Giving your home a facelift does mean making a worthwhile investment. When you're painting yourself, you don't want to cut any corners, but you do want to make sure you aren't wasting any money.
These practical tips will ensure that you use what you buy, which means more bang for your buck and an eco-friendly paint job. The bottom line? Leave no drop behind.
BLEND OLD PAINT
One way we sometimes help clients save money in a practical way is by re-using leftover paint. For example, if a WOW 1 DAY PAINTING team is painting the interior of a garage and the clients have no color preference, mixing similar shades of old paint together is perfectly acceptable. You'll often get a nice taupe or slate grey out of the deal, freshen up the room for less in the process. But be sure to mix the same kinds of paint - oil with oil, latex with latex!
TINT PAINT
On a similar note, if you have a residual can of Aquamarine Dream, you can quickly transform it into Nautical Navy with a few drops of color. Tinting this way can create the perfect hue for a complementary feature wall a few shades darker than the original color.
MAKE YOUR OWN PAINT
Some crafty folks have actually started making their own paint. Homemade house paints are a mix of a starchy binding ingredient and clay for pigment. They work best on interior walls because they're not water resistant - although they can be coated with a glaze of linseed oil that mimics commercially-produced water repellent. For a recipe on how to make your own clay paint, go to www.motherearthliving.com.
Because it's made-to-order, you can manufacture the exact amount you require. It's less wasteful and eco-friendly!
MORE TIPS TO STOP WASTING PAINT AND SAVE MONEY
Finally, there are some simple rules any painter can follow to ensure minimal waste:
- Squeeze rollers with a roller squeegee. You'll be surprised by how much paint is hiding in there!
- Measure the walls you're planning on painting. An expert can then tell you how much paint will cover them.
- Stir old paint before you throw it away. Sometimes it can be revived, though if it's smelly, it's probably rotten.
- Label your paint. By marking down the purchase date, you can decide if it's too old to use or not.
- Pour carefully (of course)!
- Clean the groove in the lid. If you don?t, paint drippings will glue the lid shut...forever.
- Keep a strainer handy. If dirt or dust drops into the can, simply strain the paint and pour it into a fresh can. Don't throw it all away!