10 handy tips for painting and decorating

1) For a top quality high gloss finish, wait for the first coat of paint to dry completely and then use 66 grade wet and dry paper with water over the surface, wiping off the excess with a kitchen towel. Add another coat after this and you will notice the shine. Repeat this again for a third coat and you will have a high gloss finish which looks as shiny glass.

2) When painting the outside of your house, always avoid dark colours. Lighter colours absorb the heat less easily, making the paint less likely to blister in the sun. Painting in direct sunlight can give a poor finish, so try to paint walls when they are most shaded, start with the West facing walls in the morning, followed by East in the afternoon and South and North whenever they are most shaded.

3) To make the most of your old paint, turn the pot upside down before storing it. This will prevent the need to cut away a skin when you reuse it. If you do come across some old paint with bits in it, straining it through an old pair of tights before you use it should get rid of them.

4) If the pungent smell of paint upsets you, cut an onion in half and keep it in the room to eliminate the smell. Alternatively, a teaspoon of vanilla essence stirred into the paint will remove most of its odour without affecting the colour.

5) If you have just painted a door and are worried about it sticking, wait for it to dry and rub the edges with a candle before closing.

6) To rejuvenate hard old paint brushes, leave them to soak in hot vinegar, comb the bristles afterwards and keep in shape with an elastic band until dry.

7) For stripping wallpaper, be sure to buy some alum from your local chemist. Add two teaspoons to every pint of warm water you use and wet the paper thoroughly, allowing the mixture to dry in. The paper will then strip off the wall much more easily.

8) Avoid a messy roller tray by covering it in Clingfilm before starting to paint. Simply roll it up and throw it away afterwards and you’ll have a clean tray!

9) Keep paint off the handles, hinges and locks by applying some Vaseline on a piece of tissue to them before you start painting. The paint won’t stick to that.

10) Never use emulsion paint to cover a watermark on ceilings or walls. Emulsion is water based paint and the mark will simply bleed through, Use some oil based undercoat or a gloss, or alternatively a propriety stain covering spray or paint which can be purchased from your local DIY store.