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Learn how to paint like a pro and pick up some great tips for achieving a perfectly smooth and even paint job.
So let me start by saying I do not enjoy painting. Not even a little. Due to our high ceilings, we had
Try one of these home improvement tutorials that we found on Pinterest and you can do yourself.
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Secret Trick To Getting Scratches Out Of Wood Wood is a beautiful and timeless material that can add warmth and elegance to any home. However, scratches on wooden furniture, floors, or other surfaces can be
After painting most of our 1970's fixer upper by myself, I've learned a few things about paint these past few years. So, I thought it might be useful to share some of my favorite painting tips with you. These are my top 10 paint secrets that will save you time, money, and just make any paint job a whole lot easier. Enjoy! #1. For easy cleanup use tinfoil on your paint tray. I went through about 20 paint trays before I ever figured this trick out. The next time you need you paint something, cover your paint tray with a layer of tinfoil before you pour the paint in the tray. When you're done, just remove the foil and throw it away. Your paint tray won't have a drop of paint on it and will still be good as new. You'll never have to wash another paint tray. High five on that one. #2. Use a paint pour lid on paint cans. Pouring your paint straight from the gallon into a paint tray can be really messy. So, before you ruin your fancy socks, go get a paint pour lid. They're about $2 here (affiliate link), and will make your life so much easier. Not only does it make the painting process quicker and cleaner, but since the lid is airtight, it makes your paint last so much longer. #3. Use vinegar and hot water to clean your paintbrushes. I wasted a lot of money having to buy new paintbrushes before I figured this out. I fill a small bowl with 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 hot tap water and soak my paintbrushes after each use for about 30 minutes. If your brush is in really bad shape, bring some vinegar to a boil and soak your brush in that for a few minutes. Wash it with some soap and water afterwards, and your brush will look like new. In the below picture, the left brush was just soaked in water, and the right brush was soaked in vinegar and hot water. To see the rest of my vinegar cleaning secrets, go here. #4. Use mineral spirits to clean oil based paint off brushes. The vinegar trick won't work too well if you're using oil based paints or topcoats. Instead, try using mineral spirits to clean your brushes. I threw away so many brushes after using them to put topcoats on furniture. Now that I know about mineral spirits, I can reuse the same nice brush over and over. My favorite is Klean Strip (affiliate link) because it's super effective, but has a way less toxic odor than other brands I've tried. #5. Buy a paint sample before buying the gallon. I know how it feels....you're in the store, looking at a million paint chips with funny names. You're not totally sure about the color, but you don't want to have to come back to the store. I know. I get it. However, it pays to buy the paint sample and take it home to test it on your wall. As tempting as it is just to take the plunge, it's never fun to realize after you get home that you just invested in a gallon of paint that makes your wall look like a banana. So take it from me. Buy the sample and test the color on your walls first. For my best tips on how to choose a paint color, go here. #6. Make your own chalk paint. I love chalk paint and I use it often. It's a great time saver, as it's a type of paint that adheres really well, and saves you from having to prime or prep if you don't want to. I make my own version by using plain interior paint mixed with Plaster of Paris (affiliate link). You can find Plaster of Paris at Home Depot or Lowe's and it's really cheap. All you do is mix 5 tablespoons of Plaster of Paris with 2 cups of paint and 2 tablespoons of water. Just combine ingredients and stir well. It may even be a little lumpy, but that's okay. Once you brush it on, it evens out. I used my chalk paint recipe on my all time favorite thrift store furniture transformation here. And if you don't want to make your own chalk paint, feel free to just buy this stuff because it works, too. #7. Use the correct type of clear coat finish. This is something I wish I had known when I first started painting furniture, as I ended up having to redo several pieces due to using the wrong clear coat. For most furniture paint projects these days, I use Polycrylic (affiliate link) as my top coat. It gives me the durable finish I want, but doesn't yellow over time like Polyurethane will. I definitely painted a few pieces back in the day and watched my pretty white paint turn yellow because I used Polyurethane instead of Polycrylic. Also, I like Polycrylic because it cleans up with water. You'll have to use mineral spirits for Polyurethane. #8. Make any color paint into fabric paint. You can get fabric 'textile medium' at most craft stores (I like the Anita's brand). You just mix it with any color acrylic paint and it instantly turns it into fabric paint. I'm totally obsessed with it. #9. Try Rub n Buff or a Silver Leafing Pen to update metallic accents. I love silver spray paint and have used it on tons of stuff, but I've found that for small items, Rub 'n Buff and the Krylon silver leaf pen (affiliate links) do a much better job. You can see some of my Rub n Buff projects here and here. #10. ORB it. When we first moved into our house, I didn't have the money to replace all of our doorknobs, hinges, and cabinet hardware. They were all mismatched and outdated, and it drove me crazy. So, after a few months, I eventually decided to take the plunge and try spray painting everything. And luckily, it was a total success. I used the Rustoleum oil rubbed bronze (affiliate link) for all of our doorknobs, and it's held up perfectly every since. See the doorknob before and afters here. And those are my top 10 paint secrets! Thank you guys so much for being here. I appreciate it so much! For related posts, check out the following: 10 Painting Tips & Tricks Part Two 10 Painting Tips & Tricks Part Three 10 Spray Paint Secrets 'Til next time! 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How to trick your brain into being more productive with your everyday life? Learn how to achieve it with 5-minute tasks+get a free printable!
