by Craig | Sep 20, 2017 | DIY, Interior Painting
Here is the official CAM Painters guide to trim painting! Do you want your trim looking silky smooth and nice? Read on…
Determine if you need to prime your trim
There are a couple of situations where a primer is recommended.
- First, if you’re painting over bare wood, a primer seals the wood and provides a sandable surface before painting.
- If you’re painting over varnished wood, a primer will help the paint adhere to the surface.
- If you’re painting over an oil paint, a primer will help with adhesion. To test if your trim is currently painted in oil, put some acetone (nail polish remover) on a rag and rub it on the surface. If the paint comes off on the rag you have latex paint, if not, you likely have oil paint.
Lightly sand your trim
Your existing trim likely has a somewhat glossy finish, so it’s a good practice to lightly sand your trim. The purpose of this is twofold:
- It smooths out any rough spots, drips, ridges that are currently in the trim, so that the surface is nice and smooth for all subsequent steps.
- It de-glosses the surface, so that primer and/or paint can penetrate deeper and bond better with the surface.
Prime your trim – if necessary
If you have determined that you need to prime (refer to first step) here is the procedure:
- We recommend a primer with good adhesion, our favorite is Multi-Purpose Water-Based Acrylic-Alkyd Primer from Sherwin Williams
- Apply it with brush or wizz roller (for flat doors or other wide, flat areas)
- Apply it in thin coats – the goal is giving the finish coat something to grab into, not coverage
- Allow enough cure time before topcoating (usually an hour or two)
Fill any holes and gaps
After priming, it’s an ideal time to inspect the surface for any nail holes or gaps. These can easily be caulked, just be sure to smooth out the caulking after so that there are no lumps in the surface.
Give the primer a very light sand
Using 200 or higher grit sandpaper give the primer a light sand. Sometimes bare wood fibers can be raised after its primed, so smooth out these areas with your sandpaper. Also, inspect and make sure there are no rough areas that were missed on the first sanding. You just want to smooth out the surface, not penetrate down to the bare wood, so just use a light touch.
Paint your trim
Our favorite paints for trim are Sherwin Williams ProClassic or Benjamin Moore Advance. These dry very smooth and hard, which make them ideal. Here are some tips to get a great finish:
Use long brush strokes – This minimizes brush marks in the final product and gives the smoothest appearance
It’s better to do two thin coats than one thick coat – If the paint is too thick it will drip and sag before it dries
Check on your work before moving on – If you look back on what you’ve done before moving on to the next section you can smooth out any drips and sags before they have a chance to dry.
Final Thoughts
We hope you have enjoyed our short little guide to DIY trim painting. If you’d rather have CAM Painters take care of your painting project why don’t you book a quote online? We’d be happy to transform your home with lasting beauty!
by Craig | Aug 21, 2017 | DIY, Interior Painting
Let’s say you’re looking at buying a house, but it’s got nicotine stains on the walls and ceilings. Or perhaps there are lot’s of cooking stains in the kitchen. Will paint cover over this? Will paint eliminate the smell?
Well, the answer to these questions is, it depends…
How extensive are the stains?
Nicotine smell gets everywhere! We can eliminate the smell coming from the ceiling, walls and trim. 
However, the nicotine smell can get into the carpet and other flooring, and throughout the HVAC system, so be sure to address these areas as well. This could result in needing your carpet to be replaced using somewhere like Carpet Now. Depending on where you’re based, it’d be good to search for a proper carpet cleaning service in this instance. If, for example, you’re reading this from the other side of the border down in sunny California you could try googling “Carpet cleaning in Aliso Viejo” to find your best options, or for those more native to Canada, try “Carpet cleaning in Toronto”, or “Rentable carpet cleaner.” There’s plenty of options out there to remove these stains, but for today we’ll focus on the ones on the walls. Why people smoke is beyond me. At least use a vape with the best 510 thread battery, it can even be used with more pleasant flavours or even cannabis. So in addition to painting, it would be wise to budget for having the ducts cleaned as well as replacing the flooring. In extreme cases, we can put a stain sealer on the sub floor before new flooring goes in, be it installed by https://cuttingedgeflooringservices.com/tile-installation/ or other companies.
Cooking stains generally are easier to deal with. Kitchens usually have hard surface flooring that is easy to clean, so cooking smells and stains can be eliminated with a thorough cleaning.
How do we deal with stains on painted surfaces?
If there is heavy staining we wash the ceilings, walls and trim with TSP, which is a bleaching agent, or Simply Green, which is a mildewcide. After we wash the stained areas we allow them to dry and then we apply a stain-sealing primer, which we’ll talk about next.
If the stains aren’t too heavy, we’ll go directly over with a stain-sealing primer, and we’ll skip the washing step.
Which stain-sealing primer do you use? Generally shellac-based primers work the best on stains, and we prefer Zinsser BIN. There are oil-based and latex-based stain-sealing primers, but we have found that they don’t work as well as shellac-based.
