Painting your house completely with enviroment freindly products
The purpose of this lens is to boldly give free tips and advice to the world about painting your house the norwegian way. Ie how norwegians do it :-)
For the past 17 years I have been qualified as a painter/Decorator/Ames Taper/Plasterer/Handyman. In Norway its compulsary to study in all of these feilds and pass your exams in order to be considered a trademan in these areas.
DO IT YOURSELF OR NOT?
HAVE YOU EVER STARTED A JOB THAT BECAME MORE DIFICULT AND TIME CONSUMING THAN YOU FIRST IMAGINED?
Like painting your house for example :-)
One of the bonuses of my profesion is haveing customers give me praize for rescueing there house :-) There is a reason for why we need to learn something before we do it :-)
Some say: OH it was ok when I started, But then I cept getting too many drips and lines on the wall or my roller kept slipping or the paint just dry,d in too thick or you could see the edge where I used my brush on the roof? Then you have those who try and save money by plastering there own walls! What often happens is that they put on too much plaster uneavenly to avoid too much sanding, then they cannot get it right afterwards. So they just throw there wallpaper on top and then wonder why the wall is all funny? Or why the roof edging board has so many gaps or why the cabinet does not sit right into the wall.
At the end of the day, Its someone like me they call, But just a word of warning people:
IT IS OFTEN MORE EXPENSIVE IF A TRADESMAN HAS TO COME AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS FIRST :-)
BEFORE YOU PAINT YOUR HOME CONSIDER THIS:
Can I realy do this job?
How much time will I use?
How much will it cost?
What if I make a mess?
Would I make more money doing my own job and leaving this to a profesional?INVIROMENT FREINDLY PRODUCTS
Water based paint
Water & acryl based primers
Water & acryl based sealents
Water and acryl based filler
DID YOU KNOW?
(some useful tips)
- Did you know that you can wash off oil based paint with cooking oil, Olive oil? Don,t use white spirit. It will work, But its not good for your skin!
- Did you know that you can paint over acryl filer before its dry?
- Did you know that the funniest thing a painter see,s on tv is someone trying to sell the public painting equipment?
- Did you know that people don,t save money by buying inexpensive paint brushes?
- Did you know that you can fix curled up floor rugs by leaving a lump of ice on it?
Painting & Decorating ideas,Tips ect...
A variation of Painting and decorating tips from my own and other resources :)
Posh and easy. Only two to three colours
One maybe two shades of white added to natural wood and you have a masterpeice. ...
Excelent. Not too much colour, Not to little
Girls room
Fun and easy
Can be done with wallpaper or by projecting
This room was probably designed based on the kids likes as apposed to the parent...
I like this idea for a bathroom
Just goes to show that you can paint anything on the wall
Play roomMight be a good idea to use wallpaper or a projector.
Boys room
Taken from internetProjected onto wallPensiled and painted by my wife and my 5...
Sonic was projected onto wall. Pensiled roundPrimed with two coats of magnet pa...
Explanation of inviromental freindly products
But the problems in the past did not just lie with paint but also building products. That in many cases is still a problem today. I mean just think about all the alergies we have today compared to what our parents and grandparents had in the past!
Inside painting & Decorating:
I use Water or acryl based paints on all walls and woodwork. I also use water based knot primer and water or acryl based wood putty or filler.
Other positives about these products are:
You can apply them to already existing oil painted surfaces.
Some acryl products actualy dry and protect harder than oil products.
The drying time is much less.
There is less smell, So less headaches.
You can get your house back in order faster.
You can wash your hands and your brushes with warm water.
Negatives:
(There always has to be some negatives:)
Water based paints (not acryl) Don,t cover too well and can be damaged easily.
Acryl based paints: because they dry faster they are more difficult to apply.
Water based paints do not cover as well as oil based paints (needs more coats)
Re youtube vids below!
Especialy the magnetic paint. Well its not actualy the paint thats magnetic, But the idea I have used myself!
My wife and my two boys copied a sonic wheel from the internet, The they used an old school projector and progected the picture onto the boys bedroom wall and drew round it. I applied the magnetic paint and we all coloured it in. Now my son puts fridge magnets on his wall instead of nails,Tape and pins :-)
- Magnetic painting: paint with metal fragments in it.
