- how do I paint a kitchen with laminate doors?

- how do I paint a kitchen with highly lacquered natural timber doors?

The answer is the same for both, and as usual – it is all in the preparation.

Tools of the trade to prepare super shiny surfaces for a coat of Dulux Supergrip Primer

1 – You take a bucket of water.

2 – You dampen the surface of the door with a damp sponge.

3 – Dip the 180 grade (black) wet ‘n’ dry in the bucket, then sand the mouldings and fiddly bits. Wipe off the residue with a damp sponge.

4 -You use the green Oakey sanding block (fine / medium grade) to provide a grip/key on the flat surfaces.

5 – To remove, for instance, old plastic bumper domes, I use the Beeline scraper which gets rid of glue in one or two swipes.

6 – When the doors have dried off there should be a layer of dust on the surface. Use a nobbly kitchen cloth or nappy? to remove the dust easily.

7 – Vacuum the dust up

8 – Wipe over surface with a tack rag.

The laminate or high gloss lacquer is now ready for a coat of Dulux Supergrip primer.

Tips for preparing for Dulux Supergrip primer

a – The chemists would probably say the Supergrip is grippy enough for the laminate not to need sanding beforehand, but – sanding wet does more than provide a slightly roughed up surface for priming.

By using a wet abrasive, you also remove all nasty grease and kitchen crud – something not usually emphasized on the side of a tin of primer for laminate.

b- I am a big fan of Zinsser primers, but I have found that Supergrip is best for laminate. I used it, or a similar Dulux creation as far back as 1990, it worked then, so I am not too keen to change!

c – To get an idea of how vigorously you need to sand laminate, draw a cross with a pencil and sand off the mark. That is enough grip for the primer.

d- It takes about 8 hours to sand / clean down the laminate doors and frames in a kitchen with 15 units.

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Graphskill Ltd Daily

Graphskill is an on-line shop for marine grade stainless steel fasteners. Component manufacturer of a full range of pipefittings.

Of their 469 Twitter followers, 3 are experts in the decorating trade, or have a keen interest in painting and decorating and have something interesting to say! They each published an article, or promoted an article of theirs on the internet today, and the Graphskill paper automatically collated them and displayed teasers on their front page. I found the following posts informative and useful – and so might you!

1 – How to pick a paint brush from London-based, Invisible Painter – a short sharp insight into the 3 main choices of paint brush.

2 – Crucial DIY tips gives a long review of what to do when re-modelling your home – like, plan in advance! There is useful info, if you can stick with the format.

3 – A dual roller. Following my nose, or more accurately, following a link, I also found information by Family Handyman on this DIY tool.

One handle 2 rollers, two colours applied at once!

Dual-roller decorative painting systems can create unique color and texture effects on your walls in a fraction of the time required by more traditional methods.

It looks to me like an attempt to simulate rag-rolling, so a bit old fashioned (or should I say, not of the current moment) but it does look OK to me!

I suppose I am expected to say it is a rubbish substitute for a craft skilI. Obviously it is not as subtle as the authentic hand-applied method, (I prefer the harder ragging on approach myself)) but the effect does look more authentic than the creation that flows horribly from those flappy chamois rollers from Dulux Duette!

Conclusion

So that is a quick flick through one paper.li creation – a new way of viewing the hot news and tips posted daily by companies and experts who use Twitter.

This news format is fast becoming required reading. I anticipate more in the future, as it takes off virally, and if you don’t have your own paper, then, well, who are you?!

Meanwhile, as I cannot seem to log in to create my own daily news bulletin, I will have to be content with my recent appearance in Historic Architecture Daily.

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What is this?

This newspaper is a compilation of the articles published today by the people whom Ellen Leslie, aka @wallstroker, follows on Twitter.

(I should point out that the real experts on historical architecture are off enjoying the Sunday of August Bank holiday – so I am the best they could get in at short notice.)

The auto-generated newspaper format is a really good use of Twitter.
I know, Twitter has been portrayed as a pointless alternative to FaceBook, but I think the newspaper is just one illustration of what a great platform tweeting can be.

If you aren’t up to speed with the concept of social media, it is simply an online version of how you network in the real world. As a starting point, I am a decorator, and I would like to meet other decorators to see what they are up to, what products they recommend. And there are experts in related fields – designers, and builders who also share good info via Twitter that I like to read. You can ask questions too, and trust me, there are some amazing experts out there who are only too willing to help.

And the business angle is just the tip of the iceberg, because as in real life, there is more to our existence than work and I have got to know a whole bunch of different people, scientists, dog-trainers, cyclists… living and learning, sharing info, taking the mickey… It is similar to a pub, I suppose!

