Spring DIY: Tips for Smart Painting | Bungalow Renovations

Paint. There are few home improvements you can make that offer as much bang for your buck. Paint can change the entire feel of a room. It is a project most do-it-yourselfers can handle. And whether you buy a quart and paint a key piece of furniture, a couple of gallons to tackle a room, or you go big?changing the color of your deck or the exterior of your home, let?s say?paint is sure to have a huge impact.

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While painting is not the most difficult home improvement project you could undertake, there are some helpful hints and products that can make your job a bit easier. Almost all of them are secrets of painting professionals, and most are easily accessible and just might make you say, ?Why didn?t I already think of that?? Read on and learn more.

1. ? ???? You know it is important to prep your surface so the paint will bond successfully. Most of us use sandpaper on varnished surfaces, but another easy option is a liquid sander/deglosser. For about $5 you can quickly and easily rub it on and it will adequately prepare you surface. Be sure to follow package directions.
2. ? ???? Use an extra-wide roller to paint large surfaces twice as fast. Standard rollers are nine inches wide, but if you are confident in your ability and you are painting large, unbroken walls, you may want to invest in a larger 18-inch roller. It could save you a significant amount of time.
3. ? ???? Replace your paint tray with a ?paint pail.? Trays may be handy, but they are also awkward to move around (especially when full), and you?d be lying if you said you haven?t stepped in one at least once. A quick solution? A paint pail. It will hold considerably more paint, is easily mobile, and much harder to step in. As an added bonus, if you line the pail with a handy plastic liner, cleanup will be a breeze and wasted paint will be a thing of the past since you can simply pick up the liner and drain the leftover paint right back into the can.
4. ? ???? We all know a dropcloth is a necessary tool to protect the floor, but they are messy, tough to fit tightly to the baseboards, and never stay put quite where we need them to be. A great solution to this problem is using a roll of paper instead. There are rolls sold specifically for this purpose in many paint departments, but you can use virtually any wide, long roll you may have on hand. Roll it out along the wall leaving about a half-inch between the paper and the baseboard, then run painter?s tape along the edge up against the wall to keep it in place.
5. ? ???? Most of us typically keep the leftover paint somewhere in the house in case we ever need to touch up and nick or scratch. But doing so can be a hassle what with having to find it, pry the lid, hope the paint hasn?t dried up, stir it well and get all of our supplies back out again, not to mention clean-up! Think about it on the front end and purchase a handy touch-up paint pen. When you?re finished with your project, simply load the pen with the paint color you are using and snap on the cap. When you have a need for touch-up, shake your pen a couple of times and you are all set!

The impact of a bit of paint cannot be overstated. Jump in armed with all of these tips and give it a try in your own home?you won?t be disappointed!

Alexandra Kelly is a school teacher and dedicated mother who loves to blog in her free time. She is also a grammar fanatic and often encourages her students and own children to proof their work with a grammar checker. When she finally gets a day off she loves to toss her children into their Nissan and drive down to the beach for a day of relaxation.

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