Plan your work and work your plan with this book

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Before I painted the interior of my house, with the help of a friend, I decided to see if anything new had been developed since I last did any painting. This book made it easy to plan my work, keep problems to a minimum and then work my plan. I lent it to the man who will get on the ladder to reach the high spots and ceilings.
If you have not painted in a while, this is a great review.

Helpful

For the most part, this book will help anyone who doesn't consider themselves a pro. It's probably of most value to people who just wanna do it right the first time (whether this is for their first paint job, or they remember the pains of painting).

Great tips for less mess, and easy clean up are in here. Also covered:
The order in which you paint a the surface in a room.
Taking care of brushes and rollers in between uses, on top of picking the right brushes and rollers for the job (and those of good quality).
How to calculate how much paint you need, based on the size of your room/surface.
Preparing a room, or surface for painting.
Did i mention tips for less mess, and easier clean up. I remember all the cleaning i would have to do when i painted in my teens, and the drops of paint that were on the floor. I spend so little time cleaning, now that I employ these tips.
Explains what "cutting in" means, and how to do it.
Safety/health tips.

I've used just about every suggestion offered in this book. There is one that bothers me though. When actually applying the paint, it says to paint in sections, but it's instructions for connecting sections seamlessly are not good (imo). It doesn't include a picture. So i got these bands of layered paint and my wall looked uneven.

The book also covers doing fancier things like patters and whatnot. I haven't tried it though. I'm just telling you it's there.

Perfect to get beyond slopping paint on a wall...

Painting Do-It-Yourself For Dummies Preparing for Your Painting Project: Gathering What You Need; Readying Your Room and Surface; Making Necessary Wall Repairs; Brushing Up on Painting Basics
Part 2 - Painting Walls Like a Pro: Faux Finishes with Shapes and Patterns; Faux Finishes Using Glaze; More Fun Decorative Techniques
Part 3 - Covering Other Areas of Your Home: Coating Ceilings and Floors; Turning Your Brush to Trim, Windows, and Doors
Part 4 - The Part of Tens: Ten Tips for a Practically Perfect Paint Job; Ten Tips for Picking the Best Color
Index

The first part covers all those things about painting that seems to take all the time and are no fun at all... the prep work. Tools are explained, as well as how to properly prepare the surfaces for painting and how to make the necessary repairs involving those gouges and cracks that tend to occur over time. Even though you've done all these things before if you've painted, it's a good refresher on just why it's important and what you gain on-tone checkerboarding. They are very striking techniques, and obviously would not work in every room in every house. Still, it'll give you ideas you may have never had the courage to contemplate before. Personally, I was most excited about the glaze and texture ideas. If I can talk my wife into it, I'd really like to try the painted tissue wallpaper. Texture for the wall, coverage for the lathe/plaster cracks and irregularities, and something really "different". The part on covering other surfaces is not quite as long or perhaps exciting, but again you'll get the proper technique for doing things so that the results come out looking professional.

This is one of the few books I sat my wife down and went through with her. While we might not agree on actual colors and styles, we at least had a shared perspective that was more than her giving ideas and me saying "whatever". I look forward to actually painting a room or two this year (did I actually write that?), and this book will help me improve the outcome dramatically.