Ask Danny | Ep. 3: Answers on All Things Painting

Split image of Danny Lipford and Tracey Amadio
In this episode of “Ask Danny,” Tracey Amadio offers her guidelines and tips for portray.


In Episode 3 of “Ask Danny,” painting specialist Tracey Amadio shares her tips and tricks for getting the best paint position. 


Tracey Amadio of Porch Daydreamer
Tracey Amadio, a.k.a. the “Queen of Painting Everything” is passionate about portray! (Courtesy Tracey Amadio)

About Tracey Amadio

Tracey Amadio is passionate about painting. She employs experience from her residence advancement job to teach Diy assignments, household layout, and portray tactics on her web page Porchdaydreamer.com.

Tracey’s lovers have crowned her the “The Queen of Portray Everything” since there’s almost nothing she will not paint!

Her superpower of colour memory and long history of shade development examination is mixed to locate the perfect paint hues for you.

Her mission is to choose the discomfort out of painting and decorating with her straightforward-to-have an understanding of tutorials.

Tracey was named a 2021 Greater Residences & Gardens Stylemaker and her work has been highlighted in HGTV, Better Houses & Gardens, Great Housekeeping, Region Living, Condominium Treatment and much more.


Open paint cans of white, blue and green on a wood background
Color pigments, additives, resins and carriers decide the rate of paint. (annastories)

Paint Prices

Why is some paint significantly far more highly-priced than other manufacturers and types?

Tracey: Cost matters… to a position.

Lots of home owners only concentration on the paint shade and don’t consider about what is blended in with the coloration pigments. Resins, additives and carriers — like h2o and oil — are important elements that will make paint much more expensive. 

Increased-quality pigments and resins will make the cost go up, but you will have better coverage. The middle price tag issue is the most effective choice to pick out. 

Recall: High-quality perception is dictated by the human being who’s employing the paint. A qualified may well want a thinner paint mainly because they’ll be making use of a sprayer, but a house owner usually would like a thicker paint due to the fact they’ll be masking a wall with a different shade or portray a piece of home furnishings. 

Spending a little further on that superior paint is going to give you an less difficult software and much less brush strokes. Also, the paint will dry to a far better, far more durable end.


Hands holding up a sample of paint color swatches against a wall of paint swatches
Finding a paint colour can be mind-boggling. Discover an object to get started your color palette and do the job from there. (Feverpitched, Getty Photographs)

Finding a Colour

Can you give some steering on how to pick out a paint shade?

Tracey: When finding a paint coloration, start out with the colour you want to base your palette close to. It could be a piece of fabric, a rug, a plate, everything that can help you hone onto the coloration you want.

Get it to the shop with you to select the proper paint. Also base it on the amount of money of mild in the room, if it a darker way too pick out a  lighter paint colour and sop forth.

I have a no cost guidebook you can download. 6 quick ways to picking a paint coloration.

Also, take into consideration the lighting in the room you are portray. If you have a dim place, lighter paint, if you have a gentle room, you can go with a darker paint shade, a mid-benefit paint is going to be best for most people today.  

Immediately after you have an thought of what color you want, obtain a foam board and paint it with samples so you can move it all over the area to see if it will perform for you. 

Take your time deciding ahead of you select a colour. See how the coloration samples seem at unique times of the day. 


Hand painting wall trim with a paintbrush
A satin or semi-gloss sheen is ideal for trim and molding. (JodiJacobson, Getty Pictures Signature)

Selecting Sheen

What are the various kinds of sheen, and how should you select one? 

Tracey: I utilised to operate at a paint desk, and I would often see the “deer in headlights” appear when I requested what sheen a human being required. 

Sheen matters! It’s in fact much more significant than shade. 

There are five kinds of sheen: flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss and high-gloss. To decide what sheen you will need, think about the home or undertaking you’re painting.

If you’re portray a ceiling, you want a low-reflective paint to disguise any imperfections, primarily the place the joints match up. A flat sheen is most effective for this. 

