How to Properly Use Paint Brushes
Cleaning
When using oil or epoxy paints, it sometimes becomes a hassle to clean out your brush or roller at the end of the day if you are going to use it again in the morning. A good suggestion and a time saver is to wrap the roller or brush in tin foil or plastic and then put it into the freezer, or in a place where the temperature is below 40 °F or 5 °C. In the morning you can then pull the items out, bring them back to room temperature, and start using them again. This suggestion is only for oil or epoxy paints however. Please do not do this if you are using latex based paints. Depending on the grade of the latex paint, the paint might ‘get’ around the brush or roller making them completely useless. You would have to throw them away because at that point you wouldn’t even be able to clean them. The best practice for latex paints is just to clean the brush or roller at the end of the day. It is possible to store catalyzed epoxy if it is sealed and left in an area that is less than 40 °F or 5 °C; it will not harden, but must be brought back to room temperature before using it again.
Synthetic vs. Natural
Do I have your attention? Good because this will help you save your brushes from disasters. Natural bristled brushes should only be used in oil or epoxy based paints. If you try and use them with latex based paints, the natural bristles will absorb the water. This will make the brush’s bristles swell and become useless as it will not hold the shape of a proper brush anymore. On the other hand, synthetic brushes can be used for latex or oil paints. They can either be cleaned with water or with mineral spirits. One thing that will destroy a synthetic brush is leaving it standing up on their bristles. It will cause the tips of the bristles to curl, which will ruin the brush and render it useless.
Orange Peel Effect on Smooth Walls
Smooth walls can often suffer from the orange peel effect. This is caused by too many coats of paint on a wall. When this happens and the wall is patched and sanded smooth, the smooth part is very visible when looking at the wall. You will have to make the surface of the patch look like there was no patch there. This means adding a little texture to the wall where the patch is. This can be done by either dabbing your almost dry brush over the surface, or rolling over it a few times with an almost dry roller. This will give the effect of having a little stipple on that part of the wall. Sometimes, depending on the severity of the orange peel, you might have to do it again and again.
