Getting a professional finish – a quick guide to gloss work

When you are painting gloss paintwork many people find they end up with brush marks in the final dried paintwork. This could be due to a couple of reasons.

I have been asked, how come I don’t get lots of brush marks, runs or dirt in my gloss work.

Preparation, Brushes and Paint

Firstly, your preparation is vital and shouldn’t be overlooked. You may find my post on Decoration and Preparation of interest.

Also you need to use a good quality brush, many cheaper brushes can be too wiry and stiff which can cause brush marks in the wet gloss.

Another thing to consider is to use a good quality gloss paint; many top brands will flow well as you apply the gloss to the woodwork eliminating brush strokes as it dries. Cheaper brands or solid non-drip type gloss can be a bit thick to apply and may not flow that well.

Applying the Gloss Paint

The other thing you need to consider is how you apply the gloss, you need to put enough on but not so much the gloss runs. This comes with experience and knowing the products you are using.

Once you have applied the gloss, use the brush to go over the area you have just painted with long strokes with an unloaded brush, this will help spread the gloss more evenly. Once you have done this, go over the area again with the unloaded brush with even lighter strokes until you are barely toughing the paint.

If you follow these basic steps your gloss work should look more like a professional has done it.

Be aware that if you are painting gloss paint and it is in a damp atmosphere, such as outside, you may get a ‘bloom’ (a dullness) over it by the next day and the sheen will be gone, and you will have to re-paint it. To avoid this, don’t paint gloss in a damp atmosphere of too early or too late in the year when the damp can affect your paint.

Please note: This post refers to oil based gloss paint and not water based gloss paint, although the principles are the same, drying times and how it acts differ.

Decorating tips that could help sell your house

If your trying to sell you house you want to show it off at it’s best. In order for you to accomplish this you may need to do a little work. There are the obvious and cliché things such as fresh flowers, freshly made bread or coffee brewing but there is more you can do. Have a look at your decorating, as a little work could be the difference between selling and not selling your house.

If there is a choice between your house and a similar house at the same price, they may go for the other house if less work is needed, something worth thinking about.

Colours can make all the difference

If you like bright colours for your woodwork or walls you may consider changing these to a more subdued colour scheme, now I’m not saying that colour is a bad thing or everything needs to be ‘magnolia and white’. I’m saying that in order to sell your house and do so quickly you may want to go for more ‘neutral’ colours as this works best for other people’s items such as furniture.

If someone looks around your house and think they are going to have to redecorate fairly soon because your decorating scheme isn’t to their taste this to them will add on money they need to spend out and be a negative on your property.

Making a good first impression

Make sure your exterior also looks presentable, peeling; flaking paintwork isn’t normally a good sign of what may follow. If your woodwork is rotten of render blown you may need to be prepared to drop the asking price if you want a quick sale.
Gates and fences should also look in good condition and maybe a quick coat of paint wouldn’t go a miss.

The Hub of a home

A kitchen is the hub of any house. If your kitchen is looking a bit tired or outdated you obviously don’t want to start fitting a new kitchen but you could always consider changing the kitchen doors and draw fronts.
This can be done a lot cheaper than replacing a kitchen but will give an old kitchen a new lease of life and make it look newer than it is. You could paint the kitchen units but if you do make sure it looks professional as badly painted kitchen units will not do you any favours. Maybe some new flooring and a lick of paint will finish of the look.

A cared for house is a welcoming new home?

Your house needs to look as if it has been cared for, not a show house but lived in and cared for. The potential buyers will then feel that any problems that have occurred you have dealt with and they aren’t buying a whole load of problems and work.

Tools you should have in your toolbox

The following is a basic list of tools you should consider having in your decorating toolbox, you may need more than those listed but these are really the twelve essentials to get you started. This list doesn’t include sundries such as sandpaper.

Dustsheet, heavy and light

Dustsheets are needed to cover over furniture and flooring, they can be heavy weight or lightweight or even plastic disposable ones depending on the job they are required for.

Scrapers

You may find having more than one scraper of use, a thin bladed one for things like opening cracks and a wider one for filling cracks, scraping walls and ceilings and removing wallpaper.

Screwdriver

A selection of screwdrivers would be useful for removing things such as shelves, door furniture and electrical items* such as wall lights, ceiling lights, switches and sockets.

Sharp knife

This can be used to open tubes of decorators caulk, packets of filler and wallpaper paste and for cutting wallpaper, or even to sharpen your pencil !!

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