DIY Time – 6 Painting Tips for Your Wooden Summer House

30.10.2019

Wooden Summer House

Question of the day – is the perfect paint job an elusive dream if you try to do it on your own? Do you really need to hire a professional if you want to paint your wooden summer house or can you do it yourself?

Most owners know the basics when it comes to painting. That they need some tape, drop cloths, and to stir the paint as much as possible. But we have prepared a list of painting tips for your wooden summer house that will really make the difference between a gorgeous job and an impression of Mr. Bean painting his house with fireworks.

Modify Your Stirrer

Of course everyone knows that you have to stir the paint before you start on the walls of your wooden summer house. But what you may not know is that you will get much better results if you modify your stirrer a little bit before you begin.

Drill or poke holes through it. In this way, when you run it through the paint to mix it, the fluid will run through the holes and get aerated. Your stirrer will act like a whisk, evenly mixing the paint.

Microwave Tape

>Yes, you read that right. However, this is a trick meant for older painter’s tape that has become difficult to peel off its roll. Sometimes, if you’ve had it for a while, when your try to peel a length of tape, instead of coming off clean, it will tear off in pieces, making it almost impossible to use.

Should that happen to you, pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds. No more than that! And keep an eye on it while it’s in there!

Keep the Paint from Drying out

One of the most infuriating situations that can happen when you try a DIY painting job on your wooden summer house is your paint cans drying up. You don’t use them all up, and you store them away only to come back to a dried up can of paint. Needless to say, paint is expensive, so any wasted paint is an unnecessary blow on your budget.

Luckily, there’s a simple solution to that. The idea here is to keep the air from coming into contact with the surface of the paint, which is what dries it out. Therefore, you can use golf balls that will fill the gap between the paint and the lid. Or you can put some plastic wrap underneath the lid and then store your cans of paint upside down. This will also take care of the desiccating air.

Not All Cans Hold the Same Color

Here’s a very little know fact. But one that will come in super handy if you’re painting your own wooden summer house. Even if you buy the same color of paint, the cans might not all hold the same color. The shade varies a little from one can to another because of the amount of pigment added to the batch or the year it was produced.

That is the reason why, sometimes, when you perform a larger paint job, some walls seem to be a different shade then others even though you used the exact same paint color.

But the solution is super simple. Before you begin painting your wooden summer house, mix all your paint cans in one, large bucket. In this way, the color will be consistent throughout. 

Of course, it will be difficult to estimate how much you need for the job, but it’s better to have more than less. If you have some leftover paint, you can always pour it back and store it the way we showed you above!

Never Wash Rollers or Brushes

Simply because you don’t have to! So one less chore for you while painting. If you have used latex paint on your wooden summer house and the project wasn’t finished in the same day, there’s no need to clean your tools.

Instead, wrap them in tin foil or a plastic bag and place them in your fridge. The cold will stop the latex paint from drying out and you can continue your project the next day. But keep in mind that, before using them again, you will have to allow them to warm up again. Otherwise, you won’t be able to paint.

Never Remove the Tape before the Paint is Dry

You will think that this is a no brainer. But you will also be surprised how many people attempting DIY painting jobs don’t know this neat little trick. If you want to create a perfect edge, never remove the tape before your paint has had a chance to dry completely. If not, the paint will most likely streak and stain the wall.

And here’s a bonus trick on the topic of painter’s tape for those who want to paint their wooden summer house. After the paint has dried for at least 24 hours, it’s time to remove the tape. But never pull it off. During all that time, the tape has formed a film between itself and the wall of the wooden summer house. If you just pull it off, you will also flake the dried paint.

Therefore, use a precision knife or a cutter to separate the painter’s tape from the wall. Start at the top and run it all the length of the wall in one, continuous move. Make sure the tool is super sharp and pull the tape at a 45 degree angle for best results.

A DIY painting job on your wooden summer house can go perfectly well or it can be a Mr. Bean-sized disaster. However, if you follow these tips, you will have a better chance at succeeding. Let us know in the comment section below how it all went!