By Bruce MacKinnon

Exterior painting is an easy job. So easy in fact, any-one can do it. All true, unless you want to do it well.

It is always about prep, prep, prep. You have to remove old scaly, cracked, peeling blistered paint, which usually involves a torch and a scraper or a heat gun or paint stripper or a combination of all of the above. Sanding the painted surfaces and washing them down to remove lingering dust or chalk is also an important step.

The finicky Canadian weather is torture for most exte-rior painters. Cold and windy, or hot, humid days are a pain to say the least. There are days when we wish we could hermetically seal the entire house and air-condition it to get the painting done.

Oh, and rain or dangerously windy days are never scheduled weeks in advance. More often than not, paint contractors have to loosely schedule interior or “conve-nience jobs” to switch to in case of bad weather.

Those of us who paint outside have to find radio sta-tions with reliable weather reports. The Weather Chan-nel was a godsend but the Weather Channel app for the iPhone is even better. One look will give you a really good indication of what weather to expect hour by hour.

Humidity is a real problem for exterior painting. If the moisture in the air is above 85 percent humidity, you have the perfect conditions for a return visit to repaint what slid off into the bushes, or worse, onto the customer’s sid-ing. And, while extremely dry weather isn’t generally an issue here in Canada, avoid painting if it is very dry. The lack of moisture can suck the water right out of paint.

Painting in direct sunlight poses the same issue if it’s too hot. These conditions will make the paint set too fast so that the first brush loads on the surface will dry before penetrating the surface. This is why windowsills in con-stant sunlight need to be recoated every year.

These sunlit areas should be painted before it gets too warm (say, before 11:00 a.m.) or you should figure out away to shade the area. A rule of thumb is to paint in the shade all day if you can, so try to follow the sun around the building.

If it rained the day before and even if it is clear on the day of painting, look for standing water around the site. If there is standing water, there is a good chance your wood or surfaces will not be completely dry yet.

Obviously, safety is your first concern. Look for poten-tial hazards, like bushes pushing against ladders, holes or uneven surfaces where your ladders will be placed. In extreme cases, a safety rope and harness are required if there is no safe way to reach an awkward spot. Tie off to trees on the other side of the house or a large chimney, but only if said chimney is in good condition.

If there is a lot of work to be done above 35 feet, rent a boom. If there are only one or two windows, maybe it’s worth using a 40-foot ladder. However, dragging a 40-foot extension ladder around a large job is exhausting and you will frequently need a man to stand at the bottom of the ladder to be an expensive spotter and serve as ballast. It’s not worth dying because of risky ladder maneuvers. It is cheaper to rent the boom and include it in the price of the job.

Oddly, another danger is that bees and wasps are attracted to the sweet smell of paint. So, keep a can of bug spray handy or a bug swatter nearby.
Sharp and appropriate paint scrapers are essential to preparing old surfaces for new paint. Either stock up onblades for your draw scrapers or buy an inexpensive elec-tric grinder to sharpen the blades. I used a grinder wheel on my drill to do the sharpening.

In older buildings there is still extensive putty work to be done, but the long-time favorite Mastic Putty has gone out of business. The newer putties are a lot softer because they have more oil in them. This makes the putty almost unworkable and it takes many days for it to harden up enough to paint over. And, on a hot day the putty becomes nearly liquid. It still takes weeks for it to dry fully.

One way around this is to add a bit of plaster powder. Durabond or Sheetrock 45 both work nicely. Sprinkle the powder in the pound of putty until it begins to stiffen up and has the consistency of dry peanut butter.

Oil paints have traditionally been the mainstay in exte-rior painting since it stays wet long enough to get it in place before it sets. But new VOC regulations have destroyed oil paint as we know it and they are nearly gone from the market. For now rust inhibitor paints are still untouched.

The solution is not pretty at the moment. Paint manufacturers are scrambling to come out with alternatives for exterior work. Stock up on the old oil while you can so that new paints can be tested and perfected over the next few years.

The alternatives are not as durable or user-friendly as traditional oil paint. And you may have to use XIM sealer. It is designed to transition between existing oil and the new coat of latex or water-borne alkyd.

On warm days, place a wet rag over open cans of paint when you go for breaks. It will keep the paint from skim-ming up. Primers are already thin, but add a touch of water once it gets hot, to keep the primer thin and workable.

When painting windows or paneled doors, paint from the inside to the outside flat areas and edges. This way the final strokes are on the flats with no ridges from painting edges.
Finally, treat the exterior the same as you would the inte-rior of the building. Keep it neat and clean. Sweep up daily. Pick up all the debris from the prep. Leaving the clean-up for the customer is not the way to get referrals.  PP

The post Outside Job first appeared on Professional Painter Magazine.

#1. Brush & Roller Can Be Faster Than Spray (and better)

Spraying paint certainly has its place, but the old ways aren’t necessarily as slow as they seem. There are professional painters who efficiently use brush and roller on large exterior jobs, and swear they can out-paint anyone with spray equipment when masking, scaffolding and cleanup time are taken into account. Quite apart from speed, there’s also the issue of durability. All else being equal, brush-applied paint typically lasts longer outdoors than spray applied because the action of the brush drives paint deeper into the wood fibers. When it comes to exterior painting, absorption is key.

#2. Beware of Chronically Peeling Outdoor Wood

If you’re asked to paint exterior wood siding that hasn’t held paint as long as it should have in the past, beware. The most likely cause is internal moisture migrating through exterior walls during cold weather, flaking off paint as it does. No matter how well you prep a surface like this, and no matter how good the primer and paint you choose, peeling paint will happen if there’s an outward migration of moisture. Most common on older homes, chronically peeling wood is usually something that shows up here and there – not over an entire wall. Explain the problem to your client and make them understand that you can’t guarantee lasting results on wood siding with a moisture migration problem.

#3. Educate your Clients About Stains

As a painter, it’s natural for you to get requests to finish outdoor wood with transparent or semi-transparent products. The thing is, you need to educate clients about living with stains (as opposed to paint) if you’re to avoid disappointment and call-backs. The first thing clients need to understand is that staining demands more prep than painting and it will cost them if they want a good job.

Lack of absorption is the biggest technical hurdle to overcome when staining outdoor wood. New lumber is especially bad for not letting film-forming stains soak in properly. Without full absorption, you’re in danger of premature peeling. This is why very few outdoor wood stains perform optimally on wood that is not sanded. Pressure washing first makes sanding go faster later because you’ve already began to open up the wood pores sealed over by mill glaze. Pressure wash, let the wood dry for a couple of good days, then sand with a 60- or 80-grit disk in a 6” random orbit sander. This is the fastest way to optimize absorbency on both new wood and old. Clients need to understand why it’s taking so long for you to start using a paint brush.