And when I say “get to know” , some folks you gravitate towards and get to chat on the phone, others organise real life meetups / tweetups – the new “business breakfast… and of course, most folks you just banter to online and will never meet. But overall, Twitter is a very sociable pastime with real world benefits, and as you can probably guess, I am into it!

If it sounds sort of OK, I further explain the benefits of Twitter here. I can assure you, there is a lot more to it than mindless shorthand 140 character texting – lol rofl… 10 minutes twice a day and Twitter can take you places.

If you do get to sign up to Twitter (it is free) by all means follow me, @acmasterpainter who follows Ellen, the editor of Historic Architecture Daily who follows…

This post will now auto tweet itself and I expect a few people to read it.

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(Often, things get covered up for a reason, so a little homework could save you a lot of disappointment / aggravation!)

Go around gently tapping the walls with a hammer. This is a good test to see if the plaster underneath is solid. If it makes a dull thud, good, if it sounds hollow, it has “blown”.

How to deal with blown plaster »

This is part of a series on How to tackle re- wallpapering jobs

How to prepare walls before wallpapering
How to strip wallpaper with a smile<

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Unfortunately, once you have stripped the wallpaper, there is still more preparation work to do. Sorry! Please don’t jump the gun straight onto lining and painting, lining and wallpapering… tick off the sanding, filling, sanding, and sizing first.

Do not forget to sand before filling »

Do not forget the filling »

Some tips about filling and sanding »

Size. »

Sealer »

This is a checklist for the whole process of stripping wallpaper and preparing for re-papering / lining / lining and painting.

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This post was submitted by Traditional Painter.

No related posts.

Does a new lime plastered wall need to be coated with distemper to allow it to breath or do modern emulsions do the same ? is distemper applied in the same way as emulsion ?

Just to clarify, and avoid the misunderstandings:

Distemper bound with casein is based on chalk with a casein binder that makes the coating non-chalking and non reversible and not necessarily super breathable.

Soft distemper is based on chalk. It is chalking and reversible (ie can be washed off) is very porous, and is suitable for ornamental decoration.

Lime wash is based on lime. It is also chalking and porous and should not go on top of other coatings. It is suitable for interior and exterior lime plaster walls.

(Patrick Baty is the leading authority to grill on the technical nuances and differences)

Lime wash on interior lime plaster walls

The traditional finish on lime-based plaster is lime wash.

A recipe to mix your own limewash »

How to apply limewash

Check out the video. The basic premise is to damp the wall first, apply a watery coat with a block brush, wait 20 minutes and then scrub the surface with a dry brush to even out the coat as well as possible. Leave 3-4 days and repeat.

Lime wash on exterior lime render

On ProjectBook, this article on exterior lime render explains the whole plastering process and the requirements for curing etc. Their recommended painting process is 4 coats of limewash with some added boiled linseed oil.

The silicate masonry paint they refer to in the article, I know of KEIM paints, which in simple terms combine with the substrate rather than lay as a coat on top of it.

Emulsion paint on lime plaster

You definitely want to avoid modern vinyl emulsion because it is non-breathable, which negates the main benefits of lime plaster.

Technically, cheapo contractors emulsion, Supermatt and the like are breathable, and are the modern choice for a sealer / wash coat on new gypsum plasters.

So would I use Supermatt emulsion on new lime plaster? On exterior definitely not. On interior work? I think heritage conscious plasterers would probably shoot me if they saw me do that. But would they be in the right? Once emulsioned, realistically, the lime plaster could never be over-painted with lime-wash. Is that good or bad?

I have learnt from Patrick Baty, that not all modern paints are inappropriate in a traditional property, and it is good to realise that many traditional finishes come with their own issues. Maintaining tradition is a good aim, but tinkering with paint recipes didn’t start with the discovery of the oil industry. Craftsmen of olde always modified commonly used materials, trying to make them perform “better”, but as you can see from the introduction, overcoming some deficiencies in distemper, like chalking, result in frankenstein scrubbable impermeable hybrids that can create other more vexing issues further down the road.

If you have any questions, Ask the Expert and we will do our best to help.

This post was submitted by Traditional Painter.

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I had a cheery call back from sales, saying the MD had given them the go ahead to let me have the manual for a nominal fee to cover Post and Packing. Would that be OK?

Too right it was OK, and the A5 fully bound English heritage tome arrived next day. It is fantastic to leaf through and makes a really good first impression with customers. And the colours seem very accurate too!

And another time, I needed some Little Greene eggshell in a non-standard colour, to be delivered next day to another part of the country. What followed was nothing like the 4-day delivery experience that is now standard with one of their big competitors.

The paint arrived exactly as promised, beautifully and sensibly packaged on 24 hour service.