After we have completely sealed the affected areas with primer, then we can topcoat with whatever paint we choose.
What if I choose just to paint directly over the stains?
If you choose to just paint directly over the stains with either oil or latex-based paint, the stain will bleed through the topcoat. This basically means that the stain will show through whatever you paint it with, which is why we need to properly clean the surface and/or prime the surface to seal it.
In conclusion
Painting a house with either nicotine or cooking stains can be done, just be aware of the extra work involved and budget accordingly.
If you’d rather have CAM Painters remedy this situation for you why don’t you book a quote? We’d be happy to transform your home with lasting beauty!
by Craig | Aug 13, 2017 | Interior Painting, Pricing/Value
The cost of painting a Toronto home can vary widely, however, there are some ways to get the best value from your painting contractor, and here’s how….
Most of these suggestions come down to proper planning. If you can make your painting contractor’s job more easy, so that they can get it done in less time, then there should be a savings for you.
Plan ahead
Just as I was writing this blog post I got a call for wallpaper installation, which would take the better part of a week, based on what he told me. The person wanted me to come and do an estimate today (Sat Aug 12th). I proceeded to ask when he was hoping for the work to start and he said he needed it to start on Monday Aug 14th, 2 days later! This is a recipe for frustration! The chances of finding a reputable wallpaper installer who happens to have a week-long opening 2 days after looking at a job is very low, to say the least!
If you call a painting contractor and expect him to do the job on short notice, chances are that to accommodate you they have to move other jobs around and inconvenience some of their other clients. This creates extra work for the painting contractor and they usually charge a premium for last-minute work. However, with Fast Room Painting, you can be sure to get the room painted at an affordable rate.
In order to be on the safe side it’s wise to start gathering quotes at least a month before you actually want the work done, that way you can have a good chance of getting the time that you want.
If you can be flexible with timing you’ll get the best value
If you are able to be patient, it can pay dividends! Painting in Toronto tends to be busy in the summer and slower in the winter. If you have interior painting to do and can wait until the slower winter months, you can generally get the best value.
Here at CAM Painters if you book work for the slower months of December through March we’ll throw in some items for free to reward you for your patience. Say, for example we’re painting your entire room (ceiling, walls and all the trim), we’ll give you the baseboard in that room for free. 
Ensure that we have good access to the areas we’re painting
Another way to make sure you get the best value for your painting dollar is to ensure that we have clear access to the areas that we’re painting. Painting before moving in is always ideal, feel free to read about all the advantages here.
Empty rooms are the most ideal, however, not always practical if you’re residing in the home. However, the better cleared out the room is, the more efficient and less time it takes to paint. In terms of a furnished room, all the furniture should be moved to the centre of the room, so that there is at least 5 or 6 feet around the walls, and all pictures, etc. taken off the walls. If you, the client, does this work, you save the cost of having us do it, if we have to do all the work of moving your belongings then we have to charge for it.
In conclusion
As you can see, with some proper planning and a little bit of effort on your part, it’s possible to keep the cost of your painting project low, without compromising at all on workmanship or durability.
Why don’t you have CAM Painters over for a quote? We’d be happy to transform your home with lasting beauty!
It is no secret that a fresh coat of paint can add value to your property and make it easier to sell. But what can you do if the new property of your dreams is just outside of your current budget? You might want to consider taking out a bridging loan. If you would like to learn more about how bridging loans work, head to the Lending Expert website.
by Craig | Jul 29, 2017 | Interior Painting, Pricing/Value, Wallpaper installation
Are your children scared of going down in the basement? Do you jokingly call your basement a dungeon? Are you in desperate need of basement waterproofing bel air md? If you own an older home, chances are you have dark panelled walls in the basement.
Dark walls, combined with small basement windows and limited light make for a really dark living space! How can you make your basement more light and inviting? Here are a few ideas
Install more lighting.
Add a few more fixtures, whether that means installing pot lights, galvanized ceiling lights, or just using brighter bulbs in your existing fixtures. If you’re in the market of looking for new types of lighting for your basement, or in other darker areas of your home for that matter, then a small floor lamp can be a good choice in giving you and your family a sufficient amount of light. Just remember that if you’re not familiar with fitting lighting, always consult with a professional. You can find an example of a professional lighting company at: https://hometeamelectric.com/city-page/twentynine-palms/ but you may need to search for other companies closer to you.
Rip out your old walls and install drywall
Obviously the best solution for your basement walls is to install new drywall, this give your home the most up to date look, however, let’s weigh the pros and cons:
Pros: You end up with smooth painted walls
Cons: It’s both the most expensive and the most time-consuming option
Paint your panelling
Did you know that you can paint that dark panelling in your basement? What’s involved? First you’ll need to make sure that the surface is clean. Use a primer that offers good adhesion, one of our favorites for this application is Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond Primer, or XIM UMA both of which are designed to stick to glossy and smooth surfaces such as panelling.