The second thing your clients need to understand is that the best stain lasts less time than the best paint. How often have you heard a client say “I just want to keep that new wood looking natural”? This is where you need to kick into teaching mode.

All else being equal, when you look at wood stain products, the more opaque the “stain” you apply, the longer good appearance will last. It’s like sunscreen. Clear outdoor wood finishes preserve bright new wood, but they don’t provide much protection from the sun. A rich, dark brown stain or an opaque paint-like stain lasts the longest, all else being equal. Opaque stain is the wood finishing equivalent of a sunscreen with SPF 100.

“Clear wood coatings are an option on exteriors, but they won’t last as long as pigmented products”, explains Jim Ireland, commercial painting expert with Beauti-Tone. “The largest problem with product failure is UV damage, especially on southern exposures. The more pigment the more UV protection.”

Besides UV rays, the biggest destroyer of outdoor wood stains is moisture. No matter how thoroughly you coat surfaces, moisture will sneak past the coating and soak into the underlying wood. If the stain you’re using traps that moisture, premature finish failure will occur. That’s why you don’t want to coat wood with too much stain. Some stains are designed for one coat only, and it’ll say so on the can. Any more than this and you can trigger finish failure because the stain can’t let moisture out quickly enough. Even products that call for several coats should not be over done. Stick with two coats, or three at the most. Any more and you risk getting a nasty callback.

#4.Treat Lead With Respect

Lead was a part of house paints until it was banned in 1978, and this means you’ll be dealing with exterior projects that contain at least some lead at some level below the surface. The thing about lead is that it’s easy to overlook the dangers. In theory you may know that sanding lead paint releases airborne lead that’s dangerous to inhale, yet before you know it, you’re telling yourself that “a little sanding” won’t do anyone any harm. Actually, it might do you significant harm if it means you’re breathing lead-laced dust. Exterior paint jobs are more likely to contain lead than interiors, so protect yourself accordingly.

#5. Use Good Caulking

Exterior caulking is like tires on a new car. Neither is usually very good quality because prospective owners don’t appreciate the difference enough to pay for quality. No one ever walked away from a new car because the stock tires weren’t good enough, and no one is going to notice if you use cheap caulking to fill and seal the outside of a home. The thing is, this misses the point. By using the best caulking before exterior painting, then explaining to the client why this matters, you’ve just vaulted yourself way beyond the average painter. It’s a little thing, but little things are often the difference between repeat clients and customers who can’t even remember your name next time. Right now the best exterior caulking is probably polyurethane. It remains flexible forever, it’s amazingly paint – able and it’s pleasant to work with. Polyurethane caulking is less common than it used to be, but worth looking for. pp

The post Exterior Painting Tips first appeared on Professional Painter Magazine.

If you’re a residential painter, chances are good that homeowners ask you to quote on staining their decks, docks, fences and gazebos. But if you’re like many painters, you turn down at least some work in this area because the risks of finish failure are too high. This article shows you three ways to approach taking on more of this type of work.

I’ve been finishing, refinishing, observing and researching outdoor wood finishes for 30 years. I ran my first product performance trial in 1990, and I regularly hear two things from homeowners who come to me for advice. First, they’re often disappointed about how fast their stained outdoor wood starts to look terrible. This is especially true with decks. And second, many homeowners really do dread doing staining work themselves. I hear about it all the time. They don’t have the knowledge, physical stamina, patience nor the prep equipment. Many are looking for capable professional help but can’t find it. To cash in on the demand for this work, you need to learn three lessons.

LESSON #1: Teach Your Customers

Many outdoor wood finishing products are destined to fail as soon as they leave the factory. I know because I’ve tested them and seen them fail even after ideal prep. It’s actually rare to find a transparent or translucent outdoor wood finish that has the potential to endure more than three seasons in full sun. And while this may get you wondering why on earth R&D people in wood finishing labs around the world can’t do any better, outdoor wood finishes have it pretty hard. Sunlight, moisture, temperature swings, foot traffic, mold attack – it all adds up to a very tough assignment. Your job is to know which outdoor wood finishing products can be trusted, to have a realistic understanding of how long different products last, and know how to explain all this to prospective customers so they have reasonable expectations. Customer training is the first and most important part of profitable outdoor wood staining jobs.

LESSON #2: Learn to Prep Quickly and Effectively

Technically speaking, surface preparation is the most important step because it’s key for making outdoor wood finishes last. The goal with surface prep is to maximize the absorption of finishing liquids into wood, especially when you’re using film-forming products. If you don’t prep wood – both new and old – even the best outdoor wood finishing products will fail too soon.

One reason new wood doesn’t absorb finish well is because of something called “mill glaze”. It’s a slightly burnished surface caused by the planing mill that made the lumber smooth after sawing. New pressure treated wood has the additional disadvantage of repelling water. Some brands are actually treated for this, which makes it impossible for finishing products to hang on without prep.

Old, weathered, grey wood, by contrast, is thirsty and absorbent on its own, but the surface fibers are weak and loose. They soak up the finish okay, but they also pull away from the underlying wood too easily over time. So how do you maximize the absorbency and solidity of wood?

A five-year-long field trial held across North America by Akzo Nobel Coatings – the world’s largest finish manufacturer – set out to determine exactly which surface prep technique maximized the all-important absorbency of outdoor wood. In the Akzo Nobel tests, chemical deck washes and dedicated mill-glaze removers were pitted against pressure-washing regimes using plain water and water-plus-cleaning agents. The results of sanding alone were analyzed, too. Bottom-line showed that new wood sanded with a 60- or 80-grit abrasive translated into the greatest absorbency and most durable final finish life of all prep options. Finer abrasives led to poor absorbency. Mill glaze removing chemicals and specialty pre-stain deck washes didn’t measure up to sanding. And while sanding is king in this test by far, the main challenge is how to tackle the job practically over large areas. As it turns out, a two-step process that begins with pressure washing and ends with sanding is the fastest and most effective surface prep approach.

Why begin with pressure washing and end with sanding? Speed. You’ll remove some mill glaze from your wood quickly with the water, as well as sawdust and dirt. Be sure to blast into all nooks and crannies, though keep the wand tip far enough away to avoid tearing up the wood. Let the wood dry for a couple of warm days, then run your sander quickly over the surface to remove fuzz. Fibers like these come off easily after washing with just one or two quick passes of the sander, leaving a very solid and absorbent surface behind. It’s much faster to sand after pressure washing compared with going right to the sanding immediately.