For walls, you w
ant a higher sheen, like eggshell. Cooking splatters and accidental spills come about, so you need to have a complete that is cleanable. 

When you scrub a flat paint, it burnishes it and will make it shiny. Flat paint is excellent for touchups but not for significant-site visitors locations where you want scrutability and longevity.

The higher the sheen, the more challenging the paint will be when it dries. I generally advised satin, at minimum amount, or semi-gloss for trim and molding. These sheens are continue to wipable but they are additional durable, so they’ll stand up to scuffing and jarring. 

I don’t advocate a superior-gloss paint. The much more reflective a paint is, the additional flaws it is likely to clearly show. It is also hard to use, so I would leave that to a skilled.


Paint brush swiping deep blue paint over faded blue paint on a wood wall
Exterior and interior paint just can’t be interchanged. Always paint the outside of your dwelling with a paint rated for outdoor use. (Susie Hedberg, Getty Photographs)

Exterior Portray

What temperature is best for portray a home’s exterior?

Tracey: Most of the time, exterior paint can not be used in temperatures less than 55-50 degrees Fahrenheit. You want to paint outside the house when there is small humidity and the temperature is average — in between 55-75 levels Fahrenheit. 

Paint has a large amount of h2o in it, so the extra h2o in the air, the lengthier time it will consider the paint to dry. Permit on your own 3 sunny times, if probable, for the paint to dry.

When portray your home’s exterior, only use paint which is rated for exterior use. Mainly because exterior paint has to deal with temperature changes as soon as it is dry, it’s fortified with specific resins and pigments for distinctive toughness. It can expand and contract to a degree that interior paint cannot.

The ideal paint for exterior use is acrylic latex. I steer distinct of oil paints for the exterior. Oil paint is not straightforward to clear, and if you’re using a white oil paint, it will yellow around time mainly because of the oil in it. 

Now, there is oil-enriched enamel paint that is h2o-centered, so it is simple to cleanse with soap and water like acrylic latex. This paint has oil molecules suspended within it, and as it dries, those molecules activate to act like oil paint. The conclude result is a surface that is hard and resilient with all the benefits and overall flexibility of latex paint. 


Black and green plastic outdoor furniture around a fire pit
Refresh plastic out of doors household furniture with a new coat of paint. (Jonathan Cooper/Pexels)

Painting Plastic

How do you paint plastic out of doors furnishings?

Tracey: I acquire a twin tactic to painting plastic home furniture. Implement a bonding primer spray 1st, then cover it with a frequent spraypaint. 


Paint droplets on a beige carpet
(travellinglight, Getty Images)

Even Experts Make Problems

Tracey: Even nevertheless I’m a paint professional, I often go on the web to see what other individuals in the portray entire world are undertaking. 

About a yr in the past, I resolved to paint my stair risers, which had been stained and seriously polyurethaned. 

A person blogger recommended liquid sandpaper, and I considered that could preserve me a step. I taped off the risers, utilized the liquid sandpaper and then painted on top rated of that.

When the paint was nevertheless damp, I pulled the tape off at a 90-degree angle. A full piece of film peeled right off the stair riser, and the complete task was ruined! 

I acquired a tricky lesson: Have confidence in my intestine and go with what works. Use a deglosser, then use a bonding primer, then use the paint.

My paint has stayed put and is vacuum-cleaner evidence as nicely!


Power sander sanding a wood board
Sand away any imperfections ahead of painting wooden. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Tracey’s Tips

  • By no means ignore correct area planning. If you do, the paint will appear off. Get the area awesome and cleanse and sand any failing spots.
  • Use stain-blocking bonding primer if painting more than a stain. If you really don’t, the stain will rise up to the surface and develop color inconsistencies.
  • Pay back attention to the re-coat time. A lot of people today believe dry time and recoat time are the identical. Commonly, recoat time is extended than dry time. If you never hold out the right sum of time advisable by the maker, the paint will stick to by itself and never ever totally dry. You end up with truly tacky, sticky paint which is virtually unachievable to take care of.  

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