Little Greene® Paint & Paper Painting Tips for Home Decorators

​We want you to get the best out of your home decorating, so we have prepared this brief document, giving you a few tips to help you along the way...

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Recommended Equipment

1-½" Roll of Masking Tape (for protecting joins/edges and surface fixings) 
1"& 2½" Synthetic Brushes (suitable for all paint types)
Pack of Fine Abrasive Paper (for surface preparation/smoothing)
9" Medium Pile Roller & Roller Tray (for applying emulsion point to walls & ceilings) 

You might also need:

• Cardboard & dust sheets
  
• Scraper 
• Preparatory filler
• Cotton clean-up rag
  
• Vacuum cleaner 

• Roller extension handle (for pointing toll walls and ceilings)
  
• Long-handled mini roller (for pointing awkward areas of wall e.g. behind radiators & pipework) 

• Paint can opener 
  
• Paint Stirrer 
  
• Paint bucket (for decanting)
  
• Step ladders 

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Scrapers - Use the point on the scraper to pick out loose paint and cracked plaster, and the flat top to scrape away ALL flaking paint: Use fine abrasive paper to smooth off all surfaces before painting. 

Brushes - Straight-edge, mid-stiffness brushes will handle all tasks nicely. You need a small brush with a good quality edge for cutting in, and a larger brush to efficiently paint bigger areas. Don't use a natural bristle brush for water-based paint - the bristles will absorb and retain paint that is intended for the wall, and will expand which reduces the quality of the brush edge. 

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Using your fingers, lightly dampen the brush with o little water before use - it reduces absorption and makes the brush easier to clean after painting. 

Rollering - Unless you're a professional decorator, rollers larger than nine inches can 
be heavy, unwieldy, and inaccurate. Be sure to select the right nap for the surface you're 
painting: rough (3/4"), medium (1/2"), smooth (3/8"), or very smooth (1/4"). As a general rule, the smoother the surface you're painting, the shorter the nap you use. 

Decanting - When using a brush, especially near ceilings or in cramped areas, decant a little paint from the can into a paint safe bucket or other small, lightweight container. A clean plastic food-storage tub with a tight­fitting cover is ideal for emulsion paint. Immediately after decanting, replace the lid on the paint can lo prevent unnecessary evaporation or contamination while you are working. ​

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Preparing the Room

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If you con, prep the room the night before you plan to decorate. It means you will easily be able lo apply two coats on your walls and hove the room bock lo normal in one day​

1. Remove or roll up rugs and curtains. Make sure furniture is moved to the center of the room and covered. Put down a dustsheet, card or paper on the floor in the area you will be painting.

2. Remove any picture frames or fixings from walls. ​Loosen (or completely remove) any switch and socket plates, door and window handles - they will be easier to tape-off if loose before painting.

3. Make sure you completely remove any loose paint/ plaster/ wallpaper, and ensure the surface is dry. 
4. If painting over wallpaper, make sure all seams ore properly glued. 
5. Clean out and fill all cracks, screw holes, seams and imperfections with proprietary filler. 

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Shine a really good flashlight or other light source closely along the surface of the wall to easily identify blemishes worthy of sanding and/or filling.

​6. Sand the dried filler smooth with fine ​abrasive paper.

7. Stay positive! Although this bit's not very exciting, all this preparation will make a big difference to the quality of your finished wall. 
8. Mask the edges of any glazing in windows and doors, and all pre-painted woodwork using low-tack tape. 

9. For the best finish, sand all areas very lightly before

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If painting baseboards in a carpeted room, mask the carpet with an overlap of tape, and use a scraper edge to tuck it well down between the carpet edge and baseboard.

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Once the tape is in place, run the edge of a scraper or putty knife along it to get a really good edge that paint will not bleed through.

10. Remove all dust and debris from walls using a damp cloth, tack cloth or vacuum cleaner. 

Primers & Undercoats

PRIMERS are used to address issues presented by the underlying surface and are usually quite specific to the type of substrate (for example resinous wood, friable plaster, or ferrous metal).

UNDERCOAT is traditionally a separate layer, formulated to provide the best surface for the desired topcoat; promoting good adhesion, depth of color, flatness, and longevity.

Little Greene Intelligent ASP

Little Green Intelligent All-Surface Primer Undercoat is both a primer AND undercoat in a single application, and can be used to prepare almost any household surface for decoration, including: plaster, woodwork, concrete, glass, uPVC, brick, ceramic tiles, melamine, and all metals.

It's water-based, quick-drying compatible with all Little Greene finishes, and can be supplied tinted for every Little Green color to help achieve it's full depth in one to two coats.

Use Intelligent ASP to:
1. Seal and protect unpainted surfaces.
2. Provide a receptive surface for all topcoats on almost any household surface.
3. Prevent stains from bleeding through the topcoat. 
4. Ease the transition from a dark to light color, or vice versa.
5. Help with transition from one paint type to another (an old oil-based paint to a new coat of water-based paint, for example).
6. Improve the application, look and long-term performance of the topcoat.

