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Your Guide To House Paint Speak
Every occupational field has its own language. If you have ever done any home remodeling, chances are you know that the jargon of paint contractors is no different. If you are gearing up to repaint your walls--exterior or interior--it is a good idea to learn what these terms mean. Doing so will help ensure that you are getting exactly the look you want. For do-it-yourself types, knowing painter lingo is vital, since it can mean the difference between a well-executed, great-looking paint job and a disastrous one. Here is some of the basic terminology that will help you throughout the process of picking a look, discussing your vision with a paint contractor (or hunting down tools), and getting the job done.
- Sheen. Sheen refers how glossy a particular paint is. The names for the different types of sheens are as follows: flat (no gloss at all), eggshell (a touch of sheen), satin (medium sheen- like the material), semi-gloss (glossy sheen), and gloss (very glossy sheen). The high the gloss, the more durable the paint is. Glossier paint also have the advantage of being easier to clean.
- Latex. One of the two types of house paint, latex is actually water-based paint. This is the more commonly used of the two, possibly because it dries more quickly and it is water-soluble.
- Oil-based paint. Oil-based paint, on the other hand, is thicker and dries more slowly than latex. You also need to use paint thinner for cleanup if you accidentally spill it. Never use latex paint on top of an oil-based base coat.
- Texture. A textured wall is one that, rather than being a smooth, plain surface, features bumps. This uneven surface comes from a mud that is applied to the surface. The look of the texture depends on the tool used to apply the mud.
- Hopper. This is a tool used to apply texturing to a surface. It is gun-like and shoots paint or drywall directly at the wall. A hopper can achieve different textures when you adjust such things as air pressure and trigger setting.
- Orange peel texture. This is one type of texture that you can get by using a hopper. It resembles the surface of an orange peel and is a relatively popular texture for many homes.
- Splatter drag. This is a smoothing method accomplished by lightly dragging a trowel or other flat tool along a wet, orange peel-textured surface.
- Skip trowel. Another way to smooth wet drywall, this takes on an asymmetrical form. You do not drag the trowel straight across a surface, but rather in random directions. You can get creative with this technique and come up with some pretty interesting designs.
- Mediterranean/Mexican texture. Mediterranean texturing involves splattering and dragging thick mud to create various effects. Mexican texture is quite like Mediterranean, except that sand is added to the mix to produce a more stucco-like effect.
- Acoustic. Most homes now use splatter drag in place of this, but this type of texturing is applied to ceilings with a hopper, and has a coarser look and feel.
- Faux finish. This wall-painting method involves using paint and various tools to mimic things like stone, suede, silk, clouds, and even denim.
- Crackling. You can make a surface look aged by painting it with contrasting base and top coats, then applying a crackling treatment on top of them.
- Color washing. This has a mellowing effect on a room. It entails layering a light shade atop a dark one, say a white over a pastel hue, to give a room a more breezy feel.
- Glaze. This can give a wall the look of stone if done a certain way. Usually this involves mixing one part paint with five parts glaze and applying it over a base coat.
Knowing a bit of paint speak will make the process of painting your room, house, or furniture much easier for you and the paint contractor your hire. It can also give you some bright ideas for your next project.
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