DIY Painting

The book I read to research this post was DIY Painting for Dummies by Patricia Hart McMillan which is an excellent book which I bought from Amazon. If you are painting a whole room it's best to do the ceiling & floor first as if you do them afterwards you are liable to splash paint on the walls. It's also easy to cover the floor with a cover whilst painting. If you are repairing small holes in the walls before painting it's worth bearing in mind you may have to make them bigger with a hammer & chisel as the more plaster you apply the better it adheres. With wooden window frames you need to paint them to waterproof them & you must repair any damage first & then sand them before applying paint. If you are painting a kitchen or bathroom use a high gloss paint as it's easier to clean. If you have a lot of painting to do consider getting a paint pod it makes painting easier & also practically cleans itself. If you are painting concrete floors you clean it with TSP & water then wearing goggles & gloves clean it with etching acid - 10 parts water to 1 part acid. Either muriatic acid for alkyd paint or phosphoric acid for latex paint. Consider adding non-slip silicate to the paint to prevent it being slippery.