And yes as Andy’s article said about working with high quality acrylic emulsions and the French fine surface wall surfacer fillers, I did go straight onto the filler with two coats of a colour, and it does work with no extra washcoat preparation coats needed. The consistency is excellent. Where is the main improvement coming from when following the Traditional Painter info? Paint Stirrers / Mixers Plastering Tools Surface/Floor Protection Systainers & Cases Tape & Spirit Measure Trays & Kettles Wallpaper Accessories Wet Paint Signs 3M Command 3M Claw

The test-bed room is our gym, which sounds very upmarket, but it’s a converted garage, albeit fairly well done. It was wired up for data, audio and a lot of extra power, plaster boarded, insulated and skimmed. We put down a high quality engineered hardwood floor that had been removed from the lounge. And so this year I wanted to revisit all the internal woodwork & walls. Woodwork is another story, but I decided to bite the bullet on the walls first. First walls project Last year I did the exterior again, but this time learned how to do it right, reading TP articles many, many times. (As you can see from the photo) the result was great and it still attracts many comments even a year on. I found a lot of small and larger concave and convex bubbles in the finish. Frustrating but it was an easy fix with a continental knife…..time consuming but saved on the sanding a good deal. Well, it should have saved on the sanding. And then the sanding!

Hand Sanding sometimes best

Application of filler was relatively easy on the larger areas, of which there was only one! But I found that the 10″ spreader was too large to fit into the tub. Sounds a minor detail but frustrating. So I loaded the spreader using a cheap flexible filling knife. Cleaner for me but probably sounds a little time too consuming if you are a pro? Arroworthy Brush Tote Ciret Fox (The) Monarch Paint Warrior Prodec Purdy Staalmeester Two Fussy Blokes Wooster Axus Decor Colron Dunlop Pro Decor Geocel Hyde Mirka Osmo Paint Warrior Red Devil RollingDog Semin Tajima How long does it last? I don’t know! Well, “they claimed” a year of constant use. I haven’t got that deep into measuring what I have cleaned.

Microfibre Roller Sleeves 2inch - 6.5inch Mini Rollers 7inch - 12inch Roller Sleeves 14inch - 18inch Roller Sleeves Jumbo Mini Rollers Roller Sets Roller Frames Don’t leave in-ceiling 50w Halogen bulbs lit for 3 days solid and then try to move them around. I have no fingerprints left on the left hand, what with hot bulbs and hand sanding with the Abranet. Dust Management I left a rowing machine, a cross trainer & a multi gym in the room. What a mistake, when you also have piles of tools & materials and 4 full Henry bags of ‘Prestonett talcum powder’ lying around the work space. I was happy with how it performed on a period property where we prepared 1000m2 of walls and ceilings.Broad / Taping Knives Filling Knife & Scraper Sets Toupret Range Caulkers & Tools Caulking & Sealant Guns Skimming Blades Flexi Tubs The Dust Eater head is on a swivel so as you wipe the walls and ceilings, it works with you, not against every joint from shoulder to wrist. Very simple and robust construction. Dust Eater in use I also found that a hand sander was better in some areas than the powered orbital sander. Nothing wrong with the Flex, but in restricted, hard to reach areas it’s just too unwieldy with the hoses & adapters. Roller Choice Leaving it overnight to dry, the light that streamed in by mid morning highlighted a lot of (very small) imperfections. Not too surprising as I’m not exactly a plasterer. I put a second coat on which improved things. But the day after, there were still imperfections.

With my (home decorator) kit bag it’s a fair bit of effort to reach the very high standards I was after. With a professional kit bag of Mirka, Festools etc, I cannot imagine ‘not’ doing it this way. I am very particular and spent so much time sanding, but discovered I had been sanding areas that were in fact absolutely fine, simply because I could not see the problem area. With an inspection light at an angle I could see that 90%+ was perfect & only some areas needed the extra sanding. What a revelation. Probably you pros all know this & do this, but I must have wasted two days sanding areas I need not have done. Sealants & Caulk Ready Mixed Filler Powdered Filler Repair Care Wood Fillers 2 Part Fillers Grab Adhesive Filling Knives & Scrapers The Dust Eater is excellent, I thought. It works a treat, which is after all the nature of what TP is trying to demonstrate and I’m trying to copy. However, it was on the expensive side.

The Wooster Dust Eater is another lightbulb moment for solving the problem of how to clean dust off walls and ceilings, prior to painting. If I could afford a dust-free system I would. Yes I can reach the same level of finish with my Flex & Henry but it’s doing it the hard way, if working on a lot of areas. Organise the work area properly Brush Clip & Extension Brush Protection & Storage Cleaning & Preparation Dust Sheets Filling Knives and Scrapers Fixings & Hardware Hand Wipes Knives & Blades Ladder Accessories Paint Guides

This article on how to make plaster walls smooth for painting is full of tips and insights of use to DIY and trade. In the main, good quality trade materials are not costing any more than shed stuff. In some cases less. Basic Brush Mate Clover Chemicals Coral Eco Union Go! Paint Hamilton Icon Protection Laddermat MPB OlfaAxus Decor Blue Dolphin Ciret Colron Dusty Boys Fast Mover Gripper Cloth Hyde Krud Kutter Mirka Norden OX Tools Oldfields - UK Exclusive Angled Cut Paint Brushes Straight Cut Paint Brushes Brush Bundles & Sets Sash Brushes & Fitch's Value Brush Sets Bristle Paint Brushes