Ask Danny | Ep 10: Portray Like a Professional With ‘The Wall Wizard’
7 min read
This week, I’m chatting with portray knowledgeable Brian Santos, a.okay.a the “Wall Wizard.”
Brian is a fourth-generation portray contractor, writer of best-selling residence enchancment books, and has toured for greater than 25 years together with his “Wizard Workshops” that empower audiences with easy ideas, tips, and strategies for profitable residence enchancment initiatives.
He has shared his experience on nationwide TV, together with “Good Morning America,” “As we speak,” and HGTV’s “Good Options,” in addition to on TLC and the Discovery Channel.
Brian can also be the Director of Training for Contemporary Coat Painters, the one position of this sort inside any portray or residence enchancment franchise.
Brian was introduced on to the Contemporary Coat Painters crew to teach and share his data of the trade and enterprise possession inside the trade to new and established franchise house owners.
Go to thewallwizard.com for Brian’s portray ideas and reference books and freshcoatpainters.com for his skilled recommendation.
Greatest Spray Portray Methods
What are a few of the ideas you’ve discovered through the years when working with spray paint?
Brian: One of the best spray portray tip I can provide is to learn the directions. I do know it’s a number of data in tiny print, nevertheless it’s the important thing to your mission’s success. Listed here are a number of extra ideas:
- Put together correctly. Don’t spray within the solar, clear the floor appropriately, and be sure to maintain the can appropriately on the proper angle.
- Shake the can. It takes 30 seconds to 2 minutes to get the rattle inside to start out transferring. That is essential for completely mixing the supplies and aerosols so the paint sprays appropriately.
- Use a sprig paint deal with. It snaps excessive of the can, and while you pull the set off, it’s like a gun. It depresses the spray nozzle and places out the fabric appropriately.
- Apply two skinny coats of paint as a substitute of 1 heavy coat. This prevents any runs and drips, and likewise permits the chemical substances to evaporate sufficient to permit the second coat to bond appropriately.
Excessive-Quantity Low-Stress Sprayers
Inform us extra about excessive quantity low stress (HVLP) sprayers and a few of the purposes they work properly in.
Brian: I like these items — HVLP sprayers are virtually like airbrushes. What they’re designed to do is atomize the fabric and you may management the stream and stress.
One of the best one I can suggest is the Wagner Flexio 3000 HVLP Paint Sprayer*, which is accessible at Dwelling Depot. It has a set off and a dial so that you can modify the stress, plus it has a corded and cordless choice.
*That is an affiliate hyperlink. If you buy this product, we are going to earn a small fee at no extra value to you.
For the DIYer, that is most likely probably the greatest instruments you possibly can have, however it’s a must to keep it and clear it frequently.
Right here’s a tip for cleansing it: Put about three drops of cloth softener per quart of water within the sprayer and flush it out. This helps clear the sprayer between coats and lubricates the within.
Portray a Fence With an Airless Paint Sprayer
What do you suggest for portray a fence?
Brian: An airless paint sprayer is nice for portray a fence. You’ll be able to usually discover them at any instrument rental heart, and what I like about renting them is that they’re maintained. Plus, in the event you have been to exit and purchase this, it will value you anyplace from $500-$1,200.
When renting one, make sure to get one which has sufficient quantity stream on your mission. And when you’re on the instrument rental heart, ask an worker for an indication so you possibly can see find out how to correctly function it.
Like I stated earlier than, all the time learn the directions and ensure the sprayer is primed appropriately.
Correctly clear the fence earlier than portray. Use a backyard hose and a cleaner to take away any algae, grease, grime and oxidation. The paint is just pretty much as good because the floor it’s bonding to.
You don’t want to make use of any primer as a result of fence stains are designed to penetrate into wooden fiber. There are additionally clear coatings, semi-transparent stains and stable stains that homogenize to even out any irregularities.
The essential factor is to maintain transferring and backbrush alongside the way in which. Spray the paint or stain on, then have somebody go together with a brush behind it and work that paint or stain into the floor. This can make sure that the paint or stain bonds appropriately.
Portray Kitchen Cupboards
What are some ideas for owners who’re contemplating portray kitchen cupboards?
Brian: Changing kitchen cupboards can value you as much as $20,000, so portray is certainly cost-effective.
A paint job is just pretty much as good because the floor you’re getting ready, so first, ask your self if you wish to see the grain in your cupboards or not. All woods have a grain, and if the floor isn’t prepped at present, that grain will present by way of. When you don’t wish to see any grain, name an expert to do the job.
For the DIYer who desires to do some refreshing, listed below are the usual working procedures on find out how to do it:
- Clear the floor of the cupboards. Moist sand the cupboards with a Scotch Brite pad and an alkaline cleaner known as Easy Inexperienced HD. This can break down the grease and evenly sand the floor on the similar time, eliminating a number of mud.
- Degrease the floor of the cupboards after cleansing. Rinse the floor with 91-proof rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is a pure degreaser and deglosser. It evaporates and forces out the moisture that may be within the wooden. This can create a sterile floor that’s prepared for primer.
- Prime the cupboards. The kind of primer to make use of is determined by if it’s a lacquer-coated or painted floor. Take a drawer face or a part of the cupboard to a paint retailer and ask the skilled to see what sort of floor it’s, they usually can suggest what sort of primer to make use of. Apply two skinny coats of primer and evenly sand between every coat with 300-grit sandpaper.
- Spackle and caulk between the 2 coats or primer. When you’ve got floating cupboards, don’t caulk between the floating panels. The wooden must develop and contract with the conventional humidity in the home, so caulking could cause the cupboards to crack.
- Lastly, apply two even coats of paint to the cupboards.
- To guard {hardware} on cupboards, use rubber cement. After portray, you possibly can peel it off.
- If it is advisable to reset {hardware}, notably hand pulls, use Bondo, not wooden filler. When you slam the cupboard, the wooden filler plug might come out.
Widespread Errors
What’s the largest mistake owners make when tackling any paint mission?
Brian: Not getting ready a floor appropriately. And likewise, not defending different surfaces. It’s superb how the paint will splatter in the event you’re spray portray, or mud will waft by way of the home.
Create a containment system, and ensure to place a brand new filter within the HVAC system after you’re performed to reduce mud spreading all through the home. The extra you possibly can include and management, the higher consequence.
Additionally, clear between steps. That’s the place a number of mud and particles can get right into a paint mission and the outcomes are not so good as they may very well be.
Brian’s Recommendation
“Wizards Work Moist:” It’s essential to do your complete floor whereas supplies are moist. Have somebody chopping in as one other individual is rolling paint to maintain that moist edge so the colour is constant.
Additionally, in the event you’re portray with a curler, the final stroke you do must be in the identical path, so that you get the right sheen and the proper impact with the colour.