Pros: Very economical and you can paint it whatever colour you choose
Cons: You still have the ridges from the old panelling
Wallpaper your panelling
Once your panelling is primed you can have wallpaper installed over the top of it. In general, thicker wallpaper will work better in this situation that a thinner wallpaper would because the thicker paper hides surface imperfections better.
Pros: You don’t have to install new drywall to achieve smooth walls
Cons: The panelling needs to have been installed properly in the first place. If there are bumps, especially where the panels join, this could show through the finished product.
In conclusion
There is hope for your dark dungeon-like basement! If you’d like to paint or wallpaper your panelled basement walls why don’t you book a quote? We’d be happy to transform your basement with lasting beauty!
by Craig | May 27, 2017 | DIY, Interior Painting
The mark of a great paint job for your Toronto home is straight, sharp lines. This can be beneficial if you are doing stripes on a wall, or just want a clean line between walls and ceiling.
Many times when we are painting, we will do our “cut” lines freehand, just following the corner between the wall and, or the groove between trim and wall. However, there are many situations where a professional painter needs tape to ensure a clean sharp cut line.
Here are a list of best practices to get the sharpest line possible.
Select a good painter’s tape
The beige tape is not painter’s tape. Beige tape is too sticky and usually peels paint off the surface.
This particular tape is usually green or blue and is clearly labeled “painter’s tape”. The best is Frog Tape, but it’s one of the most costly painters tape as well.
Apply the tape correctly
Even if a high quality painter’s tape is used all is for nought if it’s not applied correctly. If the edges aren’t properly sealed then paint will seep underneath the tape and wreck any possibility of a sharp straight line.
How do you seal the edges of the tape?
If you are using Frog Tape, you have to make sure that the edge is firmly pressed down. Either use your finger and run it along the edge of the tape, or some people will use a plastic putty knife and run that along the edge of the tape. Once that’s done there should be no paint seeping under the tape and you’ll get a sharp line.
If you have an ordinary painter’s tape a sharp line can still be achieved. Once again, firmly press the tape down, either with your finger or a plastic putty knife. However, an extra step after this is needed to ensure that the edge is properly sealed, this can take the form of:
- a thin bead of caulking along the edge of the tape
- some of the base colour along the edge of the tape
- a clear flat varnish along the edge of the tape
Any of these methods will seal the edge of the tape.
Removing the tape
Either remove the tape right after you paint, or wait until the paint is fully dry. If the paint is partially dry it can lift off the surface.
How you remove the tape is important as well:
- go slowly
- keep the tape at an obtuse angle, ie. close to the surface as you pull
There you have it! Clean beautiful paint lines!
If you’d rather leave the clean, beautiful paint lines to the professionals why don’t you book a quote? We’d be happy to Transform Your Home With Lasting Beauty!
by Craig | Mar 6, 2017 | drywall repair, Interior Painting
Oops, young Johnny was playing hockey indoors and shot a puck into the wall of yo
ur Toronto home, and has left you with a hole in your drywall!
You hosted a Super Bowl 2017 party with some die-hard Atlanta Falcons fans, and the brunt of their frustrations ended up on a 1’x1′ section of wall. You sigh, knowing that you needed some work done anyway. The roof has needed a roofing Aurora company to take a look at it for a while anyway, but now you’ve got another job that needs patching up around the home.
What are you going to do? Do you have to hire two different contractors; a handyman to patch the hole and a painter to paint the wall after the patch?
Actually, CAM Painters can fix that hole in your drywall and then paint your whole house from top to bottom after! Or we can just repaint the wall that had the hole in it.
If you want your whole house drywalled your better to get a specialist in, but it’s hard to get a drywall contractor in for one patch. My rule of thumb is that if the repair is less than the size of a sheet of drywall you’re far better off hiring one contractor to do both patch and paint, rather than deal with two contractors.
What’s our process for drywall repairs?
First order of business, we want to keep dust to a minimum. Drywall patching requires sanding patching compound around the edge of the repairs. There are a few ways we use to minimize dust:
- We drape plastic on door openings to minimize dust travelling from one room to another.
- We apply our patching compound as smooth as possible. If the patching compound lumpy more sanding needs to be done than if the compound is smooth to start with.
- We use sanders that hook up to HEPA filter vacuums, so that less dust gets into the atmosphere in the first place.
We also ensure that the repaired area is reinforced to prevent future damage. This involves putting wood 
strapping behind the repair for extra support if necessary. We want to make sure that we give the best possible service to our customers so we like to take a look at what we do each time and see where we can secure the 100%, for instance, we have work vehicles that we use to transport our equipment and ourselves to the designated area, so it is important that we make sure our vehicles have, at the very least, cheap business van insurance, as well as insure what is within the van in case of any incidents or issues so we are covered in any and all eventualities in our line of work.
If you’d like more detail about our patching process read this DIY post: How to Patch a Hole in my Toronto Home
If you have some holes in your drywall that you need repaired why don’t you book a quote? We’d love to Transform Your Home With Lasting Beauty!
