Method of Applying Paint 1- by brush March 22, 2007
Posted by admin in : Painting Tips, Painting Tools , trackbackThe correct application of paint is important so that the paint will last its intended period. This is sometimes overlooked with emphasis more on the
paint than on how to get the paint applied. I give you an example. Just this morning I saw some workers painting the road dividers. You know, the green coloured ones separating a two-way road, the ones that you’ll often see jaywalkers climbing over to avoid using the overhead bridge. These workers did not use brushes or rollers ! Amazing. Their only painting equipment was a piece of cloth. They soaked it with paint, and rubbed the paint onto the divider. It was an undercoat they were putting on, but my bet is that they’ll use the same ‘professional’ method to paint the topcoat. The resulting surface was uneven and had streaks that were not painted. The desired film thickness was definitely not achieved. 20-30 microns, max. The coating will not last its intended length of time. But then, who am I to say. They did it real fast and it was probably how they wanted it - fast. Painting works should never be rushed, especially for our own homes. Doing it properly will delay repairing and recoating works significantly. There are generally 3 methods of application : by brush, by roller and by spraying. We’ll do these in 3 separate posts. Application by Brush 
This is the most widely used method of applying paint. It is cheap, relatively clean and has minimal wastage. Brushes can reach small, restricted areas or in areas with poor ventilation. They are also easily available. You can buy brushes in most stores, and in various sizes as well. The drawbacks are that it is slow and can be quite exhausting. Fast-drying paint may also not be satisfactorily applied by brush. And I hate the brush marks they sometimes leave behind, which requires additional work of having a foam roller run over it. It is important to choose the correct type of brush. It must be capable of
holding sufficient paint to cover a reasonable area and must also be able to transfer this paint to the substrate to give an even finish without showing too much brush marks. Good paint brushes are not only expensive, they are actually quite hard to find, especially here in Singapore. Many paint stockists choose not to carry these as demand is low. A piece of tip - a good paint brush is a used paint brush. Too bad we usually throw away the brushes after use. We find washing them quite a hassle. However, a used brush, provided it has been cleaned properly, carries paint better. Loose bristles would also have all dropped off. Try it. You may never throw away your brushes again. (But you have to ‘not’ throw away your paint brush first to try it 
) A good technique is to dip the paint brush only 1/3 the length of the bristle into the paint. By not dipping fully, you avoid overloading the brush with paint, and overloading leads to extensive dripping. Do not run the brush against the side of the lid to remove excessive paint. This removes more paint than necessary. Subsequent brushing will be ineffective. If required, just drain off small amount of paint by touching the brush against the side of the can. The first contact onto the wall usually results in a area where the paint is a bit heavy. That’s fine. Apply the paint in 1 - 2 strokes. Then, preferably with horizontal strokes, distribute the paint evenly. Finally, when the paint has been distributed evenly, smooth out the paint in light long strokes, lifting the brush off lightly at the ends. These final smoothing out process will remove brush marks. Lets talk about the next popular method of application, by roller, in the next post.
Comments»
[...] an earlier post, I gave some ideas how brush marks can be prevented (see post - Method of Painting - By Brush). Basically, we need to watch 3 aspects of our painting - the brush, the paint and [...]
I had this problem sum time ago.
After the paint dried I then proceeded to lighley rub the area down with wet / dry.
Then with the brush using a dabbing technique gaining no brush mark at all.
Ok it was not perfection but maybe the use of air paint spraying may have resulted in a medal.
Any advisors on fit for purpose paint results, versus paint application via heat resist proof.