If you’re tackling a big deck, a walk-behind, vibrating floor sander makes quickest work of the job. For corners you can’t beat a 6” random-orbit sander. This hand-held power tool is useful for lots of other sanding jobs, too. Don’t bother with 5” random orbit sanders because they’re too small and weak. A 6” model offers approximately twice the output of a 5” sander. For the tightest nooks and crannies, you’ll love a cordless detail sander. Don’t use the expensive, pre-made sanding triangles, either. Instead, buy a roll of Velcro-covered 80-grit then cut your own triangles. It takes almost no time and saves a bundle.

LESSON #3: Learn Which Products You Can Trust

You can wear out your knees doing all the right prep work, but if you choose a weak finishing product, you’ll get a callback from an unhappy customer. In 1990 I began monitoring samples of outdoor wood finished with the best products of that time, and I’ve been watching new products as they come out ever since. Here are some of my favourites.

Transparent Class: Shortest life, most natural appearance Olympic Waterproofing Wood Protector Sealant

This stuff is like sunscreen for outdoor wood. It works better than any other clear product I know of, but you can’t expect a long working life. There is no wood finish I’ve found that’s both clear and long-lived. Clients love “the natural look”, but you need to explain to them that maintaining this sort of thing demands a lot of refinishing efforts. Tell your clients they can expect 12 to 18 months (at the most) of good looks before brightening and re-coating is necessary.

Translucent Class: Moderate working life, wood grain shows through colour Cetol DEK Finish

This film-forming product tints wood, while letting grain show through. It is my go-to option when I want a furniture-grade outdoor wood finish. Applying first coat in “mahogany” and second coat in “cedar” yields a stunning cinnamon-brown shade. Some people love DEK (like me) and other people hate it because it peeled on them once. The difference is almost always surface prep. You’ve simply got to sand before application for reasonable working life with DEK. No sanding means peeling for sure. You can expect 2 to 4 years from DEK before stripping and refinishing is required.

Oil Finish Class: No peeling, but frequent reapplication required Australian Timber Oil

This is the best performing outdoor oil I know of and it offers three advantages for professionals: it’s easy to apply, it never peels and refinishing requires no sanding. Just clean the surface and apply another coat. Thin enough to be sprayed with even a small sprayer. Outdoor oil or other non-film forming products are the only thing you should apply to wood furniture since peeling is such a hassle to remove.

Opaque Class: Longest lasting of all, but no grain visible Cabot Solid Color Decking Stain

The oil-based formulation of this film-forming product was legendary, but government regulations mean we can only get acrylic versions now. Still, you can expect 3+ years of great appearance from this product on a deck before stripping and refinishing is required. This product is like paint. No wood grain appearance shows through, which is good for older wood that’s difficult or impossible to brighten.

Superdeck Elastomeric Coating

This is THE stuff for coating ancient wood that’s highly weathered and cracked. It’s thick in consistency, so it has the ability to span gaps and cracks, making old wood look surprisingly younger. It also works well on new wood. The one caution is that wood needs to be completely dry before application. Completely. Even moderate moisture on the wood and Superdeck will peel. This is a relatively new product in my trial line up, but it looks the same today as when I applied it to outdoor wood in May 2015.

One-Time Wood Finish: Easiest but most “casual” looking Eco Wood Treatment

This is for clients who want no maintenance of their outdoor wood at all, ever, in exchange for a casual look. It’s a powder you mix with water, then apply to wood only once. It imparts an even, weathered grey tone (like barn board) that never fades. Ecowood has recently come out with a coloured version that uses a dye that you mix with the dissolved powder to create a more refined appearance.

The post Three Lessons in Outdoor Wood Finishing first appeared on Professional Painter Magazine.

Despite the fact that caulking formulations have never been better, real-world caulking performance hasn’t kept pace with this increased potential – especially in exterior applications. Why is this? One of the major reasons for exterior caulking failure is poorly managed expansion/contraction issues.

Caulking and Joint Movement

If every caulkable joint were completely stable all the time, then successful exterior caulking would be simple. But that’s not the case. Caulkable joints, especially exterior ones, almost always expand and contract substantially with changes in temperature (and sometimes humidity), especially where different materials flank the joint. And unless you make allowances for this inevitable movement, your caulking will fail.

The first thing to understand in your quest for reliable caulking performance is also the strangest. The narrower the caulkable gap, the more difficult it is to get a long-lasting seal! Wider really is better, up to a point. Here’s why.

Let’s say you fill a 3/32”-wide gap between a wooden door frame and the surrounding bricks with polyurethane caulking. Even though this is one of the most flexible products on the market – able to expand and contract more than 50 per cent from its cured size without cracking apart – the joint will almost certainly fail in short order. The reason is that this 3/32-inch gap could easily get as large as 3/16-inch wide as the wood and brick move away from each other. The gap could also shrink to less than 1/16-inch during hot, humid weather when the wood expands. This amounts to a percentage change in joint width approaching 100 per cent – way beyond what average caulkings can handle. But the picture changes substantially if you start with, say, a 3/8-inch wide gap between brick and wood. In this case, the amount of absolute movement of materials on each side of the joint stays the same – about 3/32-inch. But as a percentage of the total width of the larger, 3/8-inch caulking bead, 3/32-inch now represents only 25 per cent – well within specs for premium polyurethane caulk.

Backer Rod and How to Use It

Although wide joints are good because they don’t overload the elasticity of caulking, they can also gobble up caulking way too fast if they’re too deep. That’s one reason there’s something called backer rod. These lengths of flexible foam — usually cylindrical in cross-section — are designed to be stuffed into gaps before caulking is applied. You’ll typically find backer rod in diameters ranging from 1/4” to 7/8”, though it does get as large as 4” in diameter. Uncompressed backer rod should be 25 per cent larger than the gap it fills (or the next size up), and stuffed far enough in so the depth of the gap is half of its width, down to a minimum of 1/4-inch deep and a maximum of 1/2-inch deep. Why the depth limitations? Besides reducing the amount of caulking you’ll use, limiting caulking depth with backer rod has to do with flexibility again. When the depth of a bead of caulking exceeds its width, it becomes more difficult for the product to stretch as much as it’s rated to. So, use backer rod if the gap is deep.

Bond Breaker Tape

This is all fine, as far as it goes, but how often do you have the luxury of determining the width of joint you need to caulk? As a painter, almost never. That’s why the people wearing white lab coats invented something called bond breaker tape. This thick, self-sticking tape, often made of polyethylene, is applied over or across under-width joints. The purpose of a bond breaker is to prevent adhesion of caulking in a specific area. It spreads the joint movement over a wider area of caulking, resulting in a less crack-prone joint.

