Renovation 4th Edition

by Michael Litchfield

  on a building fast. Spraying is most appropriate

  time. Moreover, you shouldn’t spray in any

  180º and blowing out the

  when you’ve got large expanses to paint, where

  wind stronger than a slight breeze.

  obstruction—without needing to

  there’s ornate trim, or if the surface is multifaceted

   Consequently, spray painting is less

  disassemble the spray gun. if

  (shingles), textured (stucco), or otherwise difficult appropriate when you don’t have much to

  you’re concerned about applying

  to cover with a brush or roller. Spraying can also

  too much paint with an airless

  paint or if the area to be painted has a lot of

  speed a job along when you need to apply numer-

  sprayer, choose a smaller spray

  doors, windows, or other obstructions that

  ous thin, even applications, as on cabinet doors.

  tip, say, a no. 511 or no. 611 tip

  will need to be masked.

  for spraying cabinet doors and

  sPraYing: not a

  spray-painting equipment. In recent years,

  drawers.

  Cut-and-dried deCision

  spray-painting equipment has become much eas-

  ier to operate and maintain. The key to success-

  Although it has some advantages, spray painting

  ful spray painting, as with any painting, is thor-

  is not effortless, nor is it right for all situations:

  ough prep work. That is, begin by correcting

   Spray painting can be complicated. An

  moisture problems, removing loose paint and

  even application of paint requires the right tip,

  dirt, caulking and filling holes and gaps, and

  the correct paint consistency and gun

  priming unfinished substrates.

  pressure, good technique, and a feel for

  renting a Paint sprayer

  don’t rent spraying equipment that isn’t well main-

  tained. a first-rate rental company will size the pump

  Safety lock

  to your job, recommend spray tips, and explain how

  everything works. For good measure, ask for an opera-

  tor’s manual, too.

  tip guard

  Make sure the equipment is clean when you pick it

  up. also, ask whether the last paint used in the sprayer

  was oil based or latex. if you are applying latex and

  reversible

  the last paint through was oil, it is not unreasonable

  spray tip

  to reject the sprayer and ask for another. or you can

  ask the renter to spray a small amount of latex to

  trigger

  make sure there’s no oily residue still in the system.

  Finally, make sure you know how to use the equip-

  ment, even if you’re a bit macho and don’t want to

  admit that you’ve never operated any sprayer before.

  hose to

  one face-saver is, “say, run a little water and show

  pump

  me how to pressurize this, would you?” don’t leave

  the rental yard without understanding how the

  Sprayer parts.

  equipment works.

  512 Chapter 18

  spray-painting safety begins with a respirator

  with two replaceable organic-vapor filters. If

  you’ll be spraying exteriors, a half-face respirator

  should be adequate. For interiors, where paint

  zzzzzz Moving with a spray gun

  concentrations build up quickly, wear a full-face

  respirator, gloves, a spray sock to keep paint mist

  off your head, and disposable coveralls. The

  greater the concentration of paint mist, the sooner

  filters will clog and cease filtering.

  airless sprayers have largely replaced conven-

  tional spray equipment with its bulky compres-

  sors, pressurized paint pots, and two hoses.

  Instead, single-hose, airless sprayers force paint

  through the tip at up to 3,000 lb. of pressure, cre-

  ating a very fine spray. High-volume airless

  To achieve uniform spray applications, move with

  sprayers can apply coatings of varying viscosity,

  the tool, as shown, rather than remaining in one

  from extrafine to heavy—and they transfer to the

  spot and swinging the spray gun in an arc.

  surface a higher percentage of the paint (70% to

  75%) than conventional high-pressure paint guns Test the sprayer on an inconspicuous area first

  (35%) or high-volume, low-pressure (HVLP)

  to make sure it’s operating correctly and to famil-

  sprayers (60%).

  iarize yourself with its fan pattern and volume. If

  spray tips control paint volume and pattern, or

  the pressure is correct, paint will stick when the

  fan. Fixed-size tips are coded with three-digit

  spray tip is 12 in. from the wall. But if paint

  numbers: The first digit (2–9) indicates in inches

  bounces back at that distance (coating the sprayer

  half the width of the paint fan when you hold the and your gloved hand), reduce the pressure.

  tip 1 ft. from the surface being painted. The next

  if the sprayer clogs often, the paint may be

  two digits (00–99) indicate the size of the tip

  contaminated and need straining. Buy strainer

  opening in thousandths of an inch. So a no. 518

  bags at a paint store, or, in a pinch, strain paint

  tip will spray a 10-in.-wide fan (at 1 ft. away) and through an old pair of panty hose or nylons.

  has a 0.018-in. opening.

