Ms Bongkot” has 24 hits, almost all of which seem to be in the form of “Contact Person:, Ms Bongkot Pongnarai” or similar.
Not to worry Bobbio. I do not find the sight of naked women heart attack inducing, rather I find them soothing, kinda like examining at ones leisure a piece of fine art at the museum.
Thank you, gotpasswords. I’ll go by it, since the chances are high for her being female anyway…we work in a nfp and nearly everyone is female…or highly effeminate.
That was kind of mean, wasn’t it? :o
Drae, another tool that may help you with edging, is an edging pad. The one I used had little wheels on it. This is a super tool for those of us who do not have hands like surgeons, i.e, steady hands. Don’t get a cheap one, get a good quality one. This thing was great, especially near the ceiling. No “oopsies”. We had a cheap one and ended up with a couple of oopsies. Once we got the better quality one, no more oopsies, nice line, etc.
