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Posts Tagged ‘strain<’
Whether you Find a Decorator on Mr-Skill or do the job yourself, you inevitably end up with left-over pots of paint. Those with just a few scrapings in them are best thrown away. Those still at least a quarter full could be worth preserving for touch-up jobs.
 Reseal Quickly – Air is the enemy of paint because paint’s supposed to dry in its presence. Clean both lid and tin carefully where they come together. Insert a sheet of film or tinfoil. Close firmly to achieve an airtight seal without causing any distortion.
Label the Tin – Begin to clean your brush by painting a colour-patch on the tin in a way that does not cover up any important information. Use a laundry marker to note the dates when bought and used, and the colour code if the paint was specially mixed.
Store Away Sensibly – I know a London Painter who insists in storing paint tins upside down so that the paint remains above the film and not beneath it. I’ve followed his advice and found it works quite well. In any case, store the tin away from extreme heat and cold.
 Using Old Paint – Paint has a limited shelf-life and many manufacturers suggest that it should be used within a year of being purchased. Don’t be tempted to bring down the cost of a Decorating Quote by using paint that’s gone beyond its usefulness. In any case, make sure it’s strained through a fine mesh sieve or piece of muslin, and into a clean container and well stirred.
Storing paint is really only really useful when you have a plan to use it shortly. This could be when you are half-way through an upgrade, and just want to brighten up a wall. In other instances it may just be an excuse to accumulate more clutter.
Be brave. Know the difference. Why not give your old paint tins a fresh view on life instead.
Tags: air, airtight, clean, close, code, cold, colour, container, date, decorating quote, distort, film, find a decorator, foil, heat, label, left over, leftover, london painter, mark, muslin, paint, patch, pot, reseal, sample, scrap, shelf life, shelflife, sieve, store, strain, tin
Posted in Painting & Decorating | Comments Off
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Jan 25
I was in an antique shop in London the other day, admiring some really lovely pieces of old furniture and wondering how they got their finishes so smooth. Later in the day I met up with an old London Carpenter friend of mine in a listed City pub. As he ran his hand over the gleaming wooden counter, he let a few trade-secrets slip.
• Wait for a windless day while you prepare a suitable work-place out of the sun
• Assuming you’ve prepared everything properly and that your work-piece is completely dry, give the varnish a proper stir for at least five minutes if not longer.
• Strain the varnish through a silk stocking to get rid of any remaining lumps.
• If you feel a call of nature coming on take that break now, as you are going to work through to completion.
• Moisten the best quality brush you can lay your hands on in the cleaning solvent the varnish manufacturer recommends (this prevents the brush from clogging up).
•  Apply the varnish evenly with a series of long firm overlapping strokes. Do not return to touch-up. Never scrape the brush across the container – it is this action that creates the bubbles.
• Don’t fiddle with your work afterwards and mess it up. Allow it to dry naturally for twenty-four hours before checking in an inconspicuous place.
That sounds like good enough advice for me and I might no longer need to Find a Carpenter for those smaller jobs. However if I decide to re-varnish the wooden staircase in my home the wife is always nagging me about, I think I’ll rather go for Carpentry Quotes on Mr-Skill instead. It’s just so much easier, and inexpensive allowing for the savings on my own time.
Tags: antique, apply, brush, bubble, carpenter, carpentry quotes, clog, container, dry, fiddle, find a carpenter, finish, furniture, london carpenter, lump, moisten, naturally, overlap, prepare, scrape, secret, smooth, solvent, stir, stocking, strain, stroke, sun, tip, touch up, varnish, wind, wood
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Nov 08
Bedroom fitters seem to find it necessary to install cupboards from the wall to ceiling. While this makes sense in terms of managing the dust on top, customers often end up with storage space that looks more like the inside of a church steeple. The solution? Add a space below for storing shoes, or above for keeping what almost inevitably turns out to be junk.
 I personally don’t have much time for using the plastic shelf blocks that seem all the rage these days. That’s because they involve point contact and it’s difficult to get them aligned perfectly. Moreover, in these times of chipboard everything, an overloaded shelf can easily come crashing down.
The following is what Professional London Carpenters still prefer to do:
• Remove the cupboard doors for ease of access and to avoid straining hinges. Measure the internal depth of the cupboard from front to back at both left and right. While you’re at it, measure the cupboard internally from left to right too. Enter the information on a drawing, because in all the years of providing Carpentry Quotes I have seldom come across a cupboard that’s perfectly square.
• Ask the hardware store to cut a shelf to size and to cut battens to support it on the left and right too. Make sure they also supply half-a-dozen screws of the appropriate length.
•  Pre-drill the battens in the middle and towards either end. Fix the first one in the middle only and set it horizontal with a spirit level. Draw a pencil line along the bottom edge and fit the other two screws accordingly.
• Measure from the top or bottom of the cupboard to determine where the second batten should go. Screw it into place, again just using the middle hole. Test fit the shelf in place. It should be level and fit snugly so you can complete the installation and replace the doors. If not, you may need to make adjustments.
You could also save yourself a heap of trouble and get Highly Competitive Carpentry Quotes on Mr-Skill instead. We have carpenters at every UK postcode. They’re on standby to fit that shelf for you, and much more.
Tags: battem, bedroom, block, bottom, carpentry quotes, chipboard, complete, cupboard, cut, door, drill, dust, find a carpenter, fit, hinge, horizontal, length, london carpenters, measure, plastic, remove, replace, screw, shelf, shoe, size, snug, spirit level, square, storage, strain, support, test, top, vertical, weight
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off
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