You all saw the B&A of my dining room/living room project, right? Well, that took several good days of painting. Over the years, I’ve become pretty savvy with a brush and roller. Here are a couple tricks I use every time…and a big awesome tip I just learned.
Trick #1
Yes, I know paint tray liners are only a couple bucks. But I always seem to be out right before I start a project. And the last thing I want to do when I’m rearing to slap the paint on the walls is make ANOTHER run to the hardware store. So I don’t. Instead, line your tray with foil you already have in your kitchen. It works great and crumples up really small…so it saves space in the trash can too.
Trick #2
I used to wash my brush out every time I stepped away. Dried paint in a brush or roller is a sure fire way to wreck it. But the problem I ran into was…when I was ready to paint again the brush would still be wet. Now, instead of washing them between coats or if a job gets interrupted {usually for a fro-yo run…} I wrap my roller in cling wrap and my brush in a sandwich baggie. It works great and saves you a washing. This will keep your brush moist even over night.
Who can spot the difference here?
Well, besides being two totally different images, it’s pretty obvious that the difference is that there is paint slopped all over the glass on the left. I made this mistake while painting my built in hutches. Don’t be like me. Do this instead:
Trick #3
After applying your tape, run an old debit card down the edge to seal the bond. I taped off the glass panes of my hutches…but as you can see from the photo above, taping alone can still leave a messy edge. On my windows I sealed the tape {photo above right}. I couldn’t even believe how crisp the line was. And this tip isn’t just for glass…it works with any surface.
Overall this is the trick that saved me the most time. Going back and gently scraping the messy edge of the hutches took an hour of meticulous work. Boo for that!
I hope this tricks come in handy for you. What tricks to you use when you paint? I’d love to hear them!
This thrifty list is partying at Home Stories, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, and these other great parties.
Amy
