Touch of colour

Choosing paint - 
If you aren't sure what colour you want or how a colour will look on your wall then buy some testers and try them out first. There are many different types of paint - gloss, emulsion, undercoat, non-drip, acrylic, masonry, bituminous, textured coating, anti-condensation, enamel, anti-damp, insulation and radiator enamel paint being just a few. It's best to explain what you want to do at your DIY centre as they'll be able to advise. Painting exterior walls Make sure that the walls are free from all mildew, algae and dirt; sound, firm, and made good. Firstly coat the wall with a thinned coat of an all-seasons product which allows you to paint at this time of the year when moisture is in the air - it won't wash off and it will dry in approximately 15 minutes. With sand and cement render over the brickwork, make sure that it is not loose or cracking (you can tell this by knocking the wall, if it sounds hollow then there is a problem). Fill any cracks in the wall with an exterior filler. Possibly treat with a fungicidal wash or a stabiliser to ensure the surface will accept the paint. Pebble dash walls attract traffic film and dust. To clean them use a stiff brush or broom, but not a wire one as it might leave little bits of metal embedded in the surface and these will rust. Exterior painted brickwork: it's best not to paint brickwork, but if you do so or it's already painted, use a good quality masonry paint. Exterior woodwork: with bare wood use a preservative base-coat, and then two coats of undercoat and finish with a gloss coat - this extends the life of the wood.

Wallpapering -
The easiest way to strip wallpaper is to soak with water, leave for a while, and soak again. The water will have done the hard work, and the paper should come off very easily. If vinyl wallpaper was used or the wall paper has been painted over, score the paper to let the water get behind it. Using a steam paper stripper is an easy way of stripping wallpaper. Next, sand down and fill in any cracks, holes or blemishes with a quick drying filler. Any pimples left can be located by putting an old stocking on your hand and running it over the wall, it will snag when you hit a pimple. Sand these away, and the wall is ready for papering. When buying wallpaper always check that the batch and colour-run numbers on the back of the roll match up. Also check that you have bought enough to finish the job. Measure the amount of paper you'll need by holding the roll up to the wall all round the room. If the paper design has a pattern repeat (the distance between each pattern) add this to your length of paper. To make sure the wallpaper is straight on the wall hang a plumb-bob (a weight hanging on a piece of string) and mark your straight line down the wall. If you've got a chimney in the room start hanging the paper in the middle of it, otherwise start on a plain wall. Try to make sure that the last two pieces join somewhere they won't be seen, eg. behind a door, as it is unlikely that they will fit perfectly together. To measure the lengths of wallpaper needed, measure the height of the wall all the way down and include the pattern repeat, then measure the same length out on the pasting table and down the leg, add a little extra and mark the leg. Cut a few lengths at a time, using the mark on the table as a guide, and hang them out of the way over the top of the door. Tie some string across the top of your paste bucket and rest the pasting brush on this - it keeps it out of the glue and less sticky. You must mix the paste with the correct amount of water - if the paste is too thin or too thick, you will have problems with bubbles later. Place the paper right at the edge of the table and brush off the paper, not back on to it as you will drag glue under the paper and onto the right-side where you don't want it. As you paste the paper, fold it over on itself - booking, this helps the paper to soak. Read the instructions to see how long you should leave the paper to soak. This is important, because if you put the paper on the wall before the fibres in the paper have expanded properly, it will continue to expand on the wall and bubbles may appear. When hanging the wallpaper, leave a little extra paper at the top for trimming and smooth it out right to the edges to get all the bubbles out. Don't worry too much about tiny bubbles and don't start to prick or cut bubbles because as the paper dries overnight it will shrink slightly, and these minor problems will disappear. But if in the morning the bubbles persist, the only answer will be to peel off the paper and start again!

Painting Tips
* Before using new paint brushes, rub the bristles over your hand to get rid of loose fibres and hairs.
* Another tip for new brushes is to run it up and down a rough wall to get a nice round edge, especially useful when using gloss paint.
*The longer the handle of any tool, the better the leverage you get. This way you may avoid having to climb onto the top step of a ladder.
* Never wear wool sweaters when painting; the fibres in the wool are drawn to the wet paint like a magnet.
* The best way to clean brushes is with paraffin - it's cheap, and the paint residue drops to the bottom of the jar, so you can pour off the clear liquid at the top and use again..
* To stop the bristles of the brush sitting in the residue at the bottom of the jar when you are cleaning it, put a clothes peg on the handle of the paint brush and rest it on the top of the jar.

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