Rolling walls properly
Applying masking tape properly
What brushes to use
Using red colors/colours :-)
Painting tecnicks
have fun :-)
Painting varnished surfaces
Using Akryl based products
For the best result when using an akryl based primer on a previously varnished surface one must:1)Wash the area with a strong detergent and rinse afterwards.
2)Sand the shine off the varnish. (you don,t always have to sand down to the bare wood, Just remove the shine so that the paint has something to cling too.
3)Vacume the area if needed.
4) Apply water based knot varnish x 2 (not always neccesary in older walls where the sap is no longer there, But its best to be safe than sorry!)
5) Prime the walls with an akryl based primer. Often stores have different primers for different surfaces. Just ask if you are not totaly sure!
6) Paint with akryl based paint. You will need a roller and a wide brush covering the bridth of one panel. You roll 3 to four lengths at a time and then smooth of with the brush from bottom to top.
7) Another alternative is to Roll some lengths relatively thick, quickly go over with a brush, Roll again and smooth off again with a brush.
WARNING: Akryl paint dry,s faster than most commonly used paints so don,t think that applying less in this case is the best way! If you do so, then you will find that the paint will dry before you go over it with your brush!
WARNING: If you cheat by not washing your walls or not sanding, then you will risk that the primer will not hold. This can result in an off yellow colour seeping through or that the primer shrinks and shows what looks like small cracks all over your walls.
LAST PIECE OF ADVICE: If you are going to do the job, Then do it right or get a profesional, Or pay for the consequences!
Preparation before any job is very important!
I have met many who just cannot be bothered taking the time to prepare a room properly. Preparation for many is the rough work that even most painters would love to avoid. But welcomer to reality :-)Preparing a room for decorating:
1)Cover the floor completely. Use tape on the covering from end to end. Not a little tape here and there as people tend to tear the papp when rolling the roof (Celing) If you have a stained or recently varnished floor then be carfull not to tape the floor itself as this could leave marks.
2)Cover and tape everything that is not getting painted. (Alternatively remove furniture and wall objects from the room if possible) There are some good adhesive tapes in the market today that can stay on longer, Ask your retailer about this.
3) Leave your paint supplies in another room if possible or in the middle of the room you are painting. Never up against a wall you will eventualy have to paint.
4) Just hope that the person before was not smoking in the room. Otherwize you will have to wash the roof and the walls with a heavy cleaner and then rinse off afterwards, Then prime with something that stinks! Its a painters nightmare and it can cost the customer a small fortune if they don,t do it themselves first or if they do it wrong.
5)If there are unwanted holes in the walls or roof. Then fill these with sparkel. For cracks I have found that most sparkel or fillers don,t hold for too long. Its better to use an akryl gun. squirt the akryl over the crack and wash off with a damp cloth. make sure you get all excess acryl off as this is not possible to sand afterwards.
6)perminant marks can be removed with red spirit, But rinse over the area afterwards. You can also use knot varnish and primer to try cover marks (Waterbased)
7) Lynol is a great product for removing paint marks off gummy sealents like you can find round windows, But like red spirit it is anything but enviroment freindly :-(
What paint to use?
I use enviromental freindly products for the most part. People hate the lingering smell of oil paint in there homes. Why not paint with acryl then? Its easy to apply. Its easy to wash off. Its strong and covers well. It dry,s within two to three hours. (Tools keep better)Walls:
Its best to use Akryl based products. Akryl is strong, Water based and its easy to wash the walls later if neccesary.
I use PVA water based paints for celings/roofs though. I tend to use paints with a low shine output. ie Matt. (Unless your roof/celing is real fancy, who wants to look at it?)
I use akryl or a mixture of water and oil based paints (new) on woodwork. All my primers are waterbased too.
WARNING:
Be careful when priming varnished wood. Although oil is the best solution in this area, Its not always affective unless you sand off all the varnish shine first. I have been working with several tests in this area and I would not say that akryl primers were better. Not on old varnish.
Painting an inside stairway
With enviromentaly freindly products of course
The most important aspect of painting anything is preparation. its not the other way around. If you cheat and just throw on some paint, then you will more than likely just show up all the earlier mistakes. So here is what you do:1)Cover all the area,s that you don,t want to paint. Use blue masking tape. It holds longer and comes off easily.
2)Wash all fat marks and whatever off the previous paint. Use fresh water again afterwards and dry.