Because they work with some small spaces!
Learn how to paint like a pro and pick up some great tips for achieving a perfectly smooth and even paint job.
After sharing my paint secrets last month, I was so excited to find out how much ya'll loved them! Your enthusiasm reminded me that many of you are still learning just like I am....and I love that. I thought I would share a few more tips today, and hopefully answer a few questions that I frequently receive from readers. Some of these you might know, some you might not. Maybe you'll even have a few lightbulb moments like I did when I figured this stuff out. So, here are my 10 paint secrets...round two! #1: Make a paint chip key ring I recently made my own paint chip key ring, and it's so useful! I wish I would have done this long ago! It's just a simple key ring with all of my paint colors and paint names attached. It really comes in handy when I'm out shopping for fabric, furniture, or decorative accents like pillows, etc. To make this, I used the paint chips from all my wall colors, a key ring, and some key tags. You can find the key tags in the key department of most home improvement stores or here (Amazon affiliate link). I cut out a small square off the paint chip, glued it to one side of the tag, and wrote the name of the paint color and room it goes in on the back of the tag. I have it in my purse and take it with me whenever I go out. You could also do this with popsicle sticks, or even just laminate little pieces of the paint chips and hole punch them. *To see the paint colors we used in our house, go here. #2. How to choose a paint finish When you've never painted anything before, that first time to the hardware store is a doozy. Paint comes in a bunch of finishes and it can be really confusing when it comes to which one you're supposed to get for which project. So, after years of using different paint all over my house and my furniture, here's what type of paint I usually get for different projects: Flat paint: use for walls in living rooms, bedrooms, ceilings, or furniture Eggshell: use for walls in hallways, dining rooms, kitchens Satin: use for walls in bathrooms, or furniture Semi-gloss: use for windows, trim, doors, and cabinetry #3. Use Tack Cloth I love tack cloth. A lot. Have you ever sanded down your furniture or wooden trim before painting it and then ended up with a million bits of fuzz and dust in your paint job? It can be so frustrating to paint a piece so perfectly and find out after it's dried that there is a giant tumbleweed stuck right on top. Tack cloth is the solution for that. It's basically like a kinda sticky rag that doesn't get it's stickiness anywhere. You just wipe down the surface of whatever you're painting and it picks up everything. I use it on every single piece of furniture that I paint. #4. Furniture touch up pens These things are definitely on my list of awesome inventions. I am well known around these parts for being heavy handed with a vacuum cleaner and scratching up the legs of all our furniture. Plus, Tootie and Cheese take care of the rest of the furniture with their claws. Once a month or so, I go around the house with one of these Minwax pens and color in the scratches. I have an espresso one for our couch legs, and a black one for our desk and table. You can find these here (Amazon affiliate link). #5. Save time with artist brushes While I usually take the time to remove outlet covers, etc., sometimes (if you're like me), you've painted for endless months by yourself and you just run out of steam. This can save you some time, and the brushes are so small that you can really paint a small very precise area. I've done it in a couple rooms, and it truly looks like I took the outlet cover off. Not only does this tip work for outlets, but it works for doorknobs and hinges, and for touching up small knicks and marks on your walls, too. #6. Prime before painting wood I painted a lot of furniture before I learned about primer. It was the MOST annoying learning lesson I've endured yet, as most of those pieces ended up having to be redone. I'm sure it's common knowledge to any of you seasoned furniture painters, but for those of you just starting out (like I was a few years ago!), hopefully this tip will save you from the trauma of peeling furniture. Hopefully by now, we all know that you're supposed to sand furniture before painting it. However, unless you sand it down like you have the arms of a powerlifter, your paint won't last forever. This is where primer comes in. If you prime wood before painting, it makes your paint adhere like crazy. Even if you don't sand, primer will still make your paint stick. Ideally, when painting furniture, you would sand and prime. However, if you're short on time, if your piece is already painted, or if it's laminate, you can skip the sanding and just prime, and your paint job will look great and last for a long time. So, the moral of this story is PRIME IT. See how I paint furniture from start to finish here. #7. Wax it. When it comes to finishing furniture, wax is my favorite method. After painting tons of pieces, I've discovered that my favorite method is to sand, prime, use flat paint, and finish with