Beware the Three-Way Bond

Something called a three-way bond is another thing that can cause caulking to fail. When caulking is installed so it sticks to both sides of a groove and to the bottom – three way adhesion – the resiliency of the caulking is greatly reduced. Adhesion at the bottom of the groove prevents full elasticity by impeding the ability of the cured caulking to get thinner as it stretches with increased gap width. When this happens, something has to give, and it’s usually the bond between the caulking and the side of the gap being filled.

Using backer rod or bond breaker tape is the best way to prevent a three-way bond. The main thing is that the bottom of a caulkable gap should never be touched by caulking. If the gap is deeper than 1/4- inch, or half the width of the gap, then backer rod should be stuffed into place. This both breaks any potential bottom bond (caulking never sticks firmly to backer rod), and it fills excess gap depth so you don’t use tons of caulking. Even if the gap is no deeper than necessary, bond breaker tape should be installed along the bottom to stop bonding there.

The post Exterior Caulking Tips first appeared on Professional Painter Magazine.

Faster, easier, cheaper and more varied shopping choices are the reasons online shopping has revolutionized consumer buying. These same advantages are also why more and more tradespeople are shopping for materials and professional supplies on the web. Online shopping is a trend that’s here to stay and as the buying options get more sophisticated, it’s helping tradespeople make more money by being more efficient.

Amazon

Amazon is the king of online shopping for consumer goods, but it’s also grown into one of the hottest places to buy pro tools these days. And it’s not just because Amazon is fast and simple. Extensive user reviews get the word out on the best tools in each category, making it easy to buy intelligently. And it doesn’t hurt that Amazon prices are about as cheap as you can get.

“I never thought online sales of tools would take off, since people want to touch and try their tools first,” says Karl Bach, owner of Prestige Custom Homes in Mississauga. “But I recently made some purchases on Amazon for the only reason that the price was a lot lower than the big box stores. I think places like these will start seeing major competition from online retailers. You try to support local stores to keep jobs, but the prices online can be much lower.”

“Our success in selling tools with Amazon.ca has grown year over year and it’s proving to be a great advantage for us in the world of e-commerce,” says Robert Eddy, e-commerce manager with Stanley Black + Decker Canada. “We offer a great selection of most of our brands which include Black + Decker, Dewalt, Porter Cable, Bostitch, and more. We expect to add more variety and see growth continue in the years to come. Pros are using Amazon to save time by having tools delivered right to the jobsite.”

RenoRun

The interesting thing is, online shopping doesn’t necessarily need to eliminate local jobs. In fact, the online option can work directly with the most local of materials and supplies for the trades. Something called RenoRun (www.renorun.ca) is a case in point. It’s the mission of Canadian entrepreneur Eamonn O’Rourke and it’s taking off fast. Think of it like the Amazon of building materials. Actually, it’s much faster than Amazon even though it deals with stuff you can’t always tape up in a box.

Download the RenoRun phone app, choose whatever building materials you need from the 50,000 options on the drop-down menus then hit the button. You get your stuff in two hours or less if you’re in any of the service areas covered. Cost for delivery is never any more than $65 and it saves you the hassle and expense of pulling someone off the job to go get supplies you need to keep working.

“We started developing RenoRun in 2015,” explains Eamonn, “and we launched our first location in Montreal in March 2017. Toronto came online in October 2017 and we’re currently looking at Calgary and Vancouver for our next Canadian locations. We’ll be extending the service to include several US cities later this year.”

Will Gonell is owner of Gonell Homes, an award-winning custom home and restoration contractor in the Greater Toronto Area. He’s also been a very satisfied RenoRun user since day one. “I always structure my jobs only with subs,” explains Will, “so the only people who could drive out to get materials are either me or my supervisor. Our time is too valuable for that, so when I saw an Instagram post about RenoRun back in the fall of 2017, I called them up. The owner came out personally to see me. That’s been the kind of high quality experience they’ve delivered throughout. The drivers are great and I have a lot of respect for RenoRun’s support side. I’m always calling them. The service has saved me tons of money and tons of time, and I’ve never had them take two hours to get to me. Even when I sent them to do a custom run in a nearby city, they got to me in less than two hours.”

Paint Supplies Direct

Paul Sharples is a 31 year-old finish carpenter and painter from London, Ont. and he recently bought from an online supplier called Paint Supplies Direct (www.paintsuppliesdirect.ca). “I saw a couple of posts on social media that this company had shared and I decided to look at their website,” says Paul. “I never used to be a large online shopper as I enjoy the social aspect of shopping in local stores and businesses. But with kids and full-time work, my time has become limited. So for that reason I’ve started to venture into the online world and have found it extremely convenient. I’m able to do all of my shopping and ordering after business hours from home and still have the product within an extremely reasonable timeline.”

When Toronto inventor Norman Breakey created the paint roller in 1940, it took some painters years before they gave up their brushes for painting big, flat surfaces. These days there isn’t a professional painter anywhere who’d even dream that brushes are always better than a roller. It’s the same with online shopping.

The Internet is changing the world because it empowers individuals to do things faster, more easily and more directly. The building trades is one of hundreds of sectors being streamlined by online shopping that delivers better goods at cheaper prices and it’s hard to argue with that.

The Hidden Costs of “Analog” Buying

Driving to buy stuff is more expensive than it looks. According to the Canadian Automobile Association’s online driving cost calculator (www.caa.ca/car_costs), the total cost of running a late model half-ton is 69 cents per kilometre including fuel and all other costs. Take that 30 km round-trip detour to pick up supplies (easy to do), and that’s more than $20 in direct “delivery” costs, not including the money you’re not earning while driving a truck instead of pushing a roller or managing your team. You’re essentially operating a courier service when you pick up supplies on your own, and if you count the costs honestly you’ll find that you are the most costly delivery option out there.

The post Delivering the Goods first appeared on Professional Painter Magazine.

Most of the earth is a wet place, and while this is a good thing in many ways, it’s also a challenge when it comes to painting. High moisture substrates can cause the best coatings to fail, and that’s why moisture testing is something you need to know about. Saving yourself from hassles and money-losing nightmares is what it’s all about, and there are three situations where moisture testing makes sense for you as a painter.

Breathable Paint

It’s a lot easier for liquid moisture to sneak past conventional paint than it is for water vapour to get out again. That’s why you should never use ordinary paint on exterior masonry. It’s too impervious. No matter how diligently you coat the surface, liquid moisture will eventually soak into the masonry. It might only be in a few small spots, but this is enough to cause trouble. The issue is that moisture won’t be able to evaporate out of the small entry locations, and that’s a problem. In cold climates the high-moisture masonry will freeze and flake. In warm climates the moisture will build up enough to cause paint delamination. If your client insists on painting exterior masonry, always use a paint that has a vapour permeability of at least 75 US perms.

