Painting brick, whether it’s the whole exterior of a house or just a fireplace is a big decision and in many cases a permanent one. Painting brick is one of the most controversial topics in home repair, and painted brick is notoriously difficult and often times impossible to completely strip of paint. My goal with […]
That’s an interesting question that I don’t think old home owners ask as often as they should. Is stripping paint necessary? It seems simple, right? But the answer is a bit more nuanced. Is it always necessary to strip paint before repainting. No. Will painting on bare wood always yield a better result? Yes. Now […]
Don’t you get annoyed when you see a section of chipped paint repainted but you can still see the damage? This simple method will ensure your paint chip repairs blend in seamlessly with the surrounding areas never to be seen again. The best news is it is simple and uses inexpensive products.
No one likes to strip paint. Sure we love the end result, but it’s grueling, exhausting work that can be dangerous (lead paint anyone?) or messier than all get out (chemical strippers). As a restorer of historic windows I’m well acquainted with all the trials and tribulations of paint removal. I’ve tried all the tools […]
These next couple weeks I’ve partnered with Natalie Yon-Eriksson of Earth & Flax to bring you some great content on old school paints and coatings that have been making a resurgence recently. This week we’ll be talking about Linseed Oil Paints. I have just started experimenting with linseed oil paints lately and so Natalie was […]
Fall is by far the best time to paint a house in most locations. The cooler, drier weather allows the paint to cure properly and also makes the work more enjoyable rather than suffering through the summer heat or spring showers. Keeping your house painted is the best way to keep issues like rot or […]
We are working on an exterior restoration project right now where the client wants to remove all the original paint from the siding and trim. So, that means chemical paint strippers because infrared is too slow and hand scraping is too exhausting for a whole building. Dumond was nice enough to send us one of […]
“Should I use oil or latex paint?” It’s a question I get asked a lot. Oil vs latex, the two paints are very different, and each has their strengths and weaknesses. In this post, I’ll try to help you figure out when and where each type of paint will excel so you can make the […]
Peeling paint is never a good thing, and in an old house, one of the most typical places you’ll find peeling paint is on your windows. But if you knew what caused this incessant peeling, you could stop it in its tracks. That’s what I’ll help you do today! The picture above is from a […]
Last week I talked about how to properly test for lead paint. While testing for lead paint is an important start, simply knowing if there is lead or not won’t do much to protect you. You need to know how to safely renovate in a house with lead paint. I’ll cover important principles of dust […]
This is the last post in our 3 part series on how to strip paint. In the first one, I talked about working with chemical strippers and when and how to use them. Last week, we delved into the world of elbow grease and talked about how to scrape like a pro. This week, I […]
This may be the least exciting method of paint removal, but I have found it to be one of the best ways to remove decades of old paint quickly and cleanly. If you can learn how to strip paint without chemicals or heat, your prep/clean up time can be significantly reduced. In this post, I’ll show […]