wax. If the piece needs to be really durable (like a table or desk), I'll use polycrylic, but if it's just a normal piece that won't be put through a lot, I love the way a flat paint with wax finish looks. Wax isn't as durable, but it looks amazing. All you do is apply it with a rag, rub it on over the paint, let it dry and then buff it with the same rag. I used wax here, and it looks fantastic. My favorite finishing wax is the Minwax paste finishing wax in clear. It can be found here (Amazon affiliate link). #8. Cheap Sources for Paint Cans Did you know you can get empty paint cans of all different sizes at Home Depot for just a few bucks? The gallon cans are about $4 and the quart cans are about $2. This may be common knowledge, but I for one was super excited to discover a bunch of empty paint cans for that cheap. I mix and blend a lot of my own paint colors, as well as make my own chalk paint, so this comes in handy often. And there's all sorts of other things you could use them for, too! Just think of all the crafts and organizing ideas you could come up with using these. #9. Gloss spray paint I'm obviously a huge fan of all types of spray paint. However, my personal fave is high gloss spray paint when it comes to coating small accessories or ceramics. The only problem is that not every spray paint color is sold in a high gloss finish. But did you know that you can buy whatever color spray paint you want in a flat finish and then get a can of clear gloss? It instantly gives anything a glossy, factory-like finish. It's amazing. #10. My favorite gold spray paint There are a million gold spray paints out there, but they are not made equal. Don't get me wrong, they all work just fine. However, if you're looking for that certain gold color that is super trendy right now, yet always classic, my go-to gold spray paint is Rustoleum Metallic Gold. I'm using it on several projects as we speak. You can find this spray paint here (Amazon affiliate link). And that's all ya'll! Thank you so much for stopping by today! For related posts, please check out the following: Part 1 Part 3 10 Thrift Store Furniture Makeovers 10 Thrift Store Shopping Secrets Follow my blog with Follow my blog on or or Subscribe to LiveLoveDIY with email! Enter your email address: -->
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After sharing my paint secrets last month, I was so excited to find out how much ya'll loved them! Your enthusiasm reminded me that many of you are still learning just like I am....and I love that. I thought I would share a few more tips today, and hopefully answer a few questions that I frequently receive from readers. Some of these you might know, some you might not. Maybe you'll even have a few lightbulb moments like I did when I figured this stuff out. So, here are my 10 paint secrets...round two! #1: Make a paint chip key ring I recently made my own paint chip key ring, and it's so useful! I wish I would have done this long ago! It's just a simple key ring with all of my paint colors and paint names attached. It really comes in handy when I'm out shopping for fabric, furniture, or decorative accents like pillows, etc. To make this, I used the paint chips from all my wall colors, a key ring, and some key tags. You can find the key tags in the key department of most home improvement stores or here (Amazon affiliate link). I cut out a small square off the paint chip, glued it to one side of the tag, and wrote the name of the paint color and room it goes in on the back of the tag. I have it in my purse and take it with me whenever I go out. You could also do this with popsicle sticks, or even just laminate little pieces of the paint chips and hole punch them. *To see the paint colors we used in our house, go here. #2. How to choose a paint finish When you've never painted anything before, that first time to the hardware store is a doozy. Paint comes in a bunch of finishes and it can be really confusing when it comes to which one you're supposed to get for which project. So, after years of using different paint all over my house and my furniture, here's what type of paint I usually get for different projects: Flat paint: use for walls in living rooms, bedrooms, ceilings, or furniture Eggshell: use for walls in hallways, dining rooms, kitchens Satin: use for walls in bathrooms, or furniture Semi-gloss: use for windows, trim, doors, and cabinetry #3. Use Tack Cloth I love tack cloth. A lot. Have you ever sanded down your furniture or wooden trim before painting it and then ended up with a million bits of fuzz and dust in your paint job? It can be so frustrating to paint a piece so perfectly and find out after it's dried that there is a giant tumbleweed stuck right on top. Tack cloth is the solution for that. It's basically like a kinda sticky rag that doesn't get it's stickiness anywhere. You just wipe down the surface of whatever you're painting and it picks up everything. I use it on every single piece of furniture that I paint. #4. Furniture touch up pens These things are definitely on my list of awesome inventions. I am well known around these parts for being heavy handed with a vacuum cleaner and scratching up the legs of all our