Painting – The Tools of the Trade, Make the Trade – Part 5
Posted By Houston Decorator on April 5, 2010
Now that we’ve got the basics down on how to properly “cut in”, we need to go over how to setup for rolling the paint with the paint roller, this way we can fill in the rest of the wall that needs paint. One thing I do want to mention is that you shouldn’t cut in the whole room before you roll it. Try just cutting in one wall at a time, than go to rolling the paint on that wall, once finished, cut in another wall. For this step, we have our roller sleeve, our roller cage, a long handle for the cage, our paint tray, our drop sheets, and of course our can of paint. I hope you haven’t forgotten about our 6 in 1 tool! Alright, let’s get started!
Rolling the paint onto the wall is not a difficult step, but it is a very important one. Generally you will need to put two coats of paint on the wall, and you basically want to budget for enough paint to do so. Don’t believe the rollers or paint advertisements that try to tell you one coat is enough. It’s always better to put two good coats of paint on a wall, then to only put one and see the wall underneath the first coat. This is also to give the fresh coat of paint a fighting chance at being what you need it to be, whether a scrub able surface, or one that just needs to look professional.
Remember to slide the roller sleeve all the way down the roller cage until it can’t go any further. Also, make sure that the sleeve isn’t too long or too short. The industry continually makes you purchase different sizes of sleeves and cages by changing the size of them by ½” increments. This can be very annoying for us consumers, as we have to make sure everything lines up all the time. Yet another thing you’ll need to watch for when purchasing the sleeves and cage. Another item to purchase is the pole that will hold the roller cage, I don’t find you need to spend a lot on this item (any broom handle will do fine as long as it has a threaded rod at the top of it), this item will basically just serve as a long stick which you’ll attach the cage to.
Knowing what type of wall you’ll be painting on is also important. If it’s a flat surface like drywall, you’ll want to get the “flat surface” roller sleeve. If it’s a rougher surface like plaster, go for the “rough surface” roller sleeve. Sounds simple, but this step can greatly hinder your project in the end. I’ve seen many paint jobs that would have gone well, if this simple rule would have been adhered to. It seems like there’s always something else to remember, but don’t let these things scare you. Painting is something that basically anyone can do, as long as you’re informed and you live by these simple steps.
Next posting we’ll talk about how to actually put the paint on the wall with the roller. Just like cutting in with the paint brush, it’s simple, once you know the basics. See you next time.
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