Apply one coat of Intelligent ASP by brush or roller to almost any domestic surface and allow to dry for four hours before commencing the top coats.

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Painting a Wall

​Suggested Finishes:
Absolute Flat Emulsion I Intelligent Matt Emulsion | Intelligent Eggshell

1. With your walls prepared, lay a flattened corrugated box on the floor, its padded surface will protect the floor and soak up any drips better than polythene sheets. Set out your tools, then open the paint and give it a good stir (all the way to the bottom of the can. This is especially important in older cans of paint).
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2. You will begin with the 'cutting-in' - the careful painting of the edges of the wall(s), which you won't be able to do accurately with a roller or bigger brush. Decant just an inch or so of paint into a paint bucket, or a similar, easy-to-handle container. 

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Price the lid off the can all the way around it rather than in one place. The spoon end of a teaspoon works really well, and the handle end is useful for removing metal transportation clips.

3. Load a one or two inch straight-edge brush. Only dip the bristles half-way into the paint, you don't want to get any into the ferrule (the metal sleeve that holds the bristles). Clear excess paint from the sides of the brush by dragging them lightly over the lip of the container. 

4. Working from the ceiling down, paint o two or three inch frome around oil the edges of the wall Paint the corners, edges of the baseboard and around windows, doors, light fixtures, sockets and switch plates. 

5. Radiators are difficult to remove from walls during decoration. Protect them with a dustsheet or similar and paint behind them, as far down the wall as you can, bearing in mind that you can see the wall through column radiators. A long-handled mini roller can help with this. 

6. Before the painted frame is completely dry, use a roller to cover the large areas. Slip the appropriate sleeve onto the cage (the roller frame). Attach the roller extension handle if needed.

7. Pour about an inch of paint into the deep reservoir end of the paint tray. Leave the other end of the tray clear. ​

​Dip the roller into the tray, allow the paint to soak into the sleeve, then move it back and forth on the roller bed. The roller should be evenly saturated with paint, but not overloaded. As a test, the roller should spin easily and smoothly in the air, without dripping any paint. 

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For an easy clean-up, line your roller tray with a trash bag (or even tin foil) before you fill it with paint.

8. Once again, you will work from the ceiling down, rollering an area about one meter (three feet) square at a time. Work the roller up, down and across until you've covered the area evenly, you're aiming to apply an even thickness of paint across the whole surface. Cover the entire wall in this way, square by square. 

9. If paint begins to build up on the wall at the edges of the roller stroke, gently roll out the lines immediately. Water-based paints start drying quickly, so don't go back over tacky paint as you will ruin the surface. 

10. Keep the roller loaded and watch out for 'painter's holidays' - patches where paint is too thin. If another coat is necessary, allow the paint to dry properly before repeating. 

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Between coats, avoid having to wash your brushes and rollers by wrapping them in plastic wrap or strong tin foil. 
If there's a significant break before the second coat, you can prevent them drying out for even longer by placing them in the refrigerator.

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Any masking tape should only be removed once the paint is dry to the touch, but make sure to do it the same day to get that beautiful, crisp painted line.

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Painting a Ceiling

Suggested Finishes: 
Absolute Flat Emulsion I Intelligent Matt Emulsion

​General advice when painting a whole room is to paint the ceiling first (then woodwork, finishing with the walls. The ceiling is potentially the messiest job, and it's easier to mask-off the painted woodwork when you paint the walls than the other way round). 

1. If there is a cornice or coving, decide whether this will either be painted the same color as the ceiling, the same color as the walls, or a different shade. 

2. Start by applying a two or three inch border of paint around the edge of the ceiling with a smaller brush, just as you would for the walls. If you will be painting the adjoining surface (coving or walls), you don't need to worry about the line detail of the cutting-in, but do go over the edges rather than finishing short. 

3. You can reduce the chances of 'hatbanding' (a visible change in the painted surface where brushed and rollered areas meet) by ensuring your application towards the inside edges is gradually thinned out ('feathered'). 

4. With the roller (ideally on a handle extension) apply an even coat in sections approximately one meter (three feet) square, across the width of the room rather than the length. Following the shorter dimension will help you work to a wet edge and thus reduce the chance of leaving 'lap marks'.

5. Take care not to overload the roller (it will drip) or let it roll dry (it won't apply enough paint)

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Start at the side of the room nearest the windows and work backwards. The cast of natural light will make it easier to check for even coverage, especially if painting white-on-white.

6. Ventilate the room ii possible, allow two to four hours​ for the first coat to dry, inspect and repeat for the second coat ii necessary. ​

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Painting Woodwork

Suggested Finishes: 
Intelligent Eggshell I Intelligent Satin I Intelligent Gloss

​Woodwork in this context refers to baseboards, architrave, interior doors, panelling and architectural moldings such as chair rails and picture rails. 

​1. Protect the floor with newspaper or cardboard, using masking tape to secure it at the edges. 

