ROLLERS:
A roller has two parts: a frame and a cover (Fig.2). Roller frames
and covers are a standard size, but the covers vary as the thickness
and composition of the nap. The nap will be specified on the pack
age as short, medium, or long. Short nap, about 1/4-inch thick,
is used to apply paint to smooth surfaces such as gypsum wallboard
and plaster. Medium
nap covers are used for semi-rough surfaces; long nap covers are
used for rough surfaces such as concrete block and brick.
Most
roller frames are threaded inside the end of the handle to accept
an extension handle for working higher than an easy reach. You can
buy an extension or use a standard-size screw-on mop handle. We
recommend the extension.
The
best buy in roller pans are the ones that have ribbed bottoms. The
roller cover rolls across the ribs and picks up paint more evenly.
STRIPPING
PAINT:
Old paint that is peeling, blistered, or alligatored (wrinkled)
should be scraped smooth or stripped entirely.
Loose
paint must be removed with a paint scraper; if the flakes leave
depressions, fill them with joint or spackling compound and smooth
them with sandpaper (medium grit).
Badly
deteriorated paint, common on woodwork and trim, can be stripped
by melting it with a heat gun or by applying a chemical paint remover.
Spread the remover over the surface to be cleaned with a brush.
Then wait at least 20 minutes to give the remover time to soften
the old finish. It may take several applications of the remover
to get the old finish off the surface.
STRIPPING
WALLPAPER:
You can paint over wallpaper IF there is just one layer of wallpaper
on the wall and that layer is firmly bonded. Seal the wallpaper
surface first with a pigmented shellac sealer. The paper should
not have an embossed finish or the embossing will show through the
paint surface.
If
there are several layers of paper on the wall, or if the paper is
bubbled, peeling, or loose, it must be removed. You can do this
in one of two ways: rent a wallpaper steamer or use chemicals that
you can buy especially for paper removal. Either method works fine.
ROOM
PREPARATION:
A room ready to paint will look something like the one illustrated.
You can use the drawing as a visual checklist of basic preparations
(Fig. 3). The walls have been cleaned, slick spots roughened with
sandpaper, and old paint has been scraped and patched. The floor
and any contents of the room that cannot be removed are completely
covered.
Switch
and outlet face plates are removed from the wall, but are left in
the room. Wall and ceiling lighting fixtures are either removed
or loosened from wall or ceiling to permit enclosing them in plastic
bags. Other hardware such as door knobs, picture hooks, and thermostat
covers have been removed.
The
order in which you should paint an entire room is:
-
Ceiling
- Walls
-
Trim
-
Doors
-
Windows
If
you will paint a surface that has never been painted before, use
a primer. Do not thin down finish paint. Primers are specially formulated
to bond properly with never-painted work and provide a surface for
finish coats of paint. You can buy primers for latex, alkyd, and
other finishes. New gypsum wallboard and wallboard patches should
be primed with latex primer or a pigmented shellac sealer.
