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5 Things You Should Know About Painting A Metal Fence in Colleyville, TX

8/25/2020

5 Things You Should Know About Painting A Metal Fence in Colleyville, TX

When you have a metal fence around your house, you not only have something that looks good but something that increases the overall value of your home .
If it turns out that you want to paint your metal fence, there are some things that are important that you should know before you do so.
As this is the case, here are five things you should know about painting a metal fence.

1. Be Aware Of The Weather.
Not all weather is ideal for painting a metal fence -- specifically, you are going to want to avoid weather that is unpleasant or in-climate -- if it's raining, for example, that's bad for your painting project.
The better thing to do is to wait until you know that you're going to have a few days without rain or other such weather so that your paint work isn't ruined.
This is particularly the case when you are waiting for the primer or one of the coats of paint to dry.
There are few things that are quite as bad for drying paint than having a sudden downpour while you are waiting for it to fully dry.

2. Don't Paint A Dirty Fence
To make sure that you properly paint your fence, one of the most important things you can do is to never try painting over a metal fence that is dirty.
Firstly, if you give it a moment of thought, painting over a dirty fence is bound to make for a poorly painted fence.
The very nature of some of the more insidious dirty elements that can accumulate on the surface of your metal fence make it so that you won't be able to help but notice that it is there, under the layers of paint.
Do yourself a favor and make sure that your fence is properly cleaned before painting it.

3. Allow Time For Paint To Dry
The process of painting your metal fence includes the time that you will have to wait for the paint to actually dry.
It's true that the process of allowing paint to dry is not a particularly interesting one, but it is one that is absolutely necessary, nonetheless.
If your paint isn't fully dry and you try to paint over top it, you will end up pulling the partially dry paint from the fence and possibly ruin all of the work that you have done until that point.
If you're unsure if your paint job is dry, you can always test it to make sure that it is dry before you go on to the next step in the painting process.

4. How To Avoid Rust
To avoid paint, one thing you're going to want to do is to pain over an already rusted fence -- the rust does tend to eventually come through.
The second thing you're going to want to do is to make sure that your paint surfaces are fully dry before you paint.
Lastly, you should seriously consider getting rust resistant paint for your metal fence painting to make sure that you don't see rust on your metal fence.

5. Don't Paint Over Old Paint
Though some might think that there's nothing wrong with painting over old paint, it's actually one of the worst things you could do when you are looking at painting a metal fence.
The far better thing to do is to properly clean up the fence and then to sand it down such that you entirely remove the paint that is there and then you will be left with a good and smooth surface, the kind that is good for preparing for a proper paint job.

Need some advice on a project in Southlake, TX? Illuminate Painting can help you with your painting needs. Schedule an estimate or call us at (325) 305-6005.

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5 Tips And Tricks For Removing Wallpaper in Grapevine, TX

8/18/2020

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5 Tips And Tricks For Removing Wallpaper in Grapevine, TX

In the process of renovating your home or apartment, you can sometimes come to find that the one thing standing in your way of properly painting a room or hall is wallpaper that is already on the wall.
Of course, you do have the choice of painting over the wallpaper, which is an entirely different topic that we can tackle on a different day.
Removing the wallpaper may be your best choice sometimes.

As that is the case, let us now look at and consider five tips and tricks for removing wallpaper in Grapevine, TX.

1. Moisture Is Key To Removing Wallpaper
In terms of removing wallpaper, the fundamental thing that will basically always have to be the case is that you will need to moisten the glue that is underneath the wallpaper in order to get it in a state that it will be easier to remove.
There are two basic ways to get said glue to be in this state of moisture and that involves either spraying the wall with a mixture (more on this later), or using a portable steam machine meant for removing wallpaper.
There are those who might say that any steam machine would work, such as those made for steaming garments, but one meant for wallpaper could work better.

2. Easy To Clean Wallpaper Is More Difficult To Remove
When you come across wallpaper that is quite easy to clean, meaning that all you have to do is wipe the wallpaper with a moist cloth to get it to be clean, you will know that it will be more difficult to remove.
The reason that this is the case is that it is resistant to water in the first place, so just moistening the surface will do nothing to the glue underneath.
What you will ideally have to do is to make small holes in the surface of the wallpaper that extend to the wall underneath without actually damaging the wall.
You will then be able to get to the glue because the moisture will go under the wallpaper and go right to the glue.

3. Do One Small Section At A Time
Some will try to tackle the wallpaper removal as such -- moisten the glue of the wallpaper and then remove it.
The issue is that if you try to do too much of the the wallpaper at once, the wallpaper that you started with will be dry by the time you get to the end of the wallpaper spraying or steaming process.
The solution to this situation is that you have to do one section at a time -- starting with one section and moistening and then removing that same section.

4. Try Just Pulling Down
There is wallpaper out there that is easy enough to remove that all you have to do to remove it is to pull down on it.
This is the sort of wallpaper that is only meant to be on temporarily and then removed and replaced by something else.
This sort of wallpaper is sometimes forgotten, and by the time you get to it you have no idea that you're dealing with a wallpaper that is so easy to remove.
Before you invest a lot of time and money to remove your wallpaper, test a corner at the top and try pulling it off --if it easily comes off, you're in luck!

5. Fabric Softener And Dish Soap Combined Make Good Wallpaper Release Formula
There are many good formulas you can use to get the wallpaper to be released from the wall but one of the easiest ones that you can almost always make with what you have at home -- a combination of fabric softener and dish soap.
Of course there are formulas you can purchase and it's perfectly okay to invest in such a formula if you wish, but people do also find that fabric softener and dish soap work perfectly well.
Even easier, if you want to go simple -- just white vinegar!