Situation 1: Concrete Slabs

Concrete is mixed with more water than needed for hardening, and this excess moisture needs to get out before you can expect any coating to stick long-term. And since concrete is porous, even an old floor can sometimes still hold way too much moisture for proper finish life.

One long-standing moisture test for concrete involves the ASTM 1869 standard. It was developed in the 1950s and uses a container of dry calcium chloride underneath a plastic cover sealed over the bare concrete floor. Prep the concrete so it’s clean and bare, open the pre-weighed container of moisture-hungry calcium chloride, write the date and time on the container, then use tape to seal the plastic cover to the concrete  with the calcium chloride inside. The more moisture this white powder absorbs the more moisture’s in the slab. At least that’s the theory.

Weigh the calcium chloride after 60 to 72 hours, and then plug the weight figure into the formula that came with the kit to determine the moisture content of the concrete in pounds of moisture emitted per 1,000 square feet per 24-hour period. Most coating manufacturers allow no more than a three-pound moisture rating on concrete for warranties to apply. Some coating manufacturers even require moisture testing results be recorded for warranty coverage to kick in. This is fine except for one problem. The calcium chloride test only measures moisture levels in the very top part of the slab. You can get a superficial reading that’s dry enough for coating a concrete floor, then still have the coating fail later because moisture migrated up from deeper in the slab over time, causing finish failure. Calcium chloride testing is widely regarded as reliable, but in reality it leaves something to be desired because it does not register deep moisture.

pH Testing of Concrete Slabs

Too much moisture isn’t the only thing that can ruin your floor coating. So can excess acidity or alkalinity. A pH of 7.0 is neutral. Any number above this is alkaline, and any number below is acidic. Floor coatings require a certain range of pH values of the surface they’re applied to, and new concrete floors can easily be too alkaline for proper coating life. pH testing pencils and test strips are available and using them makes just as much sense as moisture testing a slab before coating.

If you want to be absolutely sure a slab is dry enough for risk-free coating, the relative humidity (RH) test is an excellent diagnostic tool. It’s especially useful when you’re working with fresh slabs that probably still hold a lot of embedded moisture because the relative humidity test measures deep in the concrete. It tells you what is ultimately coming up to meet your coating in time. RH testing begins by boring a hole about 40 per cent of the way into a concrete slab’s thickness. Clean the dust from the hole, insert a humidity sensor into the hole, and then plug a reader into the sensor. It’ll give you two numbers – one is the temperature of the slab and the other number is the humidity of the air in the hole relative to that temperature. A slab is considered dry enough to coat when the relative humidity near the centre of the slab is 70 per cent or less.

Situation #2: Exterior Wood

Like concrete, wood is an absorbent material, though the moisture dynamics in wood are quite different than concrete. The moisture content of new lumber can range from 12 per cent to over 25 per cent by weight depending on the wood, the region, the season and the time elapsed since construction. This is why it’s especially wise to test new decks and exterior wood siding before coating. New lumber can feel perfectly dry on the surface while still containing damaging amounts of internal moisture that’ll cause trouble later. The best tool for measuring the moisture content of wood is an electric device that comes from the world of woodworking. These days hand-held moisture meters for wood are cheap and accurate. Press the prongs into the wood, hit the button and read the moisture content. Sixteen per cent is the upper limit of moisture content for most exterior coatings, but check with the manufacturer of the coating you’re using. Drier is always better, but don’t be fooled. Wet lumber can dry superficially and give a false reading. If scrap lumber is left over from a new deck job, cut a board in half and measure a fresh end to get a true reading. If that’s not possible, use a moisture meter with prongs that can extend into the wood at least 3/16”.

Beware Wood Siding on Old Houses

While it’s easy to understand that exterior walls get wet on the outside from rain and dew, there’s sometimes more to the moisture issue than this. Paint-killing moisture can also come from inside buildings in cold climates, and that’s one reason wooden exterior walls are trickier than decks when it comes to moisture assessment. Old wood-frame homes are the most common place you’ll see this trouble. Homes built before the use of vapour barriers on warm sides of exterior walls can be susceptible to the formation of frost inside wall cavities during winter. As warm, moist indoor air makes its way into unsealed wall cavities, this air cools to the dew point and moisture condenses out of the air, forming water droplets and frost within walls. As the weather warms when spring arrives, the frost melts and the moisture migrates outwards through wood siding. If you ever encounter an older wooden home where the owner tells you how previous paint jobs never last more than a few years, beware of the internal moisture dynamic. If premature paint peeling happens repeatedly in localized areas that don’t get extra moisture from outside sources you can be sure you’re dealing with an internal moisture problem. It’s a situation no painter can beat without the underlying cause being dealt with. A moisture meter is the fastest way to verify moisture issues on wood siding. 

Situation #3: Post Flood Restoration

As a painter, you face an unfair hazard when it comes to post-flood restoration work. Wall frames, floor frames and concrete slabs will be very wet after a flood, but you can’t necessarily count on a restoration contractor to allow enough drying time before drywall goes on and you get called in. The thing is, the moisture of a too-wet wall frame or floor will eventually come through drywall to your painting, and paint failure will be seen as your fault. If possible, take moisture readings of the wall framing before fresh drywall goes up. If you can’t do that, wait as long as possible before moisture testing drywall. If excess moisture does exist below the surface, you want to know it’s coming out before you apply paint. A woodworking moisture meter works on drywall, too. It might be a few percentage points out because it’s not reading wood, but results are more than close enough to offer useful guidance. High quality painting is about diligence, and sometimes this means more than just care with a brush and roller. Moisture testing is one of those things that is easy to ignore when you’re eager to get going, but it’s also one of the little things that can save big trouble.

Moisture Content % vs. Relative Humidity %

If you’re measuring the moisture content of wood, you’ll probably use an electric meter that determines the moisture content percentage by measuring the electrical resistance of the wood. The higher the moisture content, the lower the electrical resistance, and thus the higher the percentage of moisture you’ve got. The moisture content of wood determined this way is expressed as a percentage of total weight. A 1,000-gram block of wood with a moisture content of 14 per cent contains 140 grams of water. By contrast, “relative humidity” is often used to measure the moisture content of concrete slabs, and though this is also expressed as a percentage it’s entirely different than “% moisture content.” A slab with a relative humidity of, say 70 per cent, is holding 70 percent of the maximum amount of moisture that the air in the hole can hold at that particular temperature. It does not mean that 70 per cent of the weight of the concrete is water.