2. Ensure any old flaking paint is entirely removed, and transitions in surface quality are 'leathered' (gradual). 

3. Fill any surface abrasions and sand smooth when dry. The paint will give you a beautiful finish, but isn't capable of completely concealing cracks and holes. 

4. Previously painted woodwork in good condition should be sanded back to provide a key*, this is particularly important for glossy surfaces. If the surface is sound and consistent, no primer or undercoat should be necessary. Otherwise apply one coat of Little Greene ASP. 

5. Use a small brush to apply paint at the extremities of the surface and into any intricate moldings, taking care not to let paint pool in crevices where it will slowly sag or even drip while it dries. 

6. Larger areas are efficiently covered with the use of a small foam roller or a bigger brush, depending on scale. A popular way of painting woodwork is to use a roller to efficiently apply the paint, and a brush to 'lay-off' the surface while the paint is still wet. This avoids the orange-peel effect associated with overly-hasty paint application, or. too long a nap (of the roller!). 

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WARNING! If you scrape sand or remove old paint, you may release lead dust. LEAD is toxic, exposure to LEAD DUST can cause serious illness such as brain damage, especially in children. Pregnant women should also avoid exposure. Wear a NlOSH-opproved respirator to control lead exposure. Clean up carefully with a HEPA vacuum and a wet mop. Before you start, find out how to protect yourself and your family by conlacling the National lead Information Hotline at 1-800-424-LEAD or log on lo www.epa.gov/lead. 

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Painting a Radiator

Suggested Finishes: 
Intelligent Eggshell | Intelligent Satin I Intelligent Gloss 

Painting a radiator will not affect its heat output. All the high-quality finishes above can be used, depending on the desired sheen level. 

However, never paint a hot radiator, or use central heating to assist with the drying of a newly painted radiator - this work needs to be started and finished while the radiator is at room temperature. 

Some radiators are considered things of beauty and worth featuring in a room by using a contrasting colour. Others ore purely functional, end ore best 'lost' by painting them the same color as the wall 

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1. New radiators are generally supplied primed and sometimes coated. Glossy finishes should be rubbed with abrasive paper to give any subsequent coats something to stick to. 

2. Use a cloth and/or vacuum cleaner to clean all surfaces. 

3. The preparation of heavily tarnished or rusted radiators may require a wire brush and a specific metal primer. 

4. If the radiator is removed from its position, consider painting the wall behind it at this time. If not, a long­handled roller will be used to best access the wall behind it, when painting the rest of the walls. 

5. Mask off pipework and valves. 
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6. Apply one coat of Little Greene ASP followed by two coats of your chosen finish by brush, paying special care to avoid drips, particularly in the vent profiles where excess paint will naturally accumulate. 

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Painting a Floor

Suggested Finishes:
Intelligent Floor Paint

This revolutionary, quick-drying paint is specifically formulated for wooden and concrete floors. Providing the substrate is sound and clean, neither require a separate primer or undercoat. 
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You need to remove everything from the room. Trying to work in sections will take considerably longer and is only worth considering if it can't be avoided. 

1. After undertaking any filling of holes, thoroughly vacuum the floor, sand it and then vacuum it again - any surface particles including dust, dirt and dog hairs will be permanently in the finished floor if not removed! 

2. Consider masking off the baseboards ii you're not confident about accurately cutting in the edges with a brush. 

3. Exactly as with painting walls or a ceiling, the job of cutting-in around all the edges with a brush is necessary, as you can't reach right up to the baseboard with a roller.

4. It sounds obvious, but you must start painting in the furthest corner from the door, and work back to it.

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You can trick your eye into thinking that the floor (and thus the whole room) is a bit bigger by painting the baseboards in the same color as the floor. The effect is much more dramatic with a contrasting color on the walls.

​5. If painting floorboards, use a brush or foam roller along the whole length of individual boards to reduce the risk of lap marks. 
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6. Repeat for the second coat and leave it as long as is practicably possible (minimum two hours for Intelligent Floor Paint) before walking on it. Bear in mind that, whilst this finish will be dry in a few hours, it will take a few days to fully harden. This is true of all paints. 

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Cleaning Up

Water-Based Finishes:

Little Greene's Intelligent paints are all water-based and environmentally friendly, so clean-up required only running water.  

Scrape off excess paint from brushes and roller sleeves back into the can, and forcibly drag them over newspaper or a cotton rag before rinsing.

Add a few drops of mild liquid dishwashing soap and use a brush-comb, stiff brush or a rounded roller scraper to coax off any remaining paint.

Rinse well and pat the washed brushes and roller sleeves dry with paper towels.  Good brushes have a hole in the handle, this is so they can be stored hanging up.  Don't let them dry 'bristles-up' as excess water is then fed onto the ferrule and handle which reduces the brushes longevity and performance.

Ideally, protect dry brushes in their original card sleeves.

Storing Paint

Always store paint tightly sealed in it's original container, out of extreme temperatures, and away from children.

Disposal

Check at your local authority waste disposal site as regional procedures vary.