furniture. Plus, Tootie and Cheese take care of the rest of the furniture with their claws. Once a month or so, I go around the house with one of these Minwax pens and color in the scratches. I have an espresso one for our couch legs, and a black one for our desk and table. You can find these here (Amazon affiliate link). #5. Save time with artist brushes While I usually take the time to remove outlet covers, etc., sometimes (if you're like me), you've painted for endless months by yourself and you just run out of steam. This can save you some time, and the brushes are so small that you can really paint a small very precise area. I've done it in a couple rooms, and it truly looks like I took the outlet cover off. Not only does this tip work for outlets, but it works for doorknobs and hinges, and for touching up small knicks and marks on your walls, too. #6. Prime before painting wood I painted a lot of furniture before I learned about primer. It was the MOST annoying learning lesson I've endured yet, as most of those pieces ended up having to be redone. I'm sure it's common knowledge to any of you seasoned furniture painters, but for those of you just starting out (like I was a few years ago!), hopefully this tip will save you from the trauma of peeling furniture. Hopefully by now, we all know that you're supposed to sand furniture before painting it. However, unless you sand it down like you have the arms of a powerlifter, your paint won't last forever. This is where primer comes in. If you prime wood before painting, it makes your paint adhere like crazy. Even if you don't sand, primer will still make your paint stick. Ideally, when painting furniture, you would sand and prime. However, if you're short on time, if your piece is already painted, or if it's laminate, you can skip the sanding and just prime, and your paint job will look great and last for a long time. So, the moral of this story is PRIME IT. See how I paint furniture from start to finish here. #7. Wax it. When it comes to finishing furniture, wax is my favorite method. After painting tons of pieces, I've discovered that my favorite method is to sand, prime, use flat paint, and finish with wax. If the piece needs to be really durable (like a table or desk), I'll use polycrylic, but if it's just a normal piece that won't be put through a lot, I love the way a flat paint with wax finish looks. Wax isn't as durable, but it looks amazing. All you do is apply it with a rag, rub it on over the paint, let it dry and then buff it with the same rag. I used wax here, and it looks fantastic. My favorite finishing wax is the Minwax paste finishing wax in clear. It can be found here (Amazon affiliate link). #8. Cheap Sources for Paint Cans Did you know you can get empty paint cans of all different sizes at Home Depot for just a few bucks? The gallon cans are about $4 and the quart cans are about $2. This may be common knowledge, but I for one was super excited to discover a bunch of empty paint cans for that cheap. I mix and blend a lot of my own paint colors, as well as make my own chalk paint, so this comes in handy often. And there's all sorts of other things you could use them for, too! Just think of all the crafts and organizing ideas you could come up with using these. #9. Gloss spray paint I'm obviously a huge fan of all types of spray paint. However, my personal fave is high gloss spray paint when it comes to coating small accessories or ceramics. The only problem is that not every spray paint color is sold in a high gloss finish. But did you know that you can buy whatever color spray paint you want in a flat finish and then get a can of clear gloss? It instantly gives anything a glossy, factory-like finish. It's amazing. #10. My favorite gold spray paint There are a million gold spray paints out there, but they are not made equal. Don't get me wrong, they all work just fine. However, if you're looking for that certain gold color that is super trendy right now, yet always classic, my go-to gold spray paint is Rustoleum Metallic Gold. I'm using it on several projects as we speak. You can find this spray paint here (Amazon affiliate link). And that's all ya'll! Thank you so much for stopping by today! For related posts, please check out the following: Part 1 Part 3 10 Thrift Store Furniture Makeovers 10 Thrift Store Shopping Secrets Follow my blog with Follow my blog on or or Subscribe to LiveLoveDIY with email! Enter your email address: -->
The ultimate roundup of quick tricks
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As I mentioned on Friday I have been painting a lot (see my last powder room post HERE). And it always amazes me how much of a difference a fresh coat of paint makes. It was about time in our powder room. You really don’t need a ton of money to make a room look clean...
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Hi everyone, This past week has been super busy but so fun! I celebrated the 4th of July, went through my summer favorites, finished up my new tutorial on waterproof makeup, and even got to spend a relaxing night in. Here’s a little glimpse at my busy week: Got in the 4th of July spirit …
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