Painting Tip

I have spent the past week painting and would like to pass on a few tips:

1. Ventillate the room. I bought Sherwin Williams paint and opened the windows in the bedroom I was painting. On the fourth morning, I got extremely nausious and a terrible headache. My body was poisoned by the toxic fumes. Before, when I used Home Depot paint, I painted more than 4 days with less ventillation and did not get sick.

2. Paint with a partner. One can take only so much talk radio and the slow progress becomes less and less tolerable.

3. Paint the ceiling first, then the walls. When you paint the ceiling, go onto the walls a little bit. Don't just paint right up to the wall. The line of paint, more than the wall, makes the distinction between wall and ceiling. Meaning, it's ok if the line made by the ceiling paint and wall paint is not right at the connection of the wall and ceiling. This line should be on the ceiling plane, not on the wall plane. It's much easier to get a straight line on the ceiling when you paint the wall second.

4. Get a plastic drop cloth. You don't need to cover the entire floor or tape it down. Just leave it free so you can shift it as you paint around the room.

5. If you have a paint container, when you are done for the day, leave a little paint in it––enought to barely cover the bottom. This way you can just peel the paint off of it when you return the next day. If you leave to little, it won't peel off cleanly. If you leave some paint on the bottom, you may bet chips in your paint.

6. To get the best action on the brush, the 1/3 of the bristles close the base should be dry (from paint or water). If you brush gets sopped up, clean it and use a second brush.

7. You can wrap your roller in plastic wrap if you have to stop painting and you will return the next day or so. That way you don't have to clean the roller. Also, the roller hold more paint than you think, and using the plastic saves paint.

8. New switches for lights are only 59 cents. Face plates for switches and outlets are only 22 or 44 cents. If you see these that are $2-$4, then walk down the the end of the isle to find the cheap ones. They are sufficient.