Find The Right Painting Tools and Techniques

This is a 4 piece series on painting tools and techniques. Here in part one I will examine protective gear and masking. Later in article two I’ll examine ladders and scaffolding and in article 3 I’ll talk about brushes and rollers. Finally, in part 4 we’ll look at sprayers, caulk guns, wire brushes, braces and knee pads, and swivel hooks.

The painting industry has made tremendous strides within the last decade. Today there's an instrument for nearly every situation. Even I'm impressed by the ground breaking devices coming on the market, for example, dripless caulk guns, that have resolved a messy problem.

Before you begin your project, have a minute to check your equipment. You will most probably need to stock up on a few items. Make a complete list of what you need. Keep an eye out for tools that save time and labor. The more expensive equipment, such as sprayers and scaffolding, can be rented.

About Protective Gear

Some people don't think it's essential to wear protection gear when they're painting. I guess they think it's wimpy. But I've worked around enough toxic substances to understand how dangerous they could be. Dust, painting mist, and vapors affect the lungs rapidly, and skin pores are an available target for solvents and dust borne particles. Avoid being foolish... protect yourself.

Respirators Tutorial

A particle mask is better than almost nothing, but it doesn't form a good seal and it will not filter all the dust. If you do use a particle mask, get one with dual elastic bands. A damp handkerchief tied around your face gives better safety than particle masks that use light-weight rubber bands.

Double cartridge respirators are the safest solution. They'll provide you with the protection you will need for most vapors, mist, and dirt. Respirators come in three sizes. Make sure that yours fits. If it generally does not fit well, it won't work very well. Checking the fit of any respirator is like testing the seal of your diving face mask. Breathe then keep your hand over the side valves. The mask fits if it presses against your face and stays there while you hold your breath. Good respirators cost from $25 on up and usually come with replacement filters. Double cartridge respirators have color coded filters for different pollutants; be sure you are using the right filtration for the job. Make sure to read the instructions, and remember that you should change the cartridges if deep breathing becomes hard or if you start detecting vapors.

Protective Clothing Risk

Respirators do a good job of protecting your lungs, but you need to safeguard the rest of your body as well. Having been qualified in lead abatement, I know that your body can only eliminate an extremely small percentage of lead, even over a 30 year span. Many painters make the mistake of believing that a little exposure to dust particles or VOCs won't damage them, but it all adds up over time. I always dress for protection, keeping at least one good Tyvek painting suit on the job. Tyvek breathes well, weighs little, and provides good protection. The extra layer is a lttle bit warm, but I would rather wear a paint suit than be covered with dust or overspray (during a hot day make sure you drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration). In the event that you choose never to wear a painting suit, wear clothes that you will not mind turning into something resembling a painting palette.

I more often than not wear leather gloves, even when I'm brushing. They keep my hands clean and my grip dry. I take two pairs of gloves if I'm painting more than one color, to ensure that I don't contaminate the colors. Industrial strength rubber gloves are another must. I wear rubber gloves to stain, to wash out brushes, sprayers, and rollers; to open up, mix, and strain paints; and to handle toxic substances such as paint thinners.

Rounding out my paint anywhere wardrobe are safety glasses or goggles to keep chips, dust, and spray mist out of my eye, and, if I'm spraying, a hood. If you spray without a hood, anticipate to spend a lot of time cleaning paint out of your hair.

Masking Really Works

Usually the room you're painting will have a finished floor or carpet and the proverbial ounce of prevention can save your day. Even if you are only painting one inside home window, masking the floor is a good idea. Having an open can of paint makes me stressed if there isn't a drop cloth on the floor. I've learned the hard way. Masking becomes even more important if you're staining, because stain spatters almost everywhere. A few simple items can help you save a whole lot of touch up, cleaning up, and attempting to get paint from the carpet before your spouse sees it. Before I finally quit and admitted that my technique wasn't perfectly right and dripless, I spent more time touching up than I could have. Touching up is an undeniable fact of painting life, but these days I do significantly less of it because I take the time to mask.

First, you need a drop cloth. Heavy cloth is obviously best, but drop cloths need not be costly, professional painter's cloths. You can sometimes find quite large drapes at thrift stores, for the price of one thin clear plastic drop cloth. Look for drapes with vinyl fabric backing, for added waterproofing. I pull out the top stitching for an additional 3 inches of fabric.

The trouble with plastic drop cloths is that they weigh next to nothing and billow everywhere. Clear plastic works best when you can find 3 foot wide paper (like the kind used for flooring insulation) to lie on top of the plastic. If I'm painting a large new home and I need to mask the entire floor, the clear plastic/paper masking system is inexpensive and works well.

