Painting - Useless at it

MarkAnthony

I'm wondering if people could give me some tips for painting. I'll be revisiting this thread over the coming weeks as I redecorate, suffice to say I suck at it.

So first question, I'm doing all the woodwork first (1 bed small apartment doing every room but bedroom) and when I pain I end up with a rough finish where you can see the brush strokes. I took a photo but it doesn't come out well. What am I doing wrong? Too much paint? White water based gloss by the way.

Thanks in advance!

MisseyB

I use a roller on woodwork and that appears to give a good finish. I also sanded the boards first, then wash all dust off and then did cutting in with a small brush and then the main area with a roller.

MarkAnthony

Soooooo...

been watching some youtube videos, seems I've been putting a horrible finish on my woodwork for years, any suggestions? Is there anyway to strip the doors back to the wood, bearing in mind they're cheap doors and I'm a ham fisted gorilla. Do I need to go that far, a good sanding doesn't look like it will do the job.

MisseyB

If you're going to repaint them then i think sanding should be sufficient. If they're panelled the most important area will be the little crevices etc. I have a mouse sander which i swear by for sanding back woodwork. I just attach a hoover onto it when i'm using it indoors to reduce the amount of dust in the air.

The replacement pads that have velcro on the back cost a fortune so what i do is buy generic ones from a local woodworker suppliers (Woodworkers in Harolds Cross) and then cut them to fit.

I've tried chemical strippers inside before but found they caused too much mess and i found them difficult to control. Fine for external work though.

MarkAnthony

MisseyB wrote: »

If you're going to repaint them then i think sanding should be sufficient. If they're panelled the most important area will be the little crevices etc. I have a mouse sander which i swear by for sanding back woodwork. I just attach a hoover onto it when i'm using it indoors to reduce the amount of dust in the air.

The replacement pads that have velcro on the back cost a fortune so what i do is buy generic ones from a local woodworker suppliers (Woodworkers in Harolds Cross) and then cut them to fit.

I've tried chemical strippers inside before but found they caused too much mess and i found them difficult to control. Fine for external work though.

Thanks Missey - I'm going to try a chemical stripper but will probably regret it.

Would sanding take it back to the wood? I've a pretty awful finish on these doors and I'm not sure if painting will be enough. I'll let you know how it went if I'm not dead from fumes!

dmc17

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Thanks Missey - I'm going to try a chemical stripper but will probably regret it.

Would sanding take it back to the wood? I've a pretty awful finish on these doors and I'm not sure if painting will be enough. I'll let you know how it went if I'm not dead from fumes!

I'd say chemical stripper will be a mess. Surely you don't need to take them back to bare wood. I'd be thinking that you'd get a better/more forgiving finish with an oil based satinwood unless you specifically want a gloss finish on them. What kind of a brush are you using? Can you try to put up a photo of the finish on one of them to give us a better idea of what you're up against.

MarkAnthony

Will do, I'm using a water based gloss because it's a small apartment and suffers from condensation and yellowing.

Thanks for the help so far guys.

Oh cheap brush which probably isn't helping!

dmc17

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Will do, I'm using a water based gloss because it's a small apartment and suffers from condensation and yellowing.

Thanks for the help so far guys.

Oh cheap brush which probably isn't helping!

No, a cheap brush will be 90% of the problem. A good synthetic brush is what you need for water based paints.

2 stroke

dmc17 wrote: »

No, a cheap brush will be 90% of the problem. A good synthetic brush is what you need for water based paints.

90%? I wouldnt agree. What about an allowance for cheap paint. If your trying to save money by diy, splash out on some decent paint. Go to a paint shop rather than a diy store and you can ask for advice.

MarkAnthony

I think its largely user error here TBH!

Stupid phone wont connect because the battery is low, I'll fire up pics in the morning.

Thanks again all!

fussyonion

A good brush is vital for a good finish, but also...what brand of paint are you using?

MarkAnthony

fussyonion wrote: »

A good brush is vital for a good finish, but also...what brand of paint are you using?

Dulux

MarkAnthony

Here we go, basically you can see all the brush strokes. I'm thinking poor technique coupled with crappy brush and too much paint?



The problem is I've been doing that for years and not it seems very difficult to get rid of.

fussyonion

It's your brush. And you're leaning too hard on the brush too. Go and invest in a good quality brush, maybe a Purdy or something, and you'll see the difference.