Don’t clean out paint trays or paint kettles

Use tin foil to cover then throw away.

Tired of cleaning out your used paint trays or paint kettles?
Use this useful tip and save yourself hours of cleaning.

Take your paint tray or paint kettle, get some tin/aluminium foil, and tear off a length enough to cover the inside of the paint tray or kettle. You could also use cling-film if you prefer.

Now cover the inside of the tray or kettle with the foil, be careful not to pierce the foil with your finger. You may want to add a second layer.

Now tip the paint into your covered tray or kettle and paint away.

When you are done painting, tip out any remaining paint back into the paint can, then remove the foil and dispose of it.

If you want to paint a feature wall this solution is ideal. It is quick and easy for changing the colour in the paint tray and paint kettle from feature wall colour to main colour without having to wash it out first.

A simple but effective decorating tip!

Painting a glass panelled door

This tip applies to both interior and exterior glass panelled doors, it doesn’t matter how many panels there are, whether it be a 2, 4, 8, 12 or even 15 panelled door, the principle is the same.

The first job is to remove the door furniture such as handles, letterbox, knocker etc, now cover the floor with a dustsheet to catch any splashes of paint. The next job is to remove any loose paint as well as any dirt and grime.

Next rub the door down, depending on the surface you are painting over and its condition 80-grit sandpaper will be fine to use. Rub down, going in the direction of the grain, if you have an internal ‘grain effect’ door be careful not to rub too hard and run the grain effect off!

Make sure you rub down all of the edges of the glazing beads, but be careful not to scratch the glass.

Once you have rubbed down ie ‘keyed’ the surface with the sand / glass paper dust off the surface. If the door has any bare wood showing you will need to use the appropriate primer. Once the primer is dry you can paint the door with a suitable undercoat, finally the finish coat (gloss, satinwood or woodstain etc) of your choice.

So what order do I paint the panel door?

OK, here is the order to paint your panel door:

1. Paint the door edge, you should always paint the edge you will see if the door is open. Number 1 in diagram. If it is an exterior door you should also paint the top of the door, and the bottom if you can.
2. Paint all the glazing beads and muntins. Paint each window in turn, try and not get too much paint on the railes or stiles. You can brush the excess paint off with an unloaded brush. Number 2 in diagram.
3. Paint the top rail, number 3 in diagram.
4. Paint the two side stiles next, numbers 4 and 5 in diagram.
5. Finally paint the bottom rail. Number 6 in diagram.
6. If you are using gloss, check to ensure the paint hasn’t run off the glazing beads, if there are runs simply brush them out with a dry brush.
7. You should now have a newly painted door!

NOTES:
Stiles: vertical parts
Rails: horizontal parts
Glazing beads: holds the glass in door
Muntin: vertical glazing beads

A new year, a new media

2010, a new year a new decade, with all this times of change I also have made a change, I decided to join Twitter!

So in January 1st I signed up and have been tweeting now for a week.
I will be posting news, tips and retweeting any useful information.

You can keep up with what I am doing simply by following me @propertydecor.