Professional Decorators Give Their Top Tips From Within The Industry
We asked members of the Decorators Forum to give us their top tips and tricks to other professional decorators. Hear’s what they had to say…..
Don’t buy new work trousers over the Christmas holidays or else you’ll be looking like a third rate rapper by now
Use tropret on ceilings not easifil
Decorating a toilet or bathroom?
When you got the filler out, sit on the toilet seat and look around for any imperfections in the walls etc…if the customer is going to pull you up on anything, they will most likely notice it when having a tom tit
When mixing powder filler, add some of the emulsion colour in with the filler, this will help reduce porosity of filler when it’s dry and be coatable after in one coat
Never work past 3 on a Friday 👌🏼
Get yourself a galvanised grid and leave it in your ready mixed paste and away you go. About £3 from trade point.
Paint bathroom ceilings with pliolite . Lovely matt finish , washable and no watermarks
Professional Decorators Give Decorating Tips
For anyone who has these sight lights. Cut some 4 inch drain pipe and glue on a cap. Protects it whilst in the van. It fits perfect.
When using waterbased u/c satinwood start off with a wet brush to stop clogging in the stock give the brush a regular rinse
Plastic garden wire across your kettle for resting brush
If you have a lot of dark coloured woodwork to paint and it needs a lot of filling put a drop of paint dye in the filler. It makes it easier to cover when you paint it
When filling unwanted screw holes: rather than digging out the raw plug – or trimming the edge with a Stanley – simply remove the screw, reverse it, and give the screw-tip a light tap with your hammer. This means you’ve not got a deep, crumbly hole to fill + if the client changes their mind & decides they DO still want the old fixing, then it’s still in there & will accept a screw. Nice.
Use a nail to put in the nozzle of your caulking gun. Each time you come to use it you won’t have the problem of it being dried up.
Seen someone asking during the week about metal taped corners & what to do if they pop out or warp. My advice is if you don’t want to strip it back completely, use a nail punch to invert the metal strip popping out. That way you can fill in the indent & avoid stripping the full tape! Centre the punch, lightly tap & the metal should revert inward, leaving it just needing filled.
The paying customer is always correct 😁
Bart Never say no to a tea/coffee.
Shape unused filler into the shape of a piece of chalk as it dries out. Works great for writing “wet paint” on concrete, tarmac, paving slabs etc. Simply washes away next time it rains
When stripping wallpaper, use an airless sprayer if you have one. All your walls will be soaked in a matter of minutes and your machine gets a good clean out at the same time. Win win
chuck a thick pile doormat down outside the room you’re working on. 2.99 from BnM and shuv it in the washing machine every now and then
Back up your computer files. Estimates, quotes, invoices, pictures. All these are important. If your computer crashes you may lose everything. I’ve got a separate 1tb drive. Just plug in and save once a week. That way you’ve got everything stored. With a separate usb memory stick you can also use it in other computers. Losing everything can be devastating. You can also use other means
Always have a sieve on board for when a customer hands you an old tin of vinyl Matt on a Sunday
PPE – Always wear a mask when rubbing down.
When going to price a job up, Facebook stalk the person first! Find some common ground and somehow get it into conversation when looking round the job! Works a treat!
When sanding down, if you find a rawlplug, hit it in with the back end of a screw then you can flush fill. It gives the filler an anchor point so it doesn’t fall out
Before you start work in a clients home, take pictures of where everything goes. Then once you’re done, you can leave the house exactly that way you found it, beautifully decorated. Clients love that attention to detail.
Always hold a hoover under door handles as you take them off to catch the black stuff or wood shavings. Failing that, wedge a dustpan under the area that it falls on
Join Decorators Forum to learn about products you never would have known about. Also use The Forum to network with other local Dec’s
Professional Decorators Give Decorating Tips
Use a black bin bag and a bungee cord instead of the expensive roller bucket liners works just as well
For you young paper hangers, when going round corners , measure then do this with a pencil to mark out where the paper needs cutting 👌 just move the tape along the table
Got kettles and scuttles/trays that need peeling out? Simply fill with boiling/hot water, leave 5 minutes then peel all the old paint out with the greatest of ease!
Turn your high stick masking tape into low tack masking tape by peeling off a length and sticking it on to your whites first, then pull it off and ……… HEY PRESTO …… emergency low tack masking tape for you to use.
When you need to take the small bung out to get at the screws… put some tape over it and will come straight out, without trying to dig your Stanley in and messing the bung up, thank me later
Get your paint today for the next couple of days as you’re probably going to get snowed in or won’t get any deliveries on time.
Put a piece of masking on lids and right down the colour or job title. Easy to look at tops of tins stacked in the shed
Use your best sieve for saving the customer money!
After seeing the injuries the last two days..When using any sharp object, always cut away from your body!!!
Never try and do 2 jobs at same time.
When filling in deep cracks/holes, pad out the hole with newspaper or cardboard and just fill the last few mm. Saves time on drying and filler.
Do everything the easiest and less stressful way possible. You body will than you in years to come
When using a Makita site radio at work, place it in a bucket of water! Helps dissolve the hellish bass!
Professional Decorators Give Decorating Tips
