CAL Painters & Decorators

If you read my blogs regularly you will know that I am a stickler for good preparation and workmanship.  This is most certainly the case with one of our most valuable tools – the humble paintbrush.

Brushes should be cleaned immediately after you have stopped painting.  If possible wipe as much excess paint from the brush onto rags or newspaper.

Some decorators leave their brushes in a bucket of cold water.  By far the better method for brushes which have been using water-based paints is to pop them under a tap running slightly warm.  Ideally add a little Fairy Liquid or similar.

If you have been using oil based paints, put on a pair of household rubber gloves and pour some white spirit into a paint kettle or bowl. Dip the brush in and work the white spirit into the bristles well. Then repeat in clean white spirit until the liquid remains fairly clear.

I am always interested in the many different shades of colours and constantly on the lookout for new tones.

Recently I came across a fascinating blog from Ingid Sundberg.  Ingrid is a children’s book illustrator.  She found simple words like blue or red didn’t encapsulate the shades she was visualising so she began collecting words associated with different tones of colour.

From this she has developed a fantastic infographic chart to identify the multitude of colours of the rainbow, grouped into major colours such as yellow or green.

There are some pretty surprising things to find.  For instance, I always thought ‘mustard’ and ‘Dijon mustard’ tasted pretty similar.  However, they have a subtly different appearance according to Ingrid’s chart.

Also she defines ‘lemonade’ as a shade of pink rather than the perhaps more obvious yellow.  And wait until you see the different shades of black she has identified!

Follow this link to view Ingrid’s complete thesaurus of colour:

http://ingridsundberg.com/2014/02/04/the-color-thesaurus/

This is a public blog so I assume we can use the link?  Also if you could lift one or two of the charts it would look really good.

I spotted a recent report that claimed homeowners in the UK are expected to spend around £35bn to upgrade their homes by the end of the year.

It might be a sign of the current political and economic uncertainty in this country or the sheer expense of moving home. 

Whatever the reasons, six out of ten British households will be spending money on home improvement and upgrade projects.

The findings are contained in a report by DigitalBridge who estimate an average cost of £1,500 for each individual project.

The majority of people (62%) intend repapering or painting walls.  The rooms that are targeted the most are the kitchen (25%), bathroom (24%) and bedroom (23%).

Of course not everyone is an expert painter and decorator.  If you are planning refurbishments this year why not get an expert in to do the job properly?

My company, CAL Painting and Decorating, have been carrying out high quality work in Gloucestershire since 2001.  Why not give me a ring on 01452 540067 for a free, no obligation quotation.

I was fascinated to read of a new education programme launched by paint manufacturer PPG in partnership with the National Space Academy.  Their aim is to inspire young people to consider working in the space-sector or other related Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers.

Schools local to PPG’s manufacturing facility in Birstall were invited to taster sessions which explored the key role colour plays in space exploration.  The pupils conducted experiments including ‘How to Survive Re-entry’ where they designed thermal protection units to explain how spacecraft withstand high temperatures at high speeds.

The classes are aimed at school years six to nine and will feature practical experiments to help explain why certain colours are used most frequently in space projects.  One, for instance, is called ‘Why are NASA’s Rockets Painted White?’

There was nothing like this when I was at school and I find it all a bit exciting.

Getting back down to earth, I am still busily engaged in painting things that don’t travel at hundreds of miles an hour.  Do give me a call for all your painting and decorating needs in the Gloucester area.  I’ll give you a free quotation and hope to achieve lift off.

When it comes to external paint I have no hesitation in recommending the Dulux Weathershield masonry range.  For my money (and more importantly yours) they are the most resistant to the vagaries of our UK weather and they also make complimentary products for woodwork and metal.

Here’s a brief rundown of some of their Weathershield products:

•    Weathershield Smooth Masonry Paint.  This has a unique high performance resin that Dulux claim gives “total protection” against all types of extreme weather conditions for 15 years.  It is quick drying and they claim it is rainproof within 30 minutes of application.  Available in 20 different colours.

•    Weathershield Exterior High Gloss.  This is ideal for external woodwork and comes in 10 colours.  It gives a fantastic high gloss finish and has a weatherproof guarantee for 10 years.  In addition it is mould proof to prevent unsightly staining.