John Martin (1789–1854) was a key figure in the nineteenth-century art world, renowned for his dramatic scenes of apocalyptic destruction and biblical disaster, the most popular painter of his day, he specialised in vast canvases of the ancient world in chaos, yet he was scorned by the art critics of his time.
Image via Wikipedia
Pimlico’s Art Gallery (The Tate Britain) is running a major exhibition (the first show dedicated to his paintings for over 30 years) bringing together his most famous paintings from collections around the world.
This week’s blog is a continuation of last week’s decorating tips.
I like to emulsion the walls before gloss-painting the woodwork, so that any spray splats on the woodwork can be sanded off when dry.
New plaster should first be ‘mist-coated’ with a 50/50 mix of water and paint and a bit of PVA adhesive. This penetrates the plaster surface better, providing better adhesion. Failure to do so may result in paint peeling in damp conditions in bathrooms and kitchens.
Rollering is quicker if you do it systematically in rows rather than dodging about in all directions. For ceilings use a roller extension handle which is easier than a stepladder. Minimise spray by rollering steadily and not too fast.
Consider silk finish paint for high-traffic areas like hallways and kitchens. It doesn’t collect the dirt like matt and is easier to clean.
For the woodwork there is a definite process. For typical run-of-the-mill rentals the following will give a reasonable finish fairly quickly:
1. All old gloss paint must be sanded lightly to provide a key. Failure to do this may cause new paint to peel especially if it has a rough life in a rented flat.
2. Thoroughly dust off the woodwork with a soft brush and use a hoover to clear the room of dust.
3. Fill any dents with plaster-based filler and use flexible caulk to fill internal gaps such as between skirting and walls.
4. When the filler is dry, sand it flat. Dust off the woodwork lightly and hoover again.
5. Spot-prime any bare wood and filler. I don’t recommend acrylic/ water based ‘quick drying’ paints over old oil paint as they can peel if treated roughly. On new wood they’re fine.
6. Apply undercoat.
7. Lightly sand the dry undercoat to remove ‘nibs’. Dust off again. Probably no need to vacuum as it can just spread stray dust at this stage.
8. Apply top coat thinly to avoid runs.
I never use ‘one coat’ paint. It doesn’t do what it says on the tin!
water-based materials and battery tools stored in the warm
Tip – In cold conditions take home gloss paint to keep it warm for the morning. While working keep it warm in a bowl of warm water. It’ll spread much more easily and run less.
Tip 2 – You can store rollers and emulsion brushes wrapped tightly in polythene bags for several days. Store oil brushes in water, with the bristles completely covered. Flick the water out before using them again.
Tip 3 – Don’t let water-based paints (or any water-based products) get frosted. It breaks down the polymer binders which make it set properly. You can sometimes tell if paint has been frosted as it loses its thick, viscous consistency and seems runny. Likewise PVA dries chalky white, not translucent. Some rechargeable batteries are also damaged by frost.
Next week I’ll talk about getting rid of Artex, the bane of many a renovator’s life.
Painting and decorating is something many a landlord attempts for themselves at some point. It’s worth having a go yourself for typical mid-range rentals provided you follow some basic guidelines.
First rule – don’t strip wallpaper unless you have to! It may be all that is holding the plaster on the wall. Unless the paper is very textured you can often just paint straight over it. If you have to strip it then use a steamer.
If you do decide to strip, it’s often cheaper and quicker to get them re-skimmed with plaster than re-papered with all the preparation involved in getting the walls flat. But if the old plaster already has existing paint, the new plaster may not adhere properly. So you have two choices. For a more expensive but better finish, chip off the old paint and plaster and start again. Or to save money, sand and fill the walls as flat as possible, then cover them with a slightly embossed paper. This hides a multitude of sins, especially as some papers come ready finished, so no need even to paint! The embossed papers are tougher than the ones with a textured plastic surface coating, which can get scraped off. Woodchip is too dated.
kitchen being installed after decorating
Second rule is to decorate BEFORE you fit things like kitchens and floor coverings. People often assume that the decorating comes last, but then you have to cover up your new kitchen and ‘cut in’ around (carefully paint around) all the cabinets. Much quicker to just paint the walls first.
Third rule is start from the top and work down. This isn’t essential but just makes sense. Do the ceiling first, then any splats on the walls can be cleaned off and painted over. Do the walls next, any roller flecks on the skirting and woodwork can then be sanded off. When you do the woodwork, don’t bother if it goes half an inch or so up the walls. You don’t want to be painstakingly ‘cutting in’ along the walls with three coats of primer, undercoat and gloss. You can do it later in one process, with the emulsion on a brush.
Old kitchen and bathroom tiles can be painted white or neutral colours with specialised tile paint. It does scrape off if subject to heavy abrasion, but is a lot cheaper than new tiles. You can also get a special white marker pen to draw in the grout lines! I’ve got lots of tips to save on tiling but they’ll have to go in another blog.