3)Sand the shine off the old paint aswell as damaged area,s.
4) Use wood filler on damaged area,s and sand this again once dry.
5) Vacume everything thouroughly.
6) Apply akryl based paint. There is also a water based oxan which is a good substitute for oil paints. However you will need to apply 3 to four coats minimum.
7) You will need a smal brush for your railings depending on what type. You will also need a lining tool and a radiator roller with a thin sleeve. The idea is that after you have finnished witht he railings, you will then roll the steps and use the lining tool to smooth this off. Just remember to start at the top of the stairs :-)
8) Akryl paint tends to dry fast so its possible to apply two coats on the same day if you are energetic enough? :-)
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Related links
This may cover all handyman tips for your house
Misc handyman tips
Blogs, Lenses and sites
- My norsk handyman service
- My own handyman company.
Test site. That means that I am still working with it. I am not sure about the format though or if I can do what I want to do with it? The web host is very helpful though. He should be, He is my nephew :-) - Ultimate picture guide to home decorating
- Definately the best site I have seen. Thousands of pictures of home decorated rooms and much much more. This site I beleave is the biggest of its kind on the net.
(note: Membership is not free) - Budget decorating
- There is a lot of smart advice in here for those that actualy know what they are doing! Plenty of tips too in how to decorate certain rooms. I was going to add them myself, But you can find lots of good stuff here too :-)
- Jotun.no
- Jotun is the main supplier of paint and painting tools in Norway. They ship to the UK aswell. However the main interest for me is there catalogue on envirmoent freindly products!
- Kids favourite disney colors
- Disney colour chart
PAINT
What is paint realy?
Paint is any liquid, liquifiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film.
Painting & Decorating DVD,s
Painting & Decorating Books
Do you have a question or just need advice, Then Just ask :-)
Feel free to sign my guestbook :-)
If you just want to comment or need advice, Just ask!
(This site is G - rated, I hope to keep it that way :-)
Michael_Gaudet wrote...
Great lens, 5*s and favorite-ed! I am a professional house/mural painter and found this site to be a great refresher course. I appreciate your emphasis on enviro-friendly paints. I have steered my customers away from oil-based for years now.
Posted February 01, 2009
Hi,
The lens is good with lots of useful information and it has given various tips about painting and even a good sum of suggestions.
Feel free to checkout my thedrywalltracker blog
Posted September 23, 2008
AMK2 wrote...
Hi Agnusstephe, The good thing bout squidoo is that its easier to work with wen using pictures. Just compare your blog to any here and you will see the difference! I prefer to call my work Unique as apposed to Faux. In some cases yes falcifying could be a good description, But in other cases its just unique and evn Origional :)
Posted September 17, 2008
Thanks. Good techniques. Painting is one task we could do without hiring someone to do it for us. It's not that hard as long as we follow the steps, and of course, patient in doing it.
Feel free to checkout my thefauxpaintingsource blog
Posted September 15, 2008
Keaka77
Great lens, you have so much information. Keep up the good work. One day ill be working on my house and be asking you a question.
childrens furniture
Posted July 17, 2008
beachbum_gabby wrote...
I like your environment friendly paint products and your lens! very helpful indeed!
Posted July 01, 2008
Hello! this lens of yours has full of new tips that I never thought existed. I cold some of these in my home staging business ! For almost 2 years, I endlessly look for tips like these and the recent one I've came across with is how to decorate a house Mexicana-style! Thanks again for the lens! I just love it!
Posted June 11, 2008
natdg wrote...
Thanks. Good techniques. Painting is one task we could do without hiring someone to do it for us. It's not that hard as long as we follow the steps, and of course, patient in doing it.
Posted March 06, 2008
Amestaping/Drywalltaping
Applying tape between wall joints
Ok Drywall taping is a tough one for most who don,t do it on a daily basis. Here are some basic rules if you plan to do it yourself!1) Check that the wall does not have any inside damage. Like bubbles or broken plaster under the paper. Tear off anything that looks loose. Also check for wide gaps. Often seen above doorways and in corners. Use a stanleyknife and cut along the edge on both side. Reason for this is so that the plaster has something to cling too!. Make sure all screws are screwed in properly!
I am putting this module on hold! My problem is that when I work on a lens I often mix norwegian and english words. I need to investigate more before I can continue? Feel free to contact me though if you need help sooner?
