Arkansas Best Painters- Ken Rader Interiors "How to use a Paint Brush"

ARKANSAS BEST PAINTERS- KEN RADER INTERIORS L.L.C. CLICK ON THE BANNER AND VISIT OUR WEB SITE! How to use a Paint Brush. By: Ken Rader- Painter and Decorator with Ken Rader Interiors Perhaps you have been struggling with using a paint brush. No matter how hard you try you just can't seem to get a good straight line without getting paint on the trim or ceiling. FRUSTRATION! There are 3 essential things needed that will ensure a professional looking paint job using a paint brush. 1. A quality paint brush. This should be the best paint brush you can buy. The filaments should be Nylon or a combination of Nylon and Polyester. A nylon brush of 2 1/2" wide with a sash cut, ( that is an angled brush). The more high quality the brush the thinner the filaments or bristles. Cheaper brushes have thicker bristles and are much more difficult to use. The higher quality brush will have lots and lots of filaments or bristles. This is important because the bristles do not absorb the paint. Rather, the paint is trapped between the bristles and then as the brush is stroked, the paint is released. Thinner bristles also lay down a thinner film of paint which results in a straighter line with very little paint pushed onto surfaces you do not want painted. With this high quality brush you have the right tool and now you need to know how to use the tool. This is what I call "The Feather Touch". You must apply just enough pressure on the brush to allow the bristles to fan out. This will cause the leading edge of the brush to be only one or two layers of bristles to touch the line that you are wanting to paint to. Here are some pictures of what I am talking about. 2. The second essential is high quality paint. High Quality Paint has premium ingredients such as Acrylic and Titanium. The higher quality paints also have better grades of these and other ingredients which results in a smother transfer of the paint from the brush to the surface you are painting. Acrylic makes the paint slick and Titanium makes the paint stick. A word of caution. Some premium paints are thinner than others. I recommend a thicker paint for the DIY'ers. The thicker paint will not run or sag, and you will need all the help you can get starting out, so " buy the thicker paint". You may have to shop around for the brand that you are comfortable using. Case in point: Sherwin Williams has a product called 'Pro Classic". It is the paint of choice for many professional painters. It flows beautifully and shows very few brush marks. However, it is a very thin paint and so you can only put on a very thin layer of paint at a time. It will sag and it will run and it will drip. The problem is that it will not set up fast enough before gravity influences it and so" here come the sags and runs". So, I opt for Behr Paint. I know, many a professional painter will not use Behr. But for the Home Owner that wants to do their own painting it is wonderful. It is thicker and will not spatter, run or sag and it will make any paint job look great. I am a professional Painter and I have used all of the Paints available in my area. At this time we use only Behr paint. Not that the others are not good as well, it is just the best product for us and we have learned how to paint with it. That will be the case with any paint you choose. You will need to learn how to paint with it, how it covers, how fast it dries, does it show brush marks, etc. 3. That brings us to the third essential necessary for a good job. BECOME AN ARTIST! That's right, an artist. There is a measure of learning involved with painting. If you only paint once every 2 or 3 years then you will not be as good as the person that paints once a month. Also, if you project is a large one you will notice that the last painting of the project is better than the painting you started with. That's called "A learning curve". Remember, you are trying to develop the "Feather touch". Notice how I hold the brush in the pictures. You want as few bristles following along your paint line as possible. Keep the brush feathered out. With time you will learn how much paint to put in the brush and how much pressure to apply to transfer the paint to the surface. Also keep in mind that you will always need to paint 2 coats. Even with premium paint this will be necessary. Well, what do you think? Are you ready to give it a try? Start with quality tools and products and you will well on your way to a successful paint job. Some of you may want to use masking tape until you develop you brushing skills. We have posted articles that show and tell you how to use the tape as well as the kind you should purchase. It is a good read so look it up. KEN RADER INTERIORS L.L.C. IS PROUD TO OFFER THIS INFORMATION. WE OFFER ARTICLES ABOUT PAINTING AND DECORATING FOR YOUR EDUCATION AND ENJOYMENT. And this time “ How to search the Web”. WE ARE PROFESSIONAL PAINTERS AND DECORATORS IN FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS. WE OFFER PAINTING AND DECORATING SERVICES THROUGHOUT NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. FOR ALL OF YOUR PAINTING NEEDS CALL US AT (479) 443-3686 EMAIL US AT kennethrader@att.net and be sure and visit our web page at http://www.kenraderinteriors.com AS ALWAYS “HAPPY PAINTING AND DECORATING!”