Decorating - complete novice - I need your help!

[roisin]

I have some how managed to reach the grand age of 38 having never done any decorating at all. (We've moved a lot!) But now we definitely need to start. So:

Do I paint gloss work first or emulsion the walls first?

Do I need to prepare the painted woodwork (skirting boards and so on) in any way before I paint it?

What sort of paint do I need to buy to do the woodwork (white)?

Any hints or tips on buying paint/brushes?

Or other hints and tips?

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You could try dulux.co.uk they tell you everything you need to know and what to buy etc.

HTH and good luck!

Either way round really.

If you don't have an even hand gloss first and let it dry for at least a day, then you can masking tape over the wood to protect it while you emulsion.

If you do have an even hand emulsion first then gloss neatly.

Sand any woodwork before you paint it.

You can buy paintbrushes that have plastic bristles rather than hair, that guarantee no bristles falling out and sticking to your wall, we have some and they are great.

Definitely get a roller for larger spaces.

Ceiling first
Then gloss, but you need to sand it to rough it up so the new paint sticks, and wash with sugar soap solution if it's really grubby. Use non drip gloss or satinwood if you like a more matte finish.
Then walls

Buy the best brushes you can afford and some cleaner and look after them. Cheap brushes shed hairs.
Cheap rollers for the emulsion are fine.

Wear a hat/scarf when you do the ceiling!
Cover your carpets/furniture with dustsheets.

I would do ceiling, then walls and then the woodwork, but I agree that if you're a bit shaky, then do the woodwork before the walls and cover the woodwork with masking tape.

Use a fairly narrow paintbrush to do any corners of the room and a roller for the middle areas.

Don't sand the woodwork back to wood. It's only to scratch up the surface to provide a key for the next coat of paint. Gloss is shiny; eggshell/satinwood less so.

If you have carpet, get some packing tape and using a pair of scissors poke it down between the skirting boards and the carpet so you don't get paint on the carpet...

Preparation is the most important thing. Don't cut corners on sanding or cleaning. If you have alot of sanding to do, it would be worth getting some sugar soap to damp everything down afterwards. (Sugar soap in bottles with the prepping stuff in B&Q).

Ooh this is all sounding so complicated: I'm starting to panic.

I get overwhelmed if I stand in B&Q looking at paint. So I need some specific advice: i.e. brands.

I probably have got a shaky hand, so will gloss first. Definitely non-drip, that sounds good. I don't like that really shiny gloss, but do want something that I can wipe clean with a damp cloth. What is that called?

We're replacing the stairs carpet, so I've taken that out and tip. So I need to start with the skirting board on the stairs. (Bannister is plain wood, thank goodness.)

So I sand it down first to make the gloss stick - is that right? I really haven't got a clue. Do I just buy a sheet of sandpaper and cut a square off? How long does it take to "scratch up the surface"? Say for 5m of skirting board: am I scrubbing for 10 mins or 2 hrs?

Do I need undercoat or anything?

I really hate this. I just want someone to tell me what to do.

Second the brushes....cheap ones lose hairs and is really annoying. Have found Harris ones with blue handles to be the best

For sanding cut of a piece of sandpaper and wrap around a chunk of wood - small enough to hold in the palm of your hand. Wear gardening-type gloves. Then sand the wood as if you were scrubbing muck off it with a sponge, just until it feels slightly rough to touch.

I think you can get satin paint for wood that is less shiny than gloss.

You can buy specific hard wearing wood paint if you think it will get bashed or chipped, eg on skirting boards.

have a look at the dulux website
For woodwork, there's several to choose form - if it was stairs i'd probably go for the reallife tough satinwood, which needs two coats, or the Once satinwood, not so tough but only needs one coat.

For the walls choose between matt, satin or soft sheen. Depends whether you like a matt or slightly shiny finish, and if it needs to be scrubbable.

on walls, it helps to do it with two of you!

check how secure your wall paper is. If its in bad condition then you may need to reline the walls.

one person (the most careful) goes round painting the edges with a paintbrush, the other person paints the main sections with a roller.

You will need to paint it twice - ignore any one coat nonsense, I find the 1892? heritage range from B&Q is brilliant for older properties and most of the clours work well together. Their soft whites and creams are very good nuetral tones. Less smell and a chalkier finish.
They dont' wash down though!

Glossy (either shiny emulsion or gloos woodwork) only looks good if you have perfect walls, if you have any bumps or lumps you need a chalkier (mat) finish.

Crown doesn't give good coverage
Dulux is a good all rounder
I'm okay with cheap brushes - you use 'em once and chuck 'em. Its in the technique and I've never lost bristles yet. We buy sets of 5 brushes from B&Q each time.
Same for rollers and trays, its easy enough to wash out a tray as long as oyu get to it straight away but rollers are a pig to wash out.

If you are doing a hallway fgs make sure you have good ladders etc for the stairwell.

wear trainers - its suprising how often you find sharp bits of wood etc on the floor and you need a good grip on your feet.

good luck