Giving your house a fresh coat of paint is always a strenuous job which often gives you headaches. It involves moving the furniture and other household items, the nauseating odor of paint and the expenses as well. The lustre and durability of the paint can be maintained for longer period of time if you take care of a few steps while painting a new house or repainting an old one.
1. White cement/primer should be applied only after the plastering has dried completely. A coat of putty helps seal the tiny pores in the cement. Give another coat of primer and allow it to dry well. The emulsion paint could be applied only after the primer has dried. In case of repainting, scrub off the old paint and wash the walls well before applying the primer and then the fresh coat of paint.
2. While repainting old houses, if moisture is spotted on the walls, new coats of paint should be applied only after it has dried well. The walls may absorb moisture from the rain water that seeps in through the cracks on the terrace. The walls should be painted only after stopping the leakage by water proofing the roof.
3. Kitchens and the adjacent work areas should be painted with high quality emulsion paints which are easier to clean. It prevents the paint from flaking off due to heat and smoke.
4. Cool colours could be opted to make the bedrooms look pleasant and attractive. Shades of blue, green, rose, yellow or its combination shades would look great on the bedroom walls. Highlighting a wall with a darker shade of colour and applying lighter shades on the other three walls is the latest trend.
5. Using putty helps achieve a finished look for the walls plastered with cement. Exterior putty should be used on the outer walls while the interior walls should have a coat of interior putty. Putty is available in powder and paste forms. A 20 kg sack of interior putty costs between Rs 550 – 650 and a 40 kg sack of exterior putty costs Rs 1000 – 1100.