Need some advice on a project in Southlake, TX? Illuminate Painting can help you with your painting needs. Schedule an estimate or call us at (325) 305-6005.

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7 Important Considerations When Decorating A Baby's Nursery in Southlake, TX

8/11/2020

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7 Important Considerations When Decorating A Baby's Nursery in Southlake, TX.

Decorating a baby's nursery is unlike decorating any other room in your house because, fundamentally, the resident of the room is unlike the other people who live in your house.
As a result, your decorating style has to take into account the fact that the person for whom you are decorating is more often you and your spouse (where applicable) and not necessarily the baby that will be sleeping and being in the nursery.
With that in mind, here are seven important considerations when decorating a baby's nursery in Southlake, TX.

1. Everything You Need In Reach Of The Changing Table
When you're changing a baby, it's quite important that everything you need be in reach at all times.
Your typical baby tends to be a bit wriggly, and it's too easy for a baby to go from being on the table to falling within even seconds of walking away from the table, save for the possibility of a restraining system.
Though it may seem excessive, having everything within reach is a good way to also make sure you have stock of disposable products as they will all be right there with you.

2. Not Too Bright
The color scheme may appeal to you but since you will be having a baby in the room you should bear in mind that the colors might be too bright.
Okay colors for a baby's nursery include white, black, gray, beige -- the more mute, the better when it comes to a baby's bedroom.

3. Decorate The Ceiling
The baby will be spending plenty of time on their back so it doesn't hurt to have some decorations on the ceiling as well.
This is in addition to possible mobiles hanging over their crib space, of course -- you don't need to get a Michelangelo to get up to your ceiling to paint a masterpiece, mind you.
It could even be something as simple as printed wall stickers that can go up on the ceiling and improve the look.

4. Washable Wall
The wall in the baby's nursery is prone to getting dirty, especially if you have a little baby boy that can spray all over the place (including the wall)
If you want to make life easier for yourself, make sure your wall is washable, either in the form of washable wallpaper (possibly an easier option) or glossy paint that tends to be more easy to wash.
Having a wall that's washable is so much better because you won't have to spend so much time scrubbing the wall to get it to be clean.

5. Dark Is Good
When it comes to getting sleep, keeping the nursery dark is a good thing, so you want to do everything you can to get it to be darker.
This can be chiefly in the form of getting blackout blinds for the windows and making sure that when you put the baby to nap or sleep that you use them.

6. Make It Personal
One of the nice things about decorating is that you can make it personal.
You can do this by putting up photographs of your family and loved ones on the wall as well as getting drawings and paintings that are meaningful to you.

7. Avoid Clutter
As much as it can be tempting to load up a baby's nursery with things, it is actually better to keep fewer things in the room.
This is because the more you have in the room, the more likely you are to possibly trip when you are putting the baby to bed or to nap.

Need some advice on a project in Southlake, TX? Illuminate Painting can help you with your painting needs. Schedule an estimate or call us at (325) 305-6005.

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5 Techniques For Matching Colors When Painting Your Home in Coppell, TX

8/4/2020

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5 Techniques For Matching Colors When Painting Your Home in Coppell, TX

When you're painting your home and have some colors that you really like, such as when you are repainting one of the rooms of your home or even when you are re-painting the exterior of your home, you could come to have the need to match the old colors of your home.
There are ways that you should be able to match the new colors with the old colors, meaning the ways to make sure that the new color you are going to use to paint your home should match the color that was there, at least to some extent.

With that being the case, here are five techniques for matching colors when painting your home in Coppell, TX.

1. Use Your Eyes And Best Judgement
There's such a thing as matching colors perfectly, and then there's such a thing as doing your best to match the colors you had with what is available out there.
After all, even if you do your best there's the possibility that the color you had on or in your home just doesn't exist anymore, as it were, as it may have very well been some sort of proprietary tint that the paint maker wanted to sell exclusively, and they could very well not sell paint anymore or at least not that particular color.
Sometimes all you can do is to look at the color or colors that were there and then head to the paint store and do your best to match the colors.

2. Take A Picture
Another technique that you can use to match the colors is to use a camera, whether it's an analog or digital camera or even the camera app that comes built in on your average smart phone.
More specifically, you are going to want to use the camera in order to take photos of the paint color that you are trying to match in action -- whether it is on the exterior of your home or if it is on your kitchen cabinets.
By doing this you'll be able to take the pictures to a paint store and get a paint that comes close in matching the color.

3. Use An App
There are apps available for you when you have certain kinds of smart phones that will be able to use the built in camera on the phone to analyze the color that you want to match.
The app will generally analyze the color and then use a color matching technology to find the kind of paint that it believes that it is looking at and the brand name that it believes is the matching color.
Some apps also will directly allow you to find stores where you would be able to buy the paint.

4. Scrape Some Paint
Though it is not an ideal option, you could always scrape a little bit of the paint off of the area where you are looking to repaint and take the sample into the paint store where you intend on buying the paint that will be matching the old color.
The store in theory will be able to take your sample and run it in a machine that will analyze it and show you the kind of paint that you will need to match the older paint job.

5. Bring Home Samples
The last thing you can try if you don't want to go for the other options is to just bring home a few paint samples that seem close enough, and use them until you have your match.
The good thing about paint samples is that they are relatively inexpensive and will give you a good idea of how colors will look under different light conditions.

Need some advice on a project in Southlake, TX? Illuminate Painting can help you with your painting needs. Schedule an estimate or call us at (325) 305-6005.

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5 Things You Should Know About Painting A Metal Fence in Colleyville, TX

5 Tips And Tricks For Removing Wallpaper in Grapevine, TX

7 Important Considerations When Decorating A Baby's Nursery in Southlake, TX

5 Techniques For Matching Colors When Painting Your Home in Coppell, TX

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