Here is something I found at DoItYourself.com. Work Smart: Interior Painting
By Don Logay April officially kicks off Spring and, for homeowners, it signals the start of home improvement month. With that in mind, here are some tips, tricks and insider techniques to save you time, effort and money. The secret to a good paint job lies in proper planning and preparation. How Much Paint Do I Need? For rooms, multiply the total width of all walls (room perimeter) by ceiling height to find square footage to be covered. On average, a gallon covers 350 square feet. Divide total square feet by 350 to determine number of gallons needed. For a more accurate total and to avoid buying too much for big multi-room projects, deduct 20 square feet for each door and 14 for windows. List of 2 items . Tip: Add an extra 10 percent to total for repairs and touch-ups. . Trim tip: Plan one quart of trim paint for each gallon of wall paint. list end Calculation Helper While estimating seems complex, it's worth the effort - as buying too little or too much of anything wastes time, effort and money. Tip : A handy little tool called ProjectCalc ® makes it easy. Programmed with formulas for hundreds of home decorating and repair projects, a few keystrokes determine materials needed with pin-point accuracy. To estimate paint, enter room dimensions for square footage, hit convert and paint buttons to learn gallons needed - add price per and total project cost is displayed. Easy as 1-2-3. (MSRP $24.95 at hardware stores and home centers. Calculated Industries 1-775-885-4900 or www.calculated.com). Check it out. What Kind of Paint? Water-based latex is most common and easiest to use. Oil-based paints require a solvent to clean and thin, but provide a far more durable surface. For most rooms, use flat latex on ceilings and walls. For trim and doors, use semi-gloss latex (or oil-based for more durability). For high-moisture areas, like kitchens and baths or where frequent cleaning is required, use only oil-based. Note: all oil-based paint is either semi-gloss or high-gloss. If re-painting, latex over oil-based will not hold unless you lightly sand and use a latex primer first. List of 1 items . Tip: If you are unsure which type paint you have, wash wall, let dry and wipe with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel. If paint comes off, it's Latex. list end Quality or Price? Premium paint goes on faster, easier, covers better and lasts longer. Higher price usually indicates better ingredients that increase durability and extend life span. Cheap paints use clay and fillers that result in poor coverage and less durability. Cost-wise, a gallon of flat latex ranges from $12 to $15 for a decent medium grade to $25 for premium paint. Semi-gloss adds few more dollars per gallon as does oil-based. List of 1 items . Tip: To test, rub some paint between your fingertips. If it feels gritty, it's poor quality. Premium feels smooth and silky. list end Selecting and Matching Colors Pure white paint reflects 82 percent of the light it receives. This decreases as colors darken. Ivory reflects 78 percent, Yellow 75, peach or pink 70 and so on - down to charcoal at 5 percent, and black near zero. List of 2 items . Tip: Test colors on site before you buy. Tape sample swatches together (to make large samples) and leave on wall. Buy test quarts of ones you like and paint bigger squares at eye level. View often day and night with different lighting. . Tip: If matching an existing color, remove something (like a vent cover) rather than taking in a can of leftover paint. Colors change when paints dry and darken on walls over time - due to pollutants in the air. list end Preparation (of All Kinds) First, do the basics. Remove everything you can, patch holes and make sure walls are super-clean. Then think about life while painting. The phone will ring. So cover the handset with plastic wrap. Put your cell phone in a zip lock plastic bag. You'll be able to hear and be heard fine - and it'll stay clean. You'll get thirsty. Protect the refrigerator door handle. Same goes for drawers, door knobs, toilet handles and anything else you think you'll use or touch while painting. Pre-thinking, protective wrap and drop cloths beat hours of messy clean-ups every time. List of 1 items . Personal tip: Rub petroleum jelly or mineral oil on your skin before you start and smudges and splatters will wash right off. list end Time to Paint Allow 60-minutes work time per gallon of paint - plus one hour to get underway and clean-up. List of 1 items . Good news tip: Painting burns about 360 calories an hour. list end Plastic grocery and trash bags are a boon to painting. Have plenty on hand. List of 1 items . Tip: Put one over the paint roller tray before you start. When through, turn inside out and throw away. Your tray will stay just like new. list end Working with custom mixed paint? Tip : "Average" to avoid possible variation from can-to-can. When one is half empty, refill from the next for consistent color and hue. After "cutting in" corners and edges with a brush, the trick is rolling close to hide the brush marks. List of 3 items . Tip: With a plastic grocery bag over your hand, slide the roller cover off the wire roller cage about one inch. You'll roll close without scraping. . Tip: Hate the smell of paint? Add a spoon or two of vanilla extract. . Cool Tip: Can't finish in just one day? Put brushes and rollers in a plastic bag - with paint and all - in the refrigerator overnight. list end Clean-ups Made Easy Clean spills and drips as you go. Dried paint (even latex) is a cleaning challenge. A perpetual residual reminder you bought paint with long-lasting durability in mind. List of 2 items . Tip: Finished? Put a plastic bag over your hand before removing the roller cover. . Tip-top: Put another plastic bag over the paint can before hammering the lid back on to prevent splattering. list end Wash latex paint tools with cold water. Warm or hot makes latex gummy and hard to remove. If you store leftover paint in the original can, mark the label to show how much is left inside. Place can upside down to keep a "skin" from forming on top - or add plastic zip-lock bags filled with water until the paint level reaches the top, then seal lid. Transferring leftovers into smaller clear containers is better. Advantage: you can see what's inside - color and quantity - and it uses less storage space. List of 1 items . Tip: Put plastic wrap over container top and cap or lid won't get stuck over time. list end Most important: make a record. On paint cans, write the date and where it was used on the lid with a permanent marking pen. Same goes for smaller clear containers. Still better, take the label off the can and trim to show brand, type and color. Then date and note where you bought it on the back, fold into a small square and tape on the back of a switch plate in the room where it was used. The next time you paint, it'll be there. That's "working smart." Don Logay is an award-winning home improvement writer. Formerly editor-in-chief of three national professional remodeling magazines, he also created the widely quoted study for remodeling investment and return. Today Logay also writes the On The House homeowner tip series heard daily on hundreds of radio stations nationwide. Courtesy of Calculated Industries [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype DaleLeavens Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Check out the new improvements in Yahoo! Groups email. http://us.click.yahoo.com/4It09A/fOaOAA/yQLSAA/86xolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the new archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
