If you’re planning on painting your Toronto condo, no doubt you want the process to be as quick and easy as possible, especially if you’re not hiring a professional painting company and taking the project on yourself. Though painting is a relatively quick and easy home reno project, it can be a precise job, and some parts of it can get pretty messy, so anything you can learn to save yourself some hassle is worth it. Thankfully creative painters have come up with a number of tricks that will make your next painting project a little easier! Here are five hacks that will make painting your Toronto condo quicker, cleaner, and smoother.
1. Use a box cutter on painter’s tape
If you’re planning on painting trim or door and window frames a different colour than the walls, painter’s tape is a great tool to protect these areas and keep the two colours separate. However, if you’ve ever tried using painter’s tape, it can sometimes be tricky to keep a straight line where the two areas meet, especially along longer areas like a door frame. A box cutter can be used to remove excess pieces of tape and make the tape run evenly along a line. Simply run the box cutter along the tape at the joint where the two surfaces meet, with enough pressure to cut the tape, but not so much that you’re digging into the wall behind. Once you have cut the uneven piece of tape into two, remove the strip that runs along the wall, and you will be left with a clean, straight line of tape that runs flush with the trim, protecting it, which will allow you to paint the wall right up to the trim without touching it.
2. Use cardboard or garbage bags to cover surfaces
When doing interior painting, cleanliness is always top of mind, and the last thing you want to do is get paint anywhere but the desired surfaces. This involves removing as much furniture as possible from the room, but for the furniture too large to move and the floors, you’re going to want to cover them with a protective layer, and the most common way to do this is with a drop cloth. However, though drop cloths are easy to get and relatively inexpensive, if this is your first time painting, or you are taking on a smaller project, you might not have one. In this case, cardboard or garbage bags work great. Using either on the floor or larger pieces of furniture to protect them from dripping paint is a cheap and accessible option when no drop cloth is available!
3. Use a flashlight to find imperfections
In order to get the best result from your interior painting, it is ideal to paint on a surface that is not only clean and dry, but also smooth. Imperfections in materials such as wood or drywall can create small crevices where the paint cannot reach, causing the paint to adhere unevenly. Because of this, it is important to identify any blemished areas on these surfaces. However, if the areas are small, on light paint, or on paint of a lower finish, finding these imperfections can be difficult. A good way to detect these is to use a flashlight and carefully go along the surface that will be painted, especially high-impact areas such as doors or wooden areas like trim. The flashlight will make it easier to see even the smallest blemishes. Once you have found them, lightly circle them with a pencil so they will be easy to spot once it is time to fill them!
4. Use wood filler
Now that you know how to find and identify any imperfections in surfaces, it’s time to fill them. While it might seem obvious to patch knicks and holes in drywall with drywall spackling, what many first time painters might not know is that there is a similar substance that can be used to patch holes or smooth out imperfections in wood called wood filler. This can be found at any hardware store and is great for filling in any of the knicks or dents in wooden doors or frames that we just spoke about to create a smooth surface. Fill any crevice or dent with wood filler, smooth it out as much as possible, and wait for it to dry. Don’t worry if it is not totally smooth, because once it dries, use sandpaper to smooth it and make it flush with the rest of the surface. This will leave any wooden features smooth and ready to paint, and once the paint dries, if properly applied, you won’t be able to tell the difference!
5. Use painter’s tape to keep the paint can clean
Finally, one of the most frustrating parts of painting can be actually pouring the paint from the can into the tray. Paint drips off the side of the can, and residual paint gets caught in the lip of the can which can be a pain to clean and can cause the can to be difficult to open after closing it. Luckily, there is a way to avoid this mess and hassle, and only uses something you likely already have – painter’s tape! After removing the lid, take a piece of painter’s tape and cover one lip of the open paint can. Take a second piece and cover another edge of the paint can so that it meets the first piece of tape at a right angle. Where the two pieces of tape meet will act as a sort of spout, allowing the paint to pour smoothly into the painters tray, while protecting the lip of the can. Once you are done pouring, remove the tape and you should be left with a full tray of paint and a clean can.
Here are just a few creative hacks that you can use on your next painting project to save you some trouble! But if it still seems like too much hassle for you, no problem, that’s where Encore comes in. Our professional painting contractors have the skill and experience to leave your condo with a quality, lasting paint job quickly, even without using painting hacks. Each Encore project begins with an evaluation of the space, which is our chance to hear the vision you have for your space and walk you through the painting process. These evaluations are always free of charge, so there’s never any risk in hearing what Encore can do for you. Painting hacks are a great way for you to make your condo painting a little quicker and cleaner, but at Encore, with fifteen years of experience serving the GTA, there are no hacks needed. Contact Encore Painting Ltd. today to book your free evaluation.