Painting Frankenstein
by Roger Woodward
GREETINGS
Since you are reading this you probably have decided to paint a portion of, or perhaps the entire interior of your home. You may have already started, either way you need to ask yourself a few questions and answer honestly. They are:
Do I have the time?
Do I derive a great deal of satisfaction from doing a job well?
Do I have the patience to see this job through?
Do I enjoy a challenge?
Can I deal with the inevitable "rumple" of rooms in disarray?
If you answer NO to any of the above STOP now!
Find a reputable painting contractor and give this book to a friend. If you answer with an honest Yes, then let's continue.
Upon completion of these pages you and I will have painted a room, a room with problems, and in the process you will have learned a great deal about the craft of house painting. It is my hope that this book will provide you with the confidence to complete your project with a sense of pride and accomplishment. As you will learn, there are many lessons before the stroke of the brush.
KNOW THY ENEMY
Before we get into the technical aspect of painting let's consider the philosophy of painting. Of course painting, like any other human endeavor, has a philosophical side. Without the proper frame of mind your painting project could become a disaster, a self imposed disaster, not because of the wrong brush or roller but because of the wrong mind set. The lack of mental preparation.
Fear is the number one enemy of self confidence and therefore the number one enemy of the novice house painter. Most of us fear failure, we fear the ridicule of family and friends, we fear the technical unknown. For those reasons some of us never start or never finish, and never know the satisfaction of standing back in admiration of a job well done.
I will give you the information you need to quell the fear of the unknown and instill confidence in your work., however, you must take control and develop the discipline to get the job done.
ONE STROKE AT A TIME
If you were to ask a professional House painter how he would paint a 5,000 square foot house, he would answer.."One room at a time." The point is do not get overwhelmed, mentally, by the size of the job or the number of things to be done. Remember, if the entire house is painted one room at a time then each room is painted one wall at a time. So therein lies the plan.
The best professional painters seem to flow through a job, regardless of size, at a steady even pace; Never hurried, frenzied or frayed. The secret is the attitude and the mental approach. Before the first brush is dipped he has mentally played out the entire job scenario establishing a beginning, a middle and the end. Specific tasks are placed in proper order and mental notes are taken of special problems. He has taken control of the job before he starts.
Of course, you must know the technical hows and whys of house painting, but it is equally important that you do not let the job get out of control. I know of jobs that were allowed to grow into ugly intimidating monsters that gobble up self confidence by dividing your attention and conquering your will. Remember, It's one stroke at a time....with a plan.
