How to repair wall damage

The key to making those ugly old walls look new again is to repair them all with drywall compound.  First off you will need three different putty knifes , usually a 1 inch , for small spots, a 4 inch for most spots, and a 10 -12 inch for large spots. You will need some all purpose drywall compound(filler) , not spackle or any other type light weight filler.  Put some filler on your large knife and use your 4 inch knife to scrape some off and apply to the wall, you should spread the filler over the area on the wall that has an imperfection, then clean your knife off and start smoothing it out  by pulling all the excess filler off the wall. This is not easy to explain on paper, the key here is to hardly have any filler on the wall for the first coat, there should not really be any ridges what so ever. The filler will dry quickly , within a few hours, after apply a second coat. The second coat will really grab onto the first  and will allow it to be much smoother. After that has dried , use a fine to medium sponge sander and start sanding in a circular motion from the outside of the patch to the inside, make sure that there are no ridges on the outside, use your hand to feel the surface.  

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Painting Latex Over Oil

Painting Latex over oil is possible if all the correct preperation is done before hand. First you will need to sand the complete area to be painted , that means every little nook and crany, use a sand paper gritt 120. Second  you will need to make sure the surface is clean and free of any grease, you can achieve that by using an all purpose cleaner and wipe down the area to be painted.  The final step is to apply 2 coats of 100% acrylic latex paint , allowing the correct amount of drying time in between coats.  If you do not follow the first 2 steps it is more then likely that the paint job may fail, and the latex will peel off.  To insure adhesion in high traffic areas , such as doors and frames,  it would be smart to apply a primer . You may apply a latex primer if all steps above are completed.  The best way to switch oil to latex is to use an oil based primer,  the peperation may not have to be as extreme as for the latex, and I guarantee ahesion everytime.   Above, ive givin you many different senarios to choose from. Every case is different and must be anylised first before proceeding. The best solution is to call a professional for a free over the phone consultation.  For more information please check my website

Painting Textured Ceilings

Most texture  ceilings that have never been painted are sensitive to water based paints(latex) but not sensitive to solvent based paints(oil). If a latex is used the first time the texture is painted, the perimeter area cut in with a brush must be allowed to dry thoroughly before proceeding with rolling the remainder of the surface. If this is not done, and you roll into an area that has been softened by the water in the paint used to cut in, areas of texture may peel back to the primed drywall.

This problem does not occur if you paint a textured ceiling the first time with an oil based flat paint, this process will seal in the texture, giving it a nice even look,  and will also make the texture some what  solid to the touch.  In the future when you decide to paint again you have the option of using an oil based product again, or you can use a water based paint dues to the fact that the water cant attack the texture.

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Painting in the Spring

    Ahh,  Spring is finally here. 

   Knowing that just around the corner is exterior painting season, the best time of the year in Vancouver, well, for me anyway . Not that there is anything wrong with interior painting in the winter, infact , I love that just as much, but there is just something about being outside that im sure some of you can relate with.  As you can tell ,  I love my job,  I  always have , and hopefully I always will. 

      I sometimes wonder what made me choose this trade, its not like I didnt have any other options, I could have been a plumber,a carpenter or maybe even a cook. Judging by my grades and attention span in school , it seemed like I was destined to work with my hands in some way, shape or form.  Im happy I did choose this trade, we might not get as much respect as maybe an electrician, or a finish carpenter, but we do get the honor of being the last trade on the job to make things look perfect, we fix everyone elses  mistakes and clean up everyones messes and take all the glory at the end.  What could be better?

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