How to Fix Household Scratches with a Paint Brush

Grab your paintbrush!

Let's face it: using paint to cover up dings and scratches around the house doesn't exactly sound like advanced home improvement work. But the fact remains that you probably didn't learn how to use a paint brush properly in school, unless you were making watercolors! Using a paint brush around the house can be a very useful skill, particularly if you notice that there are areas of your home that can be fixed with a little "cosmetic surgery." So how do you become an ace surgeon? Simple. Keep reading.

When it comes to using a paint brush around the home, you might hear that it's "instinctive." Don't believe it. It might seem instinctive to people with a lot of home improvement experience, but unless you learn the proper techniques, you could end up wondering why your paint jobs look so different from everyone else's. With that in mind, here are some crucial tips and techniques to remember:

"Load" the brush effectively. When you start painting (by the way, you made sure to cover surrounding areas, right?), you'll first have to "load" the brush with paint, which simply refers to dipping the paint brush into a bucket or puddle of paint so that you can apply it to the surface you want. There are some things to keep in mind here: first, only load the paint on the brush up to about a third on the bristles. Don't "scrape" the brushes on the side of the paint can, instead tapping it out to get rid of some of the dripping. Scraping the brush will lead to less paint being used on each application.
As you apply the paint, try to work from side to side, starting on the left if you're right-handed, and vice versa for lefties. Try to cover the corners first so that you don't have to worry about them; one handy trick to remember is to have the dark edges cover the lighter-colored edges. This is because covering a dark edge with a light edge can mean that the dark coat of paint underneath shows, and it won't look very attractive.

Now that you've got a better understanding of how household paint works, you should find it easier to do the right job the first time. This means you won't have to worry about a poor paint job after your most recent coat dries. Remember that home improvement starts with self-improvement!

Photo Credits: FFX © florbelas fotographix

Originally posted 2009-10-05 03:59:58.

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Handyman, How to Fix, paint

Posted by Fix Handyman on March 11, 2010 in Handyman, How to Fix, paint. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.