Search

Brad the Painter is reader-supported. As an Amazon Associate I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. This costs you nothing extra.

Painting Tips

We are not your normal painting company: we are giving away our secrets. I'm near retirement age, and I like blogging more than painting, so here are some painting tips that your painter won't tell you.
brad

Hi, I am Brad (The Painter!).
I am a professional painter for over 30 years, and I am now passing on tips and trade secrets to you.

Painting Tips

Brad the painter applying primer on a wall

Quick Primer on Primers for All Situations

This is the shortest possible post you’ll find explaining any primer for every situation.

Key point: don’t buy budget primer (or paint). I like Ben Moore and Sherwin Williams, but BM is better in my opinion.

For all cases, put on your topcoat of paint within a day of priming, or as the window on your primer specifies.

movie screen paint wall

How to Apply Movie Projector Screen Paint

Some important tips, then the list of things to plan for and to shop for, then the complete how-to steps for painting a movie projector screen on any wall. I read other sites on applying this paint. Rookies.

brush strokes can look nice

How to Avoid Brush Marks

If you eliminate or minimize brush strokes or brush marks and roller marks for that matter, your paint job will look much better. It almost looks like you know what you’re doing.

Painting Concrete Floor

Painting Concrete Floor? The Complete Guide

The biggest cause of painting concrete failure (not bonding, delamination, bubbling, etc.), is poor prep. We will explained how to paint concrete floors step by step. With links to the all-important concrete prep (testing, to etch or now, cleaning, rinsing, etc).

Concrete Paint – Top Picks and 5 Key Planning Points

What concrete paint to put on your floor depends on your comfort with the look and lifespan. Some customers of ours are very picky and want a perfect high-gloss epoxy and others just want a budget facelift. We also link you to every topic you need to consider: from cleaning to cleanup.

moisture test on concrete floor before painting

Concrete Testing: Moisture Tests & Alkalinity Test

Here are the main methods for concrete testing: several for moisture and one for alkalinity. If you have any doubt, do these tests before painting concrete. Most of these you can do yourself, but what you need a professional for is discussed as well.

Making white wood stain from oak boards

Painting Stained Trim: Modern Look Sells Homes Quicker

Painting stained trim and painting varnished wood trim is very do-able, but the sequence is a bit time-consuming. The one “must” is deglossing, and using a quality primer. Doing it yourself will likely save you many hundreds of clams.

walls recently touch up with paint

How to Touch Up Paint in 4 Steps

Learning how to touch up paint takes experience. But don’t worry, we’ll hold your hand through these steps. In decades of painting, we’ve done it a few times.

paint resistant mold

Mold Resistant Paint (with 6 Easy Steps to Paint Over Mold)

Mold resistant paint does not kill mold! But you can relax, the process of stopping mold is very do-able. A little elbow grease, a little mold killing primer (the good stuff) and you are ready to paint. Whew. I’m glad I stopped you from just painting over that mold!

drywall ready for primer

Best Drywall Primer & 4 Simple Steps for Priming

Here is my research and a few tips from my experience with newly constructed walls. The best drywall primer is not necessarily the most expensive primer. For new walls (with no stains or imperfections etc) you do not need a stain-blocker or a hole-filler. Here is my recommendation for the best primers for new drywall, and my steps of application.

Old Plaster Walls Ready for Painting

Painting Plaster Walls in 5 Easy Steps

Painting plaster walls is not at all difficult.  If your house is old, it will have plaster, sometimes called ‘horsehair plaster’ on the walls. The old workers used the tail hair from horses to mix in with the plaster to give it strength.

worker hanfing on rope

Preparing Walls for Painting Efficiently

For re-painting walls, below you’ll find all the steps you need for preparing walls for painting, from before you start up to the finished product. We will review all the potential problems you might encounter.

Painting a Wall

How to Paint a Wall? Big Tip: Skip the Tape, You Will Thank Me!

How to Paint a Wall? Let me count the ways. Ok, here is the short version: you will see all over the internet all these people telling you how to use tape, and how to clean the walls, brush first, etc etc. Well, they clearly read the manual written by someone who read a manual, but in practice, you just jump in. It’s just not brain surgery.

For Canadian Painters Only

My time living and working in Canada has always been great.  One problem for a painter though: painters in the US mostly use a 5-gallon bucket, a screen, and a 9-inch roller frame/cage.  Why is that?  It’s fast man.   Nobody ever stepped in a big bucket! Well, not as far as you know.

Clean Up Tips

Painting Questions