Painting and decorating

Heyyouguys · 7 May 2019 at 11:22AM

B&M have a good selection of decorating materials, including Harris brushes. I would definitely agree with having a good-quality roller and good paintbrushes. We also found an edging tool to be invaluable for cutting in, looks like a rectangle sponge, and much easier than using normal or edging paintbrushes.

Something I would recommend as a beginner (same as me) is to test how long the water-based paint takes to dry, as when you edge, sometimes the paint dries very fast before you roll (especially if it a big wall) and you see an edge/boundary. We found an additive called Floetrol was very useful to make the paint stay wetter for longer and therefore not see any edges.

Finally prep prep prep .... sugar soap, clean, sand, wipe, prime, sand, wipe, paint, sand, wipe, repaint, fine resand and wipe for the best finish. Also check any damp and blown plaster BEFORE painting - we learnt this the hard way as we are now noticing and fixing cracks everywhere

PDC · 8 May 2019 at 9:55AM

Also if you need to remove wallpaper then a mixture of warm water and fabric softener can work very well - We had some paper to remove that we were dreading removing but filling a spray bottle with that and soaking the paper as we removed it, it all but fell of the wall.

Zandimos · 8 May 2019 at 9:29PM

Hi all,

Thanks for your responses!

I have noted all your stresses about prepping and got some sugar soap which I hope will help me out.

I also took your advice and got the £20 screwfix deal on the Harris brushes/rollers.

Hopefully all will go well

MalcRH12 · 9 May 2019 at 9:02AM

My main tip would be to use frog tape instead of masking tape. It's expensive for what it is but it leaves a fantastic finish. Just make sure you put the tape on whatever you're taping correctly and straight (e.g when taping the edge of the ceiling to cut on in walls). You can get the yellow less tacky version for freshly painted surfaces or the green more tacky version for surfaces that have been dry for a while. Good luck

Zandimos · 17 May 2019 at 6:29PM

Hi all,

Sorry for another question.

We are looking at the Dulux Easycare range as we have a little one. But I’ve been told Valspar V500 is brilliant by one colleague.

Just wondering if you guys have any opinions on the two? And is Valspar worth the £12 more per 5l

esmy · 17 May 2019 at 9:39PM

I've found Dulux Easycare good, as is Wilkinson's equivalent, called Durable.

My best tip is to buy some decorator's caulk - great for filling gaps along skirtings and around door frames prior to painting - but I do live in an old, creaky house. Yours might be different!

redmalc · 18 May 2019 at 5:20AM

We have had Dulux easy care and it’s very good,shop around because we ended up getting it from JYF for £15 2,5 litres

Fire_Fox · 18 May 2019 at 4:05PM

If you run an advanced search, paint brands/ own brands come up regularly. Wilko paint is well thought of and very well priced: see the reviews on their website.

My city centre flat is a Johnstone's washable throughout - courtesy of the developer - and I will be using it again. It stands up to scrubbing down incredibly well (greasy diesel bus exhaust deposits).

Tinks74 · 18 May 2019 at 7:04PM

For the small touch ups at the end, maybe where the masking tape was a little wonky or pulled off a little bit of paint (even Frog tape does this occasionally), use a small artists paint brush, easier to control and cleans in seconds.

eamon · 19 May 2019 at 2:49PM

Don't buy cheap emulsion, not worth the price, unless you are painting just plastered walls/ceiling and if thats the case consider it as an undercoat.

As with the other posters prep is key and empty the rooms of everything. By all means get your new carpets etc measured and ordered now but delay fitting until you are ready for them.

Painting and decorating

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