Pool Painting and Moisture

Painting swimming pools is a specialty that requires more attention to moisture issues than most situations. “There are two times a pool must dry for painting,” says Rebecca Spencer, marketing manager with RAMUC Pool Paint. “First, before applying the first coat of paint, and second before filling the pool with water. The average dry time from the final coat of paint to filling an outdoor pool is five to seven days. If using an acrylic product, the average is three days. If the pool is indoors, the time lapse is about ten days, providing there is good ventilation and air movement.” It is also essential to match any new coating to what’s already on the pool walls. Lab testing of a paint chip from the pool is the best way to avoid blistering or peeling of the new paint. “A high build epoxy can last eight years or more,” says Spencer, “and a traditional epoxy can provide three to five years of durability. Chlorinated or synthetic rubber based paint averages between two to five years, and acrylic based coatings will last up to two years.”

Beware of Efflorescence

If you find yourself asked to paint a masonry surface with white fuzzy stuff on it, you’re very likely to make one of two serious mistakes. Either you’ll deal with the white stuff as mould (which it probably isn’t) or you’ll simply brush it off and forge ahead with fresh paint. Both approaches will end in a failed paint job and grief for you because moisture is the source of the problem. Fine, white, fluffy stuff on masonry is efflorescence, and it’s a warning that tiny amounts of liquid moisture are migrating through the masonry. Brick, block and stone are solid and strong, but they’re also porous. Moisture can easily pass through most masonry, and this is what the white stuff indicates. As tiny amounts of moisture migrate itcarries minerals with it. When the moisture reaches the surface of the masonry, it dries before it appears as visible liquid, leaving the minerals behind. As this process of leaking and drying goes on for months or years, more and more minerals are left on the surface, creating the white fuzz that should be a warning to you. So what should you do when a client asks you to paint a fuzzy, white masonry surface? Explain the dynamics and insist that you need to seal the surface then give it a chance to prove that efflorescence has stopped before applying paint. Anything less and you’ll probably wish you never took on the job.

The post 3 Ways to Test Moisture Content first appeared on Professional Painter Magazine.

Mold growth happens when a food source and sufficient moisture come together, but mold isn’t picky about what it eats. Almost anything will do. Wood, cardboard, drywall, carpet – even the dust that accumulates on inorganic materials such as plastic – can feed mold in the presence of moisture. The key to dealing with mold properly as a painter comes down to three things: Kill it, remove stains (if necessary), then discourage mold regrowth. One part of prevention comes down to products you can apply, in addition to educating clients about moisture control in their building.

While mold is nothing new, mold control with registered products hasn’t been around all that long. Gone are the days when you simply painted over moldy surfaces and hope for the best. It’s no longer sound professional practice and it simply makes no financial sense. Live mold under a coat of fresh paint is never a good idea because paint can’t kill mold. It’s just a serious callback waiting to happen after mold reappears.

I’ve been covering mold since it became a hot topic in the late 1990s, and Moldex is one family of mold control and prevention products I’ve been testing recently. This brand uses a three-step approach to the job: kill, clean and discourage regrowth.

Moldex Mold Killer is the first thing to apply on active mold, and it carries the most complete list of verified credentials of any mold product I’ve seen so far. It’s EPA registered as a fungicide, mildewstat, virucide and disinfectant that’s approved for residential and institutional settings. It’s specifically verified to eliminate the hard-to-kill HIV-1 organism after ten minutes of wet contact time. If you’re painting institutional surfaces that may have been contaminated with bodily fluids, this is the stuff to protect yourself with before you start serious wall prep. Mold Killer comes in different formulations, but all are independently verified to zap mold roots (called hyphae), not just surface growth. Although not completely non-toxic, Mold Killer is safe as long as you don’t swallow it. The odour is pleasant, with no bleach smell to bother clients. Comes in ready-to-use spray bottles or concentrate for greater economy on large jobs.

Removing mold and mildew stains is something you won’t always need to do. Paint alone covers stains from dead mold, but if you need a clean surface for translucent coatings, there are two stain removal technologies in the Moldex line. Their Instant Mold & Mildew Stain Remover uses bleach chemistry, and their non-bleach Mold & Mildew Stain Remover is oxygen based. I preferred the oxygen formulation in my tests. Unlike other oxygen-based stainer removers, this one needs no mixing. Just spray it on and it foams up as stain erasing oxygen is released.

Preventing mold regrowth is the final step in the Moldex system, and that’s where their Sealant product comes in. It’s a water-based liquid that works over any kind of sealed wood, painted surface, plastic, metal, masonry or fabric. If you’re dealing with a previously painted surface with mold that you’ve killed, apply Moldex Sealant after the last coat of new paint is thoroughly dry.

Twenty years of news stories and legal action around mold issues have made the public fearful of mold. Settle on an effective mold control protocol, then tell your clients about it. It’ll give them one more reason to call you back and recommend you to others.

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Latex paint is used on most jobs these days, and that’s a good thing. Your life as a painter is considerably healthier and more pleasant since oil-based and alkyds are disappearing from the painting scene. And while chances are good that most of what you do during each work day involves rolling, brushing or spraying latex paint or primer, did you know that these coatings don’t actually have latex in them at all? Not any more, anyway. If a client with a latex allergy is fearful of paint, tell them to rest easy. They’ll be fine. The name “latex” comes from original formulations of non-alkyd paints that were made with liquid latex rubber once upon a time. While we still cling to the term “latex” here in Canada, in the UK the same stuff is called “emulsion” paint. That’s a more accurate term given how this stuff is made.

While we still cling to the term “latex” here in Canada, latex paint no longer contains latex rubber. In the UK the same stuff is called “emulsion” paint.

How It’s Made

Latex paint base is what’s used to make any of the thousands of colours you can get from a fan deck, and latex bases are made with the following ingredients:

water – about 60% of total volume
acrylic or polyvinyl resins – provides film strength and bonding properties
extender – makes paint brush and roll more easily
thickener – adds viscosity for better rollout
titanium dioxide – adds opacity and whiteness
glycol – increases open time
calcium carbonate – one of several dry pigments
zinc – imparts mildew-resistance
flattening agents – reduces sheen
defoamer – reduces bubble formation

All the ingredients except the resins are combined in a large industrial mixing vat in a paint plant. Think of a 10,000 litre mixing bowl with an electric beater in the middle. That’s what the initial mixing set up looks like. The liquids and dry pigment powders are blended during the initial part of the manufacturing process.The resins are added in a separate step as part of a second mixing process that goes on for 5 to 6 hours. Why so long?

