A can of Spray Paint - The beginning of my DIY story

DIY - Do It Yourself is a term that I think is more appealing than "facebook" in popularity, at least in US.

 

When I came newly to US, I was shocked to see that our dining table came in a box from the store and we were supposed to build it. That was crazy for someone who landed here from India in 2009. More shock was on its way when I walked into Walmart and saw paint, power tools as drills, automobile parts etc and a whole section dedicated for "Home Improvement". What I mean is these were not things that you will find in a super market back home.

 

Initially I wondered who would buy these things, but as time passed I too came across the "DIY Bug". I was happy and pleasantly surprised to learn that almost everything to build a home from ground up and maintaining them neatly is easily and readily available to everyone. You don't need to call a painter to paint, plumber to fix a leak or a carpenter to build a table - that is if you don't want to. All these things can be DIYed. Yes it is a term that should really be added to the dictionary.

My foray into DIY started with a can of gold spray paint. What did I paint first? A branch from the backyard - a lamp next - a bowl third , I stopped keeping track after that. I have my first attempt still with me, survived three years and a move.

When we moved to our current home, our landlord was all in for painting the rooms and drilling a few holes. So I bought 3 cans of paint and painted our rooms - Oh, the happiness that brings! Do you know the name of the first paint we bought - "Shaken not Stirred" - Really paints have name too.

I followed this up with applying different wall treatments, putting up shelves, adding lamps, making a backyard lawn so on and so forth. But even now I find painting our walls as most gratifying thing yet - that is until I build my own desk. Let us see.

Paint a Wall : What you Need

What do you really need to have to paint a wall? Time and patience - they are free if you are willing. Next is paint and a brush in basics. While you need only these two to really paint there are other tools that will make the job easy. As in

Paint Tray : Here is one from Amazon. This is handy especially when you use a roller.

Roller : A basic one from Walmart . Rollers makes painting larger surfaces easier and gives a smoother and cleaner finish. The brush marks will not be visible and it is easy to roll than using the traditional brush.

Paint Brush : An example from Amazon. You will find them in varied price range and quality. Paint brush is important to get smooth lines at the edges and corners and you really have more control with Brush.

Painters Tape : I have used only one type. To cover the area that need not be painted, like the crown, ceilings and while painting shapes to get smoother and cleaner lines tape is very helpful. You can afford to spill over it and peel them right back after the process.

Drop Cloth  : This one is a life saver because you will definitely spill and drip. Having someone to catch the mess is God sent.

Step Stool / Ladder : For obvious reasons.

It is recommended that you have at least two coats on to get real good coverage. They say great quality paints will need only one coat. I have no experience with this. ( We should probably ask Vidya (Whats Ur Home Story ) . Visit her blog for more high end DIYs ).

I have bought Benjamin Moore and Valspar, both were great with two coats. Painting over darker surfaces would definitely need a primer to get the paint adhere to the walls well, but now a days most paints come as paint and primer in one.

Have you tried painting walls and using spray paints? If not try it, may be it will become starting point of your own DIY adventures as is in my case! I would be thrilled to hear your DIY adventures, painting or any other.

Keep Smiling,
Anima