If you’re painting inside your home or office, you need to take some steps to make it go smoothly. Chefs refer to the practice of placing everything as mise en place. It means putting everything in its proper place or preparing your tools before you begin. For a chef, that means preparing your ingredients, your knives, and your plates. For a painter, it means getting your paint, your brushes, your rollers, and your other tools all assembled before you start. Few things are worse than having to run out to a hardware store in the middle of your painting project. It alters the way that the paint dries and can affect the evenness of each coat. With that in mind, here are some commonly forgotten items that you need to have to make your painting project go smoothly.
Paint Thinner or Mineral Spirits
When setting up their homes or offices to be painted, many people forget the paint thinner or mineral spirits. These are chemicals that are used to dissolve paint. They make it easier to strip paint off of walls and other items but they also helps you remove it from your brushes and rollers. When the paint is still wet, you can usually store your brushes or rollers in water. However, if you need to leave your brush sitting for a long time or if you need to completely remove any lingering paint, you need to soak the brushes in paint thinner. That will keep the paint from hardening and setting into the brushes. You’ll also be able to remove any paint that gets on something that it shouldn’t. When you’re at the hardware store buying tools, don’t forget paint thinner or mineral spirits.
The difference between the two is negligible. Paint thinner tends to be a little bit more efficient because it’s a more refined chemical. However, it will likely cost a little more money.
Painter’s Tape
Painter’s tape is a type of tape that is resistant to paint that might seep through. Also, it comes off the walls and floors without leaving behind any kind of sticky residue. It’s used to hold drop cloths in place. Also, it can be used to line window frames or other things that you don’t want painted.
When you are choosing items to buy for your painting project, make sure that you remember the painter’s tape.
Roller Extensions
Finally, you should remember to get an extension for your paint roller if you intend to paint high places. If you’re painting on the ceiling or in somewhere out of reach, you could do it with a ladder or you can do it with an extender. The extender will offer you much more versatility when trying to cover those hard-to-reach places. It will also be much faster than trying to move a ladder over and over. With an extender, you can make your painting project go much more smoothly.
These are some essential items that you shouldn’t forget when you’re shopping for your painting project.
