First time decorating!!

bigdic

Some good advice in this thread, and the one about good quality brushes is so true. You may spend a little more time cleaning them but the finish will be far better and you won't be finding bristles in your finished job.

This goes even more so for rollers, spend a little more money on them and they'll reward you by making the job much easier and quicker. You can buy roller trays with lids (Harris make them I think) which can store a brush,roller and paint for a few days so you don't need to clean them out every night.

If you're glossing and you have to stop then store the brush in a cup of water overnight, you don't have to clean it out just take it out the water shake it off and start again . Just ensure you clean it properly with brush cleaner when you're finished with it.

bookduck

use a wide (12" is good 9" ok) roller as it gets more in in the same time. The more expensive rollers hold more paint.

Buy a pain skuttle so you don't have to keep filling up that roller tray every 5 mins, and is probably easier to clean too.


Once finished for the eve, keep your roller stored under water (in a bucket) so it does not hardened and cover the skuttle with a damp cloth (stops the paint from going off

Ishtar

boufje wrote: »

chuck your woodwork brushes at the end - you will spend more on white spirit to clean them than a new brush.

Or use water-based gloss. Gives a good finish, bit like eggshell, but in my experience needs a couple of coats...especially when painting over old gloss. Bonus is that you can wash the brushes out with water at the end, which also means you don't have the problem of how to dispose of used white spirits .

Personally, I'd go for the more expensive brushes and clean them up after use. They have a better feel in your hand - the cheap ones are usually very light and shed bristles like its going out of fashion!!