An excellent masking system is critical whether you're brushing, rolling, or spraying the paint. All you require is masking tape, paper for the outside edge of the floor and baseboard, and a slim layer of plastic for the house windows and furniture. 3M makes a good masking system which includes special painter's tape and dispensers with pre-taped clear plastic. If you've ever before spent hours scraping tape adhesive off home windows, you can appreciate advanced masking tapes. Commercial masking dispensers can be found at professional painting outlets and sometimes at local rental shops. If a commercial dispenser is hard to find, simply buy a roll of heavy paper and use your wrist to hold the masking tape roll.

Some tapes need more stickiness for fixing clear plastic to rougher textures like walls. Other tapes need to come off without leaving adhesive on home windows and smooth surfaces. Always wait at least four hours before removing tape to avoid tearing the paint. But don't leave tape on for longer than 24 hours or it'll be hard to remove.

Masking Floors Blueprint

In addition to masking off the primary areas to be painted, it is also good prevention to mask main traffic areas and wherever you plan to store and mix the paint. Distribute all the required drop cloths, then clean the areas you will be taping with vacuum cleaner, foxtail broom, or clean rag, to ensure a good seal. While you mask, concentrate on obtaining a clean edge with the tape, and make sure the tape is solidly attached.

Tape and paper dispensers are ideal for masking off the outer edge of an area. They ensure a clean edge along the floor and minimize clean-up. I take advantage of shorter pieces of masking (1 ft. to 2 ft.) for corners and closets. On long, straight runs I favor going corner to corner with one long strip of tape, which reduces the number of seams that should be taped. Once the perimeter is in place, I use drop cloths for the rest of the floor. For greater protection, I usually significantly overlap the masked perimeter with the drop cloth. On edges I also double the cloth to the inside, for extra security and stability.

Getting a tight seal with a drop cloth is critical when you're spraying an area, but guarding carpet or flooring with a sealed drop cloth is a good plan even if you are just brushing or rolling. A drop cloth will move if it isn't taped in place, and you'll finish up on your knees cleaning paint off the floor.

When You Mask Walls And Fixtures

No matter how you plan to use the paint, you'll need to mask permanent fixtures like the ceiling lighting, fans, and door knobs. Even if you have excellent hand control, cutting in (edging) the fittings that aren't masked is time consuming, specifically for multiple coats of paint. To mask fixtures, pull off enough paper and tape to cover the fixture, being careful to keep the tape just on the bottom of the fixture (newspaper also makes a good masking material for accessories). If possible, loosen the fixture covers and wall mounts to paint under them; this ensures a smooth border.

The quantity of masking that you should do is dependent upon what kind of house painting you'll be doing. The only real time the walls have to be masked is when you intend to spray the ceiling and you will need to keep the wall surfaces dry, for example, if the ceiling is getting some other color or finish. If the trim is clear coated or you would like to paint only the walls and ceiling, it makes sense to mask all around the trim, especially the windowsills.

Learn How To Mask Windows

Really the only time I mask windows is whenever I intend to spray. Taping house windows isn't quite effective. It takes too much time and paint still gets under the tape, and masking tape has a knack for really sticking to glass.

For interior or outdoor windows, I use the same system as for masking wall surfaces. The only real difference is the fact that masking glass windows usually is faster than masking whole walls. Masking glass windows and walls is usually done with clear plastic, which lets light in to the room and it is convenient for covering large areas (paper is most beneficial for masking flooring and trim). To measure plastic, I roll it out over the home window, cut as straight of a line as you can, and tape the perimeter of the window. Then it's just a matter of sticking the plastic onto the exposed tape, working from the top down and being careful to keep it straight and level.

Masking paper also works well to safeguard windows, floor, and molding from paint spatters. To protect home windows, apply masking paper over the top of the window’s casing. The width of the paper is enough to block most of the roller spatter. This same approach protects the floor and molding. If you are positive about your brushing and rolling abilities use 1 ½ inch masking tape instead of masking paper.

Concerned About Masking For Spraying?

Spraying demands that anything not being sprayed should be completely masked. Because spraying requires such intensive masking, wait to mask until you're ready to spray. Exterior surface spraying may need extensive masking, with respect to the amount of colors and whether there are adjoining buildings such as fences and power lines. When masking for spray, be sure you be detailed. Overspray is hard to regulate, especially under windy conditions. The more you've prepared for overspray, the better. The time spent masking is much less than the time you'll have spent touching up afterward. A tight seal with masking tape is crucial because sprayed paint gets almost everywhere. Overspray is similar to the occasional drip from a brush every so often... one will get from you, no matter how careful you are. But you can decrease overspray by double checking before you spray.

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