What more can a kitchen and furniture painter ask for? Reliable in every respect and a beautiful oil-based eggshell finish?

This post was submitted by Traditional Painter.

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And why would an occasional home decorator need to consider a pro tool? No offense but most homeowners need all the help they can get. Unfortunately, what do Brits get sold at B&Q or Americans at Home Depot? Home brand agony. 

DIY filler

No wonder DIY filling work usually looks amateurish, when all you have to work with is home-brand filler that is coarser than pro filler or hard to sand smooth. Compare whats on the DIY shelves with the trade choices for filler.  

DIY rollers and brushes

No wonder DIYers have trouble with basics, like painting a wall without getting uneven patches or roller lines – the bargain basement sleeves they are sold have no pile on the edges and shoddy pile everywhere else.

Is it any wonder DIY enthusiasts hate painting ceilings, when the “ceiling paint” they are sold is chalky water. And it isn’t cheap either, because it takes 3 coats to cover what pro quality paint is designed to cover in 2 good applications. So, more expensive per square foot than trade paint, and more time-consuming to boot. No wonder so many homeowners hate decorating.

And what is the thinking behind selling an unskilled painter a bristle brush with worse split ends than that girl on the TV shampoo ad? How can anyone paint a straight line with a tool that can’t keep its shape for more than a couple of minutes, and sheds its hairs as soon as you look at it ?

DIY protecting carpets and furniture

And why are the plastic sheets so flimsy that a hard stare will leave a hole in it just big enough for the runny ceiling paint to drip onto the carpet below?

And why is DIY masking tape sold in 25m rolls? Why isn’t it sold in proper 50m lengths, plenty long enough to deal with the requirements of a standard size room? Instead, the half-size roll runs out 5m short, and you have to spend out on more fuel to go get an extra cheap roll (that will stay mostly unused till next year, by which time it has glued itself together) Alternatively you can endure the stress that comes with carrying on working without enough material for the job.

Consider using plastic backed cotton sheets, or go mad and do like I do!

DIY paint tins

And finally, ( I have at least 20 more gripes, but have to draw the line somewhere) what is up with the trend for fancy paint containers that look like they contain 2.5 litres but on closer inspection only hold 2.25? This is a long slippery slope to the rip-off that is a US gallon of paint. 

Please, DIY decorators, don’t take the abuse any more! Don’t buy into the sly marketing ploys of home brand paint manufacturers and megastore moguls telling you one thing and doing another. Their cheap tools aren’t good value, their cheap paint is expensive, the end results from home brand can’t be as good as from even half way decent professional kit.

Where should DIY buy tools and paint

To minimise the chances of despondency setting in, give yourself a fighting chance and go to Dulux Decorator Centers, or if you want to support the small guys, your local independent merchant, and check out their mid-range tools and sundries.

And for paint, apart from whites, trade paint is about the same price as the superstores retail. And for feelgood goes-on-good paint, contact Newlife Paints and order their recycled emulsions, which I can assure you are of trade quality and won’t leave you losing the will to live.

And at least with trade whites, you know you are probably getting some proper body and pigment in a proper size tin. 2.25 litres, whoever came up with that for a size?!!

The End

I will try to put together a list of a kit I bought for my brother and a couple of friends who had a lot of home decorating to do. They were very happy with their equipment and did manage to paint a straight line and got all the paint on the ceiling with a decent roller.

As a starting point, I would suggest a pack of latex gloves to keep your hands clean, and a roll of 1.5″ masking tape and lining paper (cut in half) for protecting round the edges of your skirting boards – before you start doing anything else!

These are some trade tools I use that may be of interest too. They will last a part-time decorator years.

And remember, the marketers don’t know how to paint, and don’t want to learn what it is like to use their own products – they earn enough to employ a professional to do it properly for them.

Footnote: You will see me in B&Q occasionally, and I have a few Wickes items in my toolkit (their tools are between trade and DIY standard), and Wickes heavy-duty 1400 grade lining is the bargain of the year, but I never ever use DIY home brand paints – the cost of labour to apply them is prohibitive!)

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As you can see, well under 2 gallons, if done in a bucket.

In the era of hose-pipe bans and eco-sense, I personally think that is a good use of water.

The water will obviously be recycle-able and to throw away those particular brushes to save water, would be a very wasteful option, unlesss I don’t plan on painting again!

The Dandy

This is a pretty good time-saving device for cleaning roller sleeves A minute and it’s all over.

However, I don’t see any water-related benefits, as you still need to douse the sleeve in a bucket of water as part of the high-speed cleaning process.

Do you have any other emulsion brush or paint cleaning tips? Leave a comment and share your knowledge!

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