The Rural Voice, 1993-06, Page 36Ross' Country
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Home Decorating
Summer is a good time to paint
Well, by now I am sure, if
everyone is like me, they will have
most of their outside work under
control. The garden and flowers are
all in top order,
and now we can
just sit back and
watch the weeds
grow!!
Maybe now
is a good time to
follow up our
discussion from
last month on
colour. This is a
great time to
paint. I prefer to
paint when the
windows can be
opened and
some fresh air
can replace the paint smells. A point
of interest when buying paints —
usually the higher the price the less it
smells. If you have a paint that has a
lot of odor a few drops of vanilla can
be used to cut the fumes.
Almost anyone can paint, and pro-
viding the surfaces are well prepared
will be an immediate lift to the ap-
pearance of the room. There is often
much confusion about the right kind
of paint to use on a given surface.
Latex paints are water -thinned, dry
more quickly, hardly smell and are a
breeze to clean up. Brushes, rollers
and you can be washed with soap and
water afterwards. Latex paints can be
used for both undercoats and top
coats.
Oil-based paints are solvent -
thinned, adhere better to walls than
water-based paints, stand up to
moisture well (so are good for
window sills, kitchens, bathrooms and
utility rooms), and are generally
better to use in older buildings where
you are not sure of the previous
finish. Another point of interest, if
you do apply latex over oil -base it
will discolour and shrivel and check.
I know this for a fact! If you want a
high -gloss finish, oil -base paints have
a richer look and feel, and they are
certainly best for covering kitchen
cupboards and metal of any kind. On
the whole, gloss and semi -gloss are
tougher and more easily washable
than latex paints, and tend to show
fewer brushmarks.
Primers are essential if you are
painting new wood because they
provide a non -porous surface which
helps the following paint coats "take".
They are available in either oil- or
water -base varieties. Remember oil
and water don't mix.
Deck and floor enamels are hard-
wearing enamels which give scuff -
resistant surfaces. They are practical
for painted floors. Two coats will be
sufficient and the floor won't need to
be polyurethaned or varnished.
Wood stains, like paints, can be
either oil- or water-based. They are
produced in a number of colours as
well as the traditional wood finishes
and can be used for floors, furniture
and picture frames.
Epoxy enamels are especially
tough paints with a hard gloss finish
designed to resist dirt, grease and
abrasion, and are useful for painting
masonry, metal, fiberglass, porcelain
or high -glaze tiles. They are therefore
good for recolouring fittings and tiled
walls.
A really good paint job will require
an undercoat and at least one,
preferably two top coats. To calculate
the amount of paint needed for a
room, take each wall and multiply its
width by its height from the top of the
baseboard to the ceiling. Add the
totals for each wall together.
Multiply the length and width of the
ceiling, and add this number to the
wall figures. This will give you the
square area of wall to be covered and
this figure can be checked against the
paint charts to find out how much is
needed. Remember if your wall
surface is rough or porous the job will
require more paini
Preparation is half the battle.
Unless you have a totally empty room
it is bound to be a tedious process.
Remove all valuable and breakable
objects. Remove all hardware, or
cover them well with tape. Drop any
ceiling fixtures so that the ceiling can
be painted properly. If you can't
remove all the furniture, move it to
the center of the room and completely