Category: Home Painting

While porcelain tiles are nonabsorbent and fairly stain resistant, the grout which encircles the tiles isn’t. Grout is a porous, cement based product which may absorb water, and therefore stains, even if not sealed from them. After grout has dried and cured for at least 72 hours after installation, it may be sealed using a clear, impregnating sealer which will help impede staining and give you more time to clean up spills. Seal your grout no matter how old it is to help prevent new stains from forming.

Sweep the floor to get rid of any dust or debris from the grout. If the grout is old, clean it well with a grout cleaner and scrub brush to remove any surface dirt which could be sealed into the grout. Let the grout dry completely.

Carefully paint the sealer onto the grout using a paintbrush. Be careful to only saturate the grout using the sealer, not the porcelain tiles. If some sealer does get on the porcelain, wipe it away immediately with a soft fabric.

Let the sealer penetrate the grout for about 10 minutes. If this is the first time you have sealed the grout, apply another coat of sealer at the moment. When the second coat has penetrated, wipe away the excess grout using a lint-free fabric. Continue buffing the grout along with the tiles until they feel dry and not tacky to the touch. The sealer will heal within 24 hours; avoid washing the tiles till that time has passed.

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Your deck provides a dry and comfy location for entertaining and enjoying the outdoors. With proper maintenance, a wood deck will endure for decades without cracking or deteriorating. Sealant plays a large part in shielding the deck from sunlight, moisture and mildew damage. Resealing your deck correctly will ensure that it looks its very best.

Stripping and Cleaning

To reseal a deck coated with a sealant product, you must get rid of any leftover sealant and thoroughly clean out the wood before applying a new coat. Chemical strippers and cleaners work much better than mechanical processes like sanding or usage of steel wool for eliminating both old sealant and grime because they won’t gouge the wood or leave metal residue that cause rust stripes. Should you use a pressure sprayer to remove tough dirt or leaf stains, then keep the water moving, and use a cleaner in precisely the exact same time to reduce damage to the wood.

Weather Conditions

The sealant will not dry correctly if temperatures are too low. Any temperate weeks when temperatures remain above 50 degrees Fahrenheit work well for sealing your deck. Implementing a sealant in chilly weather slows down the drying process, allowing any debris or dust which falls on the deck to stick in the sealant. Rain and snow also ruin the sealing process and will require you to start over from scratch. Early fall is an excellent time for resealing in most areas, but you ought to hang a tarp to keep falling leaves off until the deck dries.

Reseal Early

When you see fractures or lightening on the surface of your deck, damage has already been done, and resealing will only stop additional harm. Reseal your deck onto a yearly basis unless you decide on a product using a multiple-year warranty. The highest-quality deck sealants do not last over a year in ponds with near constant rain. Test the deck by massaging it with water. If the water beads up and does not soak into the wood within a couple of minutes, your deck is still correctly sealed.

Pick the Right Product

Most deck sealing products use oils for a base because the wood of your deck absorbs oil easily. However, these oils also encourage mold and mildew growth by feeding them. Oil-based sealants do not protect the wood from UV (ultraviolet) harm which turns most forests gray after a couple of years. Clear sheeting deck sealers cost more and require you to clean out the deck well prior to application, but the extra benefits they offer outweigh those issues for homeowners who want to keep the pure colour of their deck.

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Old wood might have layers of paint or varnish you will need to remove before you can paint. Should you leave these layers independently and simply paint them over, you will get uneven surfaces. Appropriate preparation before painting old wood makes it possible to achieve professional results from a do-it-yourself project.

Scraping

Old wood might have areas where the paint has peeled off the surface. To prevent the loose paint from inducing new paint to flake, you need to use a hook scraper, putty knife or sanding instrument to remove the loose paint. When the old wood surface is coated with several layers of varnish and paint and you’d rather remove all of them, you can scrape the layers down to bare wood.

Patching

The old wood may have holes, gaps or deep scratches from the many years of use. You can hide these imperfections so they don’t show once you complete painting. Wood epoxy fills any depressions in exterior and interior timber to raise them to the degree of the rest of the surface. Employ as much timber epoxy as necessary to increase the depressions slightly higher than the remainder of the surface to permit for sanding.

