Get All Of Your Home Painting & Decorating Questions Answered Here ...For FREE!

 If You Can't Find The Answers You Need, Then All You Have to Do Is Send Me An Email And I Will Answer Them For You A.S.A.P!

Hello Budding Painters!

My name is David Walmsley & welcome to the Ask The Painter Now site.

When it comes to painting, there is nothing more satisfying than transforming something that was old and drab into a fabulous masterpiece that even Michelangelo would be proud of. Home owners have been doing this for years and often with great success.

However, if you're new to painting, or aren't sure on how to paint using the basic steps needed for a great job, then occasionally those success stories are achieved only after a lot of pain, stress and cost, which was not only unnecessary but, can easily be avoided when equipped with the right knowledge and a little bit of planning.

Let me ask you a question!

What makes a good coat of paint last?

The simple answer is good surface preparation, quality paint products and having good application techniques.

As a skilled painter, and with much practice I have learnt how to walk into any house or building and tell you in about 5 seconds flat, whether the owner or a professional last painted the room. Even if it is a very good DIY job, there are always tell signs.

Why? Well it's because a professional paints very differently to someone who doesn't do it for a living. We achieve a very different result and can guarantee our work for up to 10 years because we have equipped ourselves with the right knowledge and found out how to do it properly.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that only a painter can paint or that all the information out there is wrong because it hasn't been written by people who were qualified painters. That would be nothing short of arrogant and even ignorant of me.

In fact what I am saying is quite the opposite. There are plenty of DIY tips and great painting articles and advice out there, but the problem is that they are scattered far and wide across the web making the task of researching your answers a real fiasco. Then even when you do find this information, how do you know if the person who wrote these articles actually knows what they are talking about or if it's really going to solve your painting problems or just create another headache for you?

More often than not it is very difficult trying to find easy and quick solutions to any problem, let alone something like a painting problem. It can often be frustrating and very time consuming to say the least. I know because before setting up this site I was searching the web and realized how little there was available in quality information out there for people wanting quick and easy answers to their painting questions.

A lot of articles I found were misleading and not entirely true if you want your painting experience to be a good one. And if you want the paint that you apply to last you 10 years between coats (which any good painting job should) then you need to do it right the first time by using the right techniques and preparation.

After all this searching around on the web, my conclusion was that a serious "painting brain dumping session" into one location would make life so much easier for people who were searching for good informative painting solutions that would actually solve their problems.

But it couldn't be just any type of information, it had to be quality, practical, painting advice from a qualified Painter & Decorator. Techniques and tips from someone who has been there and actually done it for a living and knows exactly what the situation requires. So hey-presto www.askthepainternow.com was born. Now on this site you will find exactly what we have just talked about -  Trade Qualified solutions for all your Painting & Decorating needs.

Over time I am going to be writing down all of my years of knowledge and experience into a nice and easy format, with quick, easy references that will not only answer all of your questions, but provide you with easy and simple instructions that you can follow to make your whole painting experience a pleasurable one.

This is a site where the Do It Yourself community can come and find a solution to any painting problem they have and if you can't find it, well then all you have to do is email me at dave@askthepainternow.com and let me know what you need an answer for.

So what is my experience with Painting and Decorating? Well prior to starting this website I began back in 1996 as an apprentice painter. After completing my Trade Qualifications I became a Foreman for a short while, before taking on a role in the same company as Project Manager before leaving and working for myself.

During the time I have been painting I have seen some truly amazing features & designs, which I will talk about on this website and will help give you many fantastic ideas about how to make your home or project a work of art!

The best part about being a painter is the fantastic houses and buildings you get to not only see but leave your mark on as well. I love looking at fantastic housing designs and great architecture and will quite happily drool over a good home design magazine for hours. I know you're probably thinking "He doesn't get out much", but honestly I love these things. My personal favourites are Bathroom and Kitchen magazines.

Apart from looking at them, I have actually painted some truly amazing designs that almost make you feel like you are in a 5 star resort (nope, that picture is not one of them, just one I downloaded off the internet! But it sure looks nice). Just simple ideas like a "ragged effect" or a "suede effect" finished off with a protective coating that takes a plain and ordinary room and transforms it into something fantastic and exciting.

By reading through the articles on this site you can learn all that you will need to know about taking any ordinary room or project you want and then transforming it into a fabulous talking point that you can proudly show off when you next have guests over. I'm sure it will have them thinking that you have just spent thousands of dollars on a professional painter but in fact has just been you hard at work in your own home and for a fraction of the cost.

There are many common painting DIY pitfalls, that are easy to fall into, which will make your job difficult & generally they can easily be avoided with some planning & the right knowledge

Most mistakes that people make fall into a few simple categories which I have summed up below but will cover in greater detail under the correct categories.

Bad Surface Preparation - I'm not sure what it is that makes most of us fall into one of these two categories. Either we feel that we must strip an item back to absolute bare which in nearly all cases is completely unnecessary, or else we decide we have a major aversion to sandpaper and surface preparation tools so we go ahead and just paint it, wondering later why all sorts of abnormalities are occurring to our paint job and why it just wont stick to the surface.

Bad Application Techniques - Not having the right techniques to start with will result in all sorts of problems and head aches even to the best of us. If you haven't first learnt a thing or two about how to apply the paint, then you can certainly expect lots of nasty surprises like sagging, running, ropie paint, the paint not covering, hard time cutting in, poor quality finish, streaking,  or even causing yourself more work repainting surfaces because you have messed up and many more.

Wrong Products - Applying the wrong products to your surfaces can open a whole can of worms on your quick and easy weekend renovation. A simple mistake that can cause your bathroom ceiling to grow lots of mould and start flaking off, or your walls to be disgusting within a few weeks and impossible to clean or even paint that simply refuses to hold to the surface and starts peeling off. There are many problems that can occur from using the wrong type of paint for a certain job.

The message I want to get across is that painting doesn't have to be stressful, hard or a bad experience. With the right knowledge and a bit of planning you will easily be able to transform your home or painting project into a work of art that you can be proud of.

Painting is easy and anyone who takes the time to learn how, can do it properly without the headaches and trauma. So I hope you find all the information you need to make your painting project turn out even better than you expected it to and if you can't find the answer then just drop me an email.

Good Luck & Happy Painting!

 Link Directory - Site Submit Link -

© 2009 www.askthepainternow.com  Disclaimer