Homogenization through a process called “the let down”. It’s essential that all the ingredients be broken down into tiny particles that resist settling out. Some settling of paint in the can is inevitable, but it’s much less than during the days of oil-based paints. The legendary ability of modern latex to avoid settling out in storage is due in part to this homogenization process.
Just because a batch of paint has been mixed according to a recipe doesn’t mean that it goes out the door in cans for sale. Samples from each batch are run through various tests before packaging. One test uses a machine called a viscometer to analyze liquid paint.

Think of a restaurant milk shake machine, except this one assesses viscosity by measuring the resistance to the spinning of a mixing paddle. The more resistance, the higher the viscosity of the paint. Paint manufacturers have pushed viscosity higher to reduce runs and increase the ability of rollers and brushes to hold more paint. But too much viscosity is a bad thing since it boosts resistance to paint spread. Ensuring that each batch of paint hits the viscosity sweet spot is a big thing on the list of post production tests.

How Paint is Packaged

Most major paint manufacturers use similar equipment for labeling cans and filling them. Cans roll along a chute where small blobs of hotmelt glue are applied in a band along one side of the cans. A few feet later the can rolls over an inverted paper label that sticks to the hot melt. As the empty cans roll more, the chute changes the orientation of the can to upright for filling. The average paint packaging line can fill 40 to 60 cans per minute, with each can filled by weight, not volume.

Another test checks liquid paint for tintability. Every paint supplier you deal with has recipes that include very specific volumes of different tinting pigments to achieve different paint colour results. Testing how a given batch of base reacts to the tinting process is essential for colour consistency across a brand. Samples of each batch are spread using a test called the “draw down”. A sample of paint is applied to a cardboard test card, then a bar is drawn down to create an even thickness of paint on that card. When it’s dried, the sample is tested for colour, the ability to cover other colours and sheen level as determined by a device called a gloss meter.

Durability is another parameter that each batch of latex paint is subjected to, and the testing process involves measured abrasion. A test brush is charged with an abrasive liquid, then the brush is drawn over a painted surface by machine. The number of strokes are counted to determine if the paint meets durability standards. Only after passing these quality control tests and final filtration is a given batch of paint released for packaging.

Teaching Clients About Sheens

Paint choice is about more than just choosing colour. You also need to educate your clients on the basics of sheen. As a professional painter you’ll know this stuff, but all that most clients know about paint is colour. Be sure to mention the basics of sheen before paint is chosen and mixed.
Flat sheen: Hides imperfections best. Ideal for ceilings, too.
Gloss: Maximum durability, but requires a near-perfect surface.
Once upon a time, flat paints wore out easily. Not so today, but the reputation endures. Today’s best flat paints are at least as durable as the glosses of yesteryear. Be sure your clients understand this.

How to Choose Latex Colours

Optical testing equipment is a big part of what happens in the paint testing labs and it’s sophisticated enough these days that this equipment can identify colour variations beyond with the human eye can detect. This technology can also help you to help your clients choose paint colour better. Most people think the whole issue of colour choice is nothing but personal opinion, but there’s actually math behind colour choice. In the same way there’s math behind different pitches of sound that seem pleasant or irritating, the same applies to colour. Couple this fact with the ability to precisely measure the wavelength of different colours electronically, and you’ve got a powerful tool for helping people choose paint colours that please them.

The electronic technology involved in all this is called a spectrophotometry, and it’s like a super-sensitive colour picking eye ball. There are two kinds of spectrophotometers: hand-held and desktop.

Hand-held spectrophotometers are showing up in more and more paint stores. Interior designers use them and so do a growing number of painters.

Hand-held spectrophotometers are showing up in more and more paint stores. Interior designers use them and so do a growing number of painters. Hold the device up to a coloured surface, press a button and the device tells you a couple of things. First, it finds the closest colour match from a given brand-specific fan deck to match the surface you’re working with. Second, a hand-held spectrophotometer also makes mathematical suggestions about complimentary colours. Sounds crazy? You should try it. It’s amazing how accurately these little devices identify specific colours in a fan deck. I’ve never seen a hand-held spectrophotometer make a mistake identifying a colour chip. Complimentary colours usually look great, too. A spectrophotometer in your pocket can go a long way to helping indecisive clients make paint colour choices.

Why Paint Choice Matters

As a professional painter, you’re only as good as the paint you apply.
This fact isn’t entirely fair, but it’s true because most clients judge the painter by results, not paint chemistry. So if a job fails to live up to expectations because of bad paint, this is probably going to come back and bite you in some way. How can you protect yourself? Choosing 100% acrylic latex paints and primers when the budget allows is one way. Not all latex paint is 100% acrylic because it’s the most expensive option. Acrylic resins cost manufacturers twice as much as vinyl resins, so typical house paints are a blend of 20% acrylic and 80% vinyl. Advantages of 100% acrylic include better hiding, better washability and more resistance to cracking, peeling and flaking. Never let a tightwad client force you to use paint that won’t work well. If anything goes wrong, it’ll be your headache.

Most paint suppliers these days have desktop spectrophotometers and they can do more than hand-held versions. Although they measure the colour of a given material precisely and can suggest specific colours from a fan deck, desktop spectrophotometers can also provide recipes for custom colours. Need to match existing trim, fabric or a neighbouring wall? You won’t do better than bringing a sample of the surface to a paint store and having it analyzed and reproduced. You’ll get suggestions about complimentary colours, if you want, but more useful is the ability to match colours. Leading edge desktop spectrophotometers can create custom colours based on nothing more than a quick look at a piece of fabric, wood or metal.

You don’t need to know how latex paint is made or the leading edge methods for choosing colours to be a good painter. But the public sees you as more than just an applier of paint. The more you can do to boost your guru status the more you’ll win better and more profitable projects.

Durability is another parameter that each batch of latex paint is subjected to, and the testing process involves measured abrasion. A test brush is charged with an abrasive liquid, then the brush is drawn over a painted surface by machine.

The post Latex Lessons first appeared on Professional Painter Magazine.

Patching Old Nail and Screw Holes

The key to invisible repair here is something call dimpling. Grab the handle with your fist, with the rounded end of the handle pointing towards the wall. Give the nail hole three or four good hits with the end of the handle to create a dimpled depression in the drywall. This creates a place for a critical mass of spackle to sit, harden securely and get sanded later. Less obvious but more important is the way dimpling drives down any loose paper fibers around the nail hole. Nothing will be sticking up above the wall surface when you’ve pounded a nail hole properly, and that’s what you need.