Sanding and Cleaning

Sanding supplies a surface that is even enough to look great after painting and rough enough for new paint to adhere to it. Sand the old wood until the end seems dull. Sanding creates dust, which might make it hard for new paint to stick. Therefore, you should wash out the old wood surface with a mixture of 1 cup bleach, 1 cup trisodium phosphate (TSP) and two gallons water. Allow the wood air-dry until you apply primer. Cleaning kills any mould and mildew in the old wood. Avoid using a power washer to minimize damage to the timber.

Primer

Before painting, apply primer into the old wood surface, while it is indoors or outside. Primer helps paint stick and enhances the coverage, which means that you can dramatically alter the color of the old wood if you would like to. Using alkyd primer also helps the wood last longer since it contains preservative resins. You need to permit the primer to dry thoroughly before applying paint to your old timber surface.

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Old cans of interior paint may stay usable for many years if they have been kept tightly sealed and stored away from freezing temperatures. Evaluation old paint stirring it well, then brushing it on to old newspapers. If there are lumps in the paint, it is no longer good and ought to be discarded.

Paint’s Shelf Life

The shelf life of paint depends on the kind and whether the paint container was opened. Solvent-based oil or alkyd paints can stay usable for up to 15 years when they were not opened and always kept away from temperature extremes. Water-based latex and acrylic paints can stay good for up to 10 years if not opened and kept from freezing. Leftover paints that have been opened ought to be closed tightly, stored in a cool, dry place and used within two years.

Paint Gone Bad

Paints normally separate into solids and liquid during long-term storage. If you can stir the solids smoothly back into the liquid, then you can most likely use stored paints. However, if the solids have hardened on the bottom of the can and won’t mix with the liquid, then the paint is spoiled and should be discarded. Other indications that older paint has spoiled include a foul odor when the can is opened and visible mold and mildew in the paint.

Touch Ups or Undercoat

If the paints have been in colors you have in your property, keep them for touch ups and repainting of badly soiled areas. If you’ve got small quantities of many different colors, either move the paints into small containers and label them mix the leftovers collectively by paint type and utilize them as an undercoat at a future painting job. If you’ve got a lot of gallons of very good paint you don’t want anymore, provide it to friends, neighbors or relatives. Or contribute the good paint into a charity that does house renovations for needy families.

Paint Disposal

If you can’t use the previous paints give them off, repaint acrylic and latex paints with kitty litter before throwing them off. Mix one part paint and 2 components clay-based kitty mess and stir well. The paint should solidify in about an hour. For undesirable alkyd and oil-based paints, please consult your state or local environmental protection officials for dates and locations of hazardous waste collections.

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Transform humdrum, everyday objects by painting them with a faux antique bronze finish. From lamp bases to planters, bookends into light-switch covers, this effortless technique produces a fascinating look of depth. Length of metallic paint in various colors are blended over a base coat, then darkened with a glaze to generate the aged effect. For an even more stunning look, try this complete on bigger projects like a metal bed frame, mantelpiece or focal point wall.

Prepare the surface by cleaning it to remove surface dirt. You do not have to remove the finish unless it’s waxy, greasy or peeling. Surface imperfections add credibility and interest for this faux painting design, so only a light sanding is needed.

Paint the thing using a primer right into the surface. If you’re painting on a slick surface like laminate or metal, use a bonding primer that will adhere nicely. Permit the primer to dry.

Paint the primed surface with glowing golden latex paint, using a brush or roller right into the dimensions of your job. Make sure the surface is completely covered; allow it to dry overnight.

Apply layers of contrasting metallic paint softly pouncing using a clean cotton rag. Dip the rag into crimson metallic paint and lightly dab the paint onto the outside, softening the edges and leaving some regions untouched. Repeat with copper metallic paint, hitting the regions untouched by the red paint and allowing a few copper to float with the red. Finish with a light coating of gold paint, using the rag to add highlights and soften red or copper areas that look overly strong. Permit the surface to dry to the touch.

