How To Cut In Walls and Ceilings When Painting A Room

Homeowners always ask me how to cut in walls and ceilings when painting a room. It’s really not that hard, and once you learn how to work the bristles of the brush you’ll be cutting in walls and ceilings, and painting trim like a pro.

calvert painting raleigh brushThe technique starts with forming the bristles of the brush into a blade by brushing on a section of the wall.

You want to try and keep the bristles flat and with enough paint in and on the brush for spreading you can do it.

calvert painting raleigh brush cutWhen you’re cutting in think of all corners, no matter how large or small, as little 90 degree angles. Whether cutting in the top of baseboard trim, the edge of door trim, the ceiling, when you dissect it down to it’s simplest form all you’re doing a resting the “bladed” bristles into a corner and pulling down, or in some cases across.

As you can see in the picture I’m only using a small portion of the formed bristles, in the corner, and sort of “whisking” my way down. Some people might find it easier to use an “angled” brush and that’s okay, just get the bristles flat. Don’t sit and play with it and peck, go long on the strokes, or as long as you can. You’ll get the hang of it.

Once you get a section “cut,” as you move along go back and brush out. This will allow enough room for rolling the rest of the walls.

calvert painting brusing out calvert painting brushed out2

calvert painting raleigh corner cutWhen I’m training new workers I always have them start in the corners of the room and work those 90 degree angles. Once they learn that I move them to brushing around windows and doors before moving up to cutting in the ceilings. By the time they get to the ceilings they have it down.

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How To Treat and Prevent Rust

I don’t think you’ll ever get rid of it completely, but this how to treat and prevent rust.

Take a wire brush or a finishing sander and clean off the rust as best you can until you get down to the orange core of the rust at the bottom. Brush away the powered rust residue and treat the surface with a liquid rust converter. This will turn the rust black, or back into a quasi metal (rust converter).

Then, what I do, is apply 1-3 coats of Rustoleum’s Rusty Metal Primer, and then apply 1-2 coats of Rustoleum’s Satin Finish. The more coats the better protection.

calvert painting rust prep calvert painting rust finished
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Refinishing Custom Wood Kitchen Cabinets

calvert painting raleigh cabinets
When refinishing custom wood kitchen cabinets you want to restore them with something extremely durable.

My search for the polyurethane I used to refinish my kitchen table came to an end when I discovered the manufacturer and the “unfinished” furniture store I bought it from both went out of business, so I ended up at Rockwood Ready To Finish Furniture Store in Durham.

calvert painting raleigh stain

 

Once inside and carrying a cabinet door, the owners took me through a quick demo of the General Finishes (brush on) Wipe On Gel Stains and Old Masters Gel Polyurethane. That was it.

I sanded the water stains out of the wood with 80 grit sandpaper and then smoothed with 100 grit. Then I took a small cheap throw-a-way paint brush and applied the gel stain in small area’s, because when you try to do a large section at one time the stain will set up too fast. Then I rubbed and wiped off the stain with paper towel, let dry and repeated with the gel poly. Great stuff!

calvert painting raleigh cabinet door2 calvert painting raleigh cabinet door 2

Thanks Vicki and Wade.

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How To Never Get Poison Ivy Again!!

If you’re like me you get eaten up in Poison Ivy. Working around homes, shank a golf ball into the woods, camping, somewhere it’s going to surface, so this is how to never get poison ivy again.

Tecnu Original Outdoor Poison Ivy Skin Cleanser by Tec Labs is the absolute real deal. It looks like milk but spreads on like suntan lotion, and what it does is completely neutralize and remove the rash causing oil,  Urushiol.

I always apply to my skin 15-20 minutes pre-shower and let it sit, then wash in mildly warm water. My skin usually feels a little oily after, but I never break out after using this.

Save yourself the ITCH! There is nothing like it. Check out Tec Labs website for more information and testimonials.

Tec Labs

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The Absolute Best Hand Cleaner On Earth!

Cupran Special Skin CleanserCupran Special is a medium to heavy hand cleanser made by Stoko Skin Care products. It will remove oil-based paints, lacquers, stains, adhesives, tar, and asphalt. It is the absolute best hand cleaner on earth.

As a concentrate it has the consistency of tooth paste, and the all-natural walnut shell scrubbers make it feel like it has sand in it.

I have personally used this stuff with a tire scrubber and water to remove spilled oil base paint from brick, roofing tar caulk and oil-based paint from my hands, grease, etc. It re-defines “clean up with soap and water” leaving your hands daisy fresh.

When you try it you will not believe it. The only hand cleanser you will ever need. Absolutely amazing.

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