Next, open your tub of spackle, dip into the compound with the corner of your drywall knife, then smear the spackle into the hole. Swipe some on generously at first, followed by removal of most of the excess with a second or third swipe of your drywall knife. The ideal result has the whole dimpled area filled, with the level of spackle slightly higher than the surrounding wall.

When the spackle feels dry, gently start sanding the area with your 80-grit sanding sponge held flat to the wall. If you run into gummy or moist looking compound, stop sanding.

You need to let the patched zone dry more. As you sand, use a circular motion over the patched area, extending out beyond it. The aim is not just to smooth the dry spackle, but also to ease the transition between the patched zone and surrounding wall. There’s nothing as effective as a bright light shining at a shallow angle across the wall to highlight areas that need more sanding. Don’t get lazy and forget the light. When you’ve finished with the 80-grit sponge, repeat the process with the 120-grit to make the area smooth. As long as you used a spackle that’s ready to paint after it dries, no primer is necessary.

Fixing Drywall Screw Pops

There are four steps to this job: removal of all existing drywall compound over the screw head; tightening the screw with a hand-held screwdriver; filling the space over the screw with spackling compound; then sanding the hardened spackle with a sanding sponge.

The tip of a utility knife with the blade pulled in is an excellent tool for picking out compound from screw pops. Clean old compound from the Phillips head of the screw, then tighten the screw so the head sits just below the surrounding drywall surface. At this stage you should have a smooth, slightly recessed screw head with frazzle-free dry- wall around it. Now’s the time to get out your drywall knife and your tub of spackle, then swipe a coat of filler into the slight depression. Apply enough to fill the space, with the compound sitting slightly higher than the surrounding wall – just like you did with the nail hole repair.

Leave the compound to dry, then take your 80-grit sanding sponge and rub the area with circular motions to smooth and level it. This work doesn’t take much pressure, but it does take a good eye. You want to sand enough to make the patched area flat, but not so much that it starts to become dished again. Use a hand-held light when sanding.

Fixing Holes as Big as a Walnut

Removing big wall anchors can sometimes leave ugly, gaping holes, and so can impacts from door knobs and over- enthusiastically propelled kids’ toys. Frazzled edges of the paper around the edges of the hole poses the first challenge, and you’ll need to do some surgery with your utility knife to fix the problem. Break off the tip of your blade if it’s not sharp, then make a circular cut that encompasses the entire damaged area.

Apply enough pressure on the knife to go right through the paper in one pass. Lift one corner of the paper with the tip of your knife, grab it with your fingers, then pull the paper off, ideally in one, donut-shaped piece. The objective is to create a smooth, frazzle-free transition where the undamaged paper meets the area of wall damage. If any paper frazzles are present, they’ll stick up and remain visible after filling. That’s why cutting the paper cleanly is key.

Now’s the time to fill the clean cavity you’ve created, and setting type compounds are the thing to use. These come as a powder that you mix with water into a paste. Once the water has been added, the paste gets hard by chemical reaction. How long does it take? That depends on the product you’ve chosen, but cure time is generally 45 to 90 minutes. Some setting type compounds are meant to be sanded after they’re hard, and others are unsandable. Sandable compounds are better because they can be smoothed with your sanding sponge before going on to the final filling step with spackle. Add water slowly to the powder until the mixed consistency is similar to spackle, then use your drywall knife to smear the setting compound into the cavity. Smooth it over so there’s no excess above the surface, then let it harden. This is not the final filling stage, only the first of two stages.

Next, apply spackle so it’s fairly smooth and a tiny bit higher than the surrounding wall – just like you did before.

When the spackle has dried, sand the area with circular motions of your sanding sponge, making sure the area of patching feathers away to nothing as it meets surrounding drywall. Start with the 80-grit sponge and finish with the 120-grit.

Repairing Holes Bigger Than a Walnut

When drywall holes are big, the initial coat of filler you apply will just flop out. This is when adding strips of wood to form a backing becomes necessary before filling.

Start the repair process using the same method of cutting frazzled paper from the perimeter of the hole and remove loose chunks of drywall in the middle of the damage zone. Next, use drywall screws to secure strips of wood behind the hole. These can be 1/2” thick plywood or strips of 3/4” soft- wood. Overall width of about 1 1/2” works well. Just use a handsaw to cut the strips 3” or 4” longer than needed to span the opening, extending at least 1” into areas of drywall with undisturbed paper above them. Use a single drywall screw to secure each end of each strip. Keep adding strips like this until you have the space covered, with about 1/4” of space between each strip. You won’t be able to hold the last strip with your fingers, so drive a single screw part way into the middle of the strip as a handle, move the strip into position into the last remaining area of the hole while holding onto this screw, anchor both ends of the strip with two more dry- wall screws, then remove your handle screw.

Fill the area using setting type compound like before. For repair areas larger than a grapefruit, you’ll find it easier to spread the compound using a 12” plasterer’s trowel, not your drywall knife. The plasterer’s trowel is longer and better able to create smooth, wave-free results. If any significant craters remain after this initial filling, you may need to apply setting compound again, followed by a coat of spackle and sanding. Smooth the surface with circular motions from a sanding block, feathering the edges of the repair zone seam- lessly with the surrounding wall.

Fix Small Cracks Fast
Drywall joints often develop non-expanding cracks, and latex caulking is the easiest way to fix them. Scrape off any loose paint around the crack, then smear in some latex caulking with your finger. Scrape off all caulking that’s on the surface of the wall, let the remaining caulking dry, then paint.[/notice]

Basic Wall Patching Tool Kit

Every painter needs a wall prep kit that contains these essentials:

Utility knife:
You’ll use this to slice drywall paper and loose bits of drywall away from areas of damage. My favourite type of utility knife for wall patching uses the widest type of segmented blades.

Drywall knife:
A 4” model is best and it’s important that you keep your drywall knives clean and polished so they slide over the spackling compound smoothly.

Wall patching compound:
There are many different kinds available, but my current favorite needs no priming
before painting.

Couple of sanding sponges:
Sanding sponges come in different grades and I keep two types in my own kit: an 80-grit and a 120-grit.[/textblock]

The post How To Patch Drywall first appeared on Professional Painter Magazine.

Empowering people to fill this community need is what we’re doing.” The motto of the not-for-profit venture “paint it forward”, and is in its earliest stages right now. When it’s all set up the Fisherman’s Project will use online video training, hands-on teaching sessions and an apprenticeship model to help the community help itself. So what’s with the name? Rolnick explains: “We call it the Fisherman’s Project from that old saying: Give a person a fish and feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish and feed them for a lifetime.” Email martyrolnick@gmail.com for more information.

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