Prepare a glaze by mixing black latex paint with glazing medium, after the product directions for proportions. You are able to add some brown paint, such as burnt umber, to create a darker coloured glaze. The glaze with a family paintbrush, working in sections. Immediately wipe the glaze off with a clean cotton rag, leaving the darkened weathered along edges and in cracks and crevices in the surface. Repeat on adjacent sections, feathering the edges to prevent a distinct overlap. If you’d like a darker look, employ a second glaze coating after the first has dried to the touch. Permit the glazed piece to dry for 24 hours.

Coat the surface with clear varnish or polyurethane, if desired, to add additional protection. Utilize a matte or non-gloss finish for a more authentic look. Permit the coating to cure for 24 to 72 hours, or according to product directions.

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Wax provides great protection for your floor if it is completed with a penetrating sealer, and it can make polyurethane, lacquer and shellac finishes additional shiny when it is fresh. Wax never actually hardens, though, and sooner or later it’ll collect enough dirt to cloud the finish. Moreover, it eventually turns yellow. The solution will be to strip the wax and then apply a fresh coat. This really is a job for a solvent that dissolves wax without affecting the finish, and the National Wood Flooring Association recommends absorbent mineral spirits. Get a few knee pads, since the job involves scrubbing.

Moisten a cloth with mineral spirits, which can be accessible at any hardware store. Rub down a small area of the ground — a place of about two feet square will be all about the right size. Rub with the grain of the wood.

Rearrange the cloth once it becomes filled with wax to reveal a clean portion of it. Moisten the cloth with more mineral spirits and keep rubbing. Continue in this manner until you’ve completed the first part of floor.

Moisten a clean cloth with more mineral spirits and rub the area you just washed. Look at the cloth; if it is yellow, then clean the whole section again. Repeat until a clean fabric stays clean once you rub the area.

Go over the area once again with a pad of 0000 steel wool moistened with mineral spirits. The steel wool will remove wax residue from the timber grain. If the ground has a V-groove, work the steel wool into the groove to remove wax from that point.

Mop the floor with hot water once you’ve stripped all of the wax, then dry the ground with a rag. Do not leave any standing water — it can hurt the finish.

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A water ring to a hardwood table doesn’t need to signal the end of the table’s life. Accidents happen; a stray teapot or a coffee cup can lead to a white ring which may appear to defy removal. Water rings can often be repaired with regular household items, and you don’t need to be a house handyman. There is no need to toss it out; keep your table from the landfill and also in your house.

Clean the surface of the table using a damp cloth and permit it to dry. Make certain there’s no dust, dirt or deposits on the table surface.

Cover the ring with a clean, plain white 100 percent cotton T-shirt. Lay it flat above the ring, then covering the entire ring. Don’t use a shirt with words or pictures because the colours or ink may bleed through and damage the table. A top notch with polyester content may also discolor the tabletop.

Set your steam iron into the atmosphere just below cotton and let it come up to temperature. Typically, the lights on your iron stop flashing when it is at fever, but to be sure, check the iron operation manual. If your iron doesn’t create a constant stream of steam, then get accustomed to the steam burst attribute and practice using the burst until you can create a pretty constant steam. Make sure that the water heater is complete once you initiate the ring removal; this method uses a lot of steam.

Hold the iron above the T-shirt over the ring. Maintain the iron 1/4 inch over the shirt and permit the steam to penetrate through the top for about 30 seconds. Move the iron about; don’t stop in any 1 location. Don’t set the iron on the T-shirt. Use bursts of steam close together if your iron doesn’t create a constant flow.

Set your iron to the side and permit the T-shirt to trendy. Boost the shirt and examine the ring. If it is still visible, replace the shirt above the ring.

Examine the water reservoir, fill it if required and let the iron come back up to temperature.

Steam the ring a second time. Let the shirt cool before lifting to test. Repeat the procedure if necessary.

Allow the table surface to cool completely before applying any furniture shine if that is part of your table care.

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Among the most damaging forces on the surface of the earth is really a cute little pup. When they are teething, anything that they could reach with their mouth is decent game. The wood rungs on your preferred antique chair appear to get a special appeal to these creatures. Unfortunately, chair rungs are vulnerable to a number of different hazards. Age, accidents or heavy loads can damage or dislodge these significant structural members, turning a piece of furniture to a potential hazard. Replacing a broken rung is simple once you find a tightly matching replacement.

Remove any remaining portion of the aged rung. On old seats, in which the glue is dried and fractured, you may be able to twist the rung out of the socket by hand. If the rung is broken at the surface of the the adhesive is protected, you will need to catch some tools.

Cut the end of the rung about 1/4 inch over the surface of both chair legs. This small amount of space prevents damage to the legs from the tooth.

Pick a drill bit that is about three-fourths of the diameter of the rung and insert it to a drill. Employing a bit that is slightly smaller than the finished diameter of the hole prevents you from accidentally expanding the hole. This could hurt the leg or stop the replacement rung from fitting properly.

Drill the middle part of the rung out of the socket.

Remove the remaining fragments of the rung from the socket with a chisel. Utilize a small chisel to pare the remaining pieces out of the hole. Work carefully. Don’t hurt the walls of the socket.

Soften and remove any excess adhesive. Old glue provides an extremely poor bonding surface to get new adhesive. Removing old glue with sandpaper alone could be a lengthy, tedious process as it quickly loads and glazes the sandpaper. Pour hot water to each socket allow it to soak for a minimum of 10 minutes to soften the old adhesive.

Remove as much of the softened adhesive as possible with a chisel or small screwdriver.

Allow the sockets dry for at least 24 hours. Even hardwood will consume a little bit of water and swell when dampened. Allowing the outlets to dry and return to their original size provides a better, longer-lasting fit for the brand new rung.

Sand the inside of each socket with 100-grit sandpaper. This eliminates the remaining glue and also roughens the inside of the socket to provide a good gluing surface.

Sand each end of the replacement rung lightly. Sand only as much of the rung as will be concealed when it’s put in place.

Apply a light coat of glue to each end of the replacement rung.

Insert the ends of the rung completely into the leg sockets.

Wipe any excess adhesive off the brand new joints with a damp cloth.

Put a bar clamp to the outside of the legs to apply pressure at each end of the rung. Leave the clamp in place for at least 24 hours.

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Tea staining gives cloth and paper a gently aged patina without spending a fortune or taking much time. It also changes the expression of a lampshade without introducing harsh chemicals to your property. This method doesn’t work on every kind of fabric or newspaper, so begin with a lampshade made of cotton, linen, or newspaper that’s sturdy enough to handle a little bit of fluid.

Attract 4 or so cups of water to a boil. You’re going to decrease this fluid, therefore begin with more than you believe you need. If you want to begin with more than 4 cups, add another tea bag for each additional cup of water.

Put 4 tea bags to the boiling water and give them a stir. Black tea works best for an antique golden appearance.

Allow the tea steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard them.

Pull the tea into a very low simmer and let it cook for 20 to thirty minutes. Let it cool for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Place a drop cloth over your work surface to catch drips and spills.

Set your lampshade on a bottle or vase to keep it upright without having to break it on the table. This also allows you to turn the lampshade without demanding it.

Dip your sponge brush to the low tea and blot off the excess on the edge of the grass. Paint the lampshade in even vertical strips.

Even out the places where the brush strokes overlap using a clean, dry shop cloth or old white T-shirt if necessary. A clean, dry staining sponge also works for this.

Allow the tea stain dry completely before deciding in the event that you will need a second coat, since it dissolves darker than as it goes on.

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Unlike solid wood flooring boards, engineered boards have just a hardwood veneer, but if the floor is stained, the flooring is fundamentally the same. Pet urine is particularly pernicious, together with the capability to generate unsightly black or white rings or stains. A combination of peroxide and baking soda can remove these.

Bleach Stains With Peroxide

Peroxide is a type of bleach, and although more powerful concentrations are more successful, the peroxide you keep in your medicine cabinet will do the job. To leach out the stain, put a paper towel and spray on the towel with peroxide. The towel should be moist, but not soaked. Leave it on the stain for many hours, then spraying it for more peroxide when it dries out.

Absorb Stains With Baking Soda

Following the peroxide therapy, you will need something to absorb the moisture from the floor and remove the stain, and baking soda is an perfect candidate for your job. It not only consumes, but it also deodorizes. Sprinkle it on the stain after you have removed the paper towel; let it dry immediately, and vacuum it away from the floor. If the first peroxide/baking soda treatment does not deal with the stain, it might take a few more repetitions.

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