  A few manufacturers make adjustable spray

  Keep the sprayer moving in long, straight

  tips, but they’re a specialty item. If, for example,

  strokes. Hold the spray tip 12 in. away from the

  you’ll be at the top of a tall ladder, need several

  surface, and overlap passes 30% to 50%. To pre-

  different spray patterns, and don’t feel like climb-

  vent uneven paint buildup, move the spray tip

  ing down the ladder to change tips, use an adjust- parallel to the surface. If the surface you’re paint-

  able tip. But most of the time, fixed-size tips are

  ing has distinct edges, start spraying just before

  the way to go: They cost less and maintain a pre-

  the edge and don’t release the trigger until the

  cise aperture longer.

  paint fan is past the far edge. If you must start in

  the middle of a wall, begin moving your arm

  sPraY-Painting basiCs

  before pulling the trigger.

  use a hose that’s long enough so you can move

  never touch a spray tip while it’s spraying: It

  freely around the work site. For exterior jobs,

  will inject paint into your skin (and bloodstream), you’ll need a 100-ft. hose; for most interior jobs,

  which requires immediate medical attention,

  use a 50-ft. one. As you spray, hold a loop of the

  including removing the affected skin.

  hose in your free hand to keep it out of your foot

  Carefully mask off everything you don’t want

  path—and away from freshly painted surfaces.

  painted—from ceilings to windows to shrubs. To

  Sprayer hoses come in 50-ft. lengths with cou-

  protect large expanses, use 11⁄2-in. painter’s mask-

  plings on both ends.<
br />
  ing tape to attach high-density plastic sheeting.

  start at the top and work down as you spray.

  To cover baseboards, windowsills, and the like,

  Because a fine paint rain falls when you spray, it’s

  apply 12-in.-wide masking paper. Careful mask-

  better that it falls on unpainted surfaces—which

  ing takes time, but it’s crucial to ensure crisp

  will be painted over for a uniform finish.

  spray-painted edges.

  use a cardboard painting shield to keep paint

  before turning on the pump, make sure the

  overspray off adjacent surfaces you have already

  spray-gun trigger is locked, the pump’s pressure

  painted or won’t paint at all, as shown in the top

  control is turned to low, and the priming lever is

  photo on p. 534.

  turned off.

  Painting

  513

  Keep spray tips clean because they are easily

  clogged. So when you’re done painting for the

  day, soak them in the appropriate vehicle (solvent

  for oil-based paint, hot water for latex). If the tip

  is really gunky, soak it in lacquer thinner.

  replace the spray tip if, after cleaning it, its

  spray pattern is still blotchy or the spray unit

  seems to be guzzling paint. Solids in the paint

  actually abrade the inside of a tip, enlarging it

  over time.

  Keep filters clean and replace them often.

  Using a paint-appropriate thinner, clean filters

  every time you change paint colors, at the end of

  each day, or if you’re pumping a lot of paint—say,

  40 gal.—by lunchtime. A 100-mesh filter is con-

  sidered minimum; coarser filters will admit

  P R O T I P

  debris that can clog the tip.

  a hePa filter on a cheap, leaky

  Lead-Paint Safety

  vacuum is a fool’s bargain: it will

  In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency

  recirculate lead-contaminated

  (EPA) issued the Renovation, Repair, and

  air in the house. quality hePa

  Painting (RRP) ruling, which required profes-

  vacs (bosch, Fein, Metabo, hilti,

  sional contractors working on houses built before

  etc.) run $500 and up.

  1978 to take extensive precautions to protect

  their crews and homeowners from the potential

  presence of lead dust. Although the EPA exempts

  homeowners working on their own homes, lead

  poisoning doesn’t exempt anyone. So it’s some-

  thing everyone should take seriously.

  Safe lead abatement is two-pronged. First, contain dust

  understanding lead Paint

  by attaching mechanical scrapers or sanders to industrial-

  Lead-based paint adheres to almost any surface

  strength vacuums with HEPA-rated filters. Second, wear

  disposable coveralls, booties, and gloves taped shut at all

  and weathers well, so it’s not surprising that it

  openings, as well as a respirator with replaceable HEPA

  can be found in 90% of houses built before 1940.

  filter cartridges. A half-face mask and eye protection

  However, as lead’s health hazards became known should be adequate in most cases.

  When to Call in a lead-abatement specialist

  the ePa’s 2010 rrP rule is complex, and this brief discussion is no

  well-prepared homeowners. but if the renovation project involves a

  substitute for knowing the law. You can read it at www.epