Professional Decorators Share Top Tips And Tricks
We asked members of The Decorators Forum to give us their top decorating tips!! This is what they came back with
Really simple and obvious (but taken me years to realise). Use white 2 Pac filler instead of the coloured. Makes it a lot easier to cover and saves an extra spot coat. 👍🏻
Use a silicone baking spatula to scoop the paint up from a kettle or a scuttle. Less paint wastage.
Bend the head and file a small V into an old screw driver to create a nice too for pulling out old staples, tacks and small nails.
Keep an old rectangle of carpet in the van, so if you have to move a kitchen appliance you can slide it under, upside down so it slides easily on the tiles/wood/lino and doesn’t scratch or tear it.
Use brown paper to wrap your Xmas presents up with… it’s completely recyclable and cheap as chips!!!
When masking to hard wood floors, even more so on tiles or concrete and you’re not confident about paint creeping. Run a quick coat of Diamond Glaze (or another WB varnish) around the edges with a fitch!! Ideal when the floors are uneven or porous!!!
Lidl soft floor mop for dusting down ceilings and walls, telescopic pole and a free spare cover for 5.99
Keep an off cut of Lino on the van. Ideal for sliding under doors when painting, or covering carpet grippers when sorting skirtings.
Tell your paint merchant to pre-shake all waterbased paint bases for 30 seconds before they tint them. This breaks up the viscosity, the tinter doesn’t sit on the top and when shaken you get no tinter around the lip or on the lid. No streaks and consistent colour through the paint.
Always remember family life is more important than work life
When cooking pasta , add salt to the water. It raises the boiling point of the water hence making the pasta cook quicker
Use a plectrum for wall paper joints, I’ve never had one lift it 20 years.
When you do Papering make sure your Blades are fully closed before you put in to your pocket
If you’re feeling brave, lining paper can be torn off against the edge of a metal rule after measuring instead of cutting with scissors to save time.
If you’re crap at cutting in, use Q1 masking tape instead.
If you’re crap at taping up…. well… then just give up
Check your wife’s shift pattern before you put six rollers in the washing machine
Use the slats from a venetian blind along carpet edges instead of masking tape. Totally reusable, quick and easy.
When painting lines or shapes dab paint on edges of tape with previous colour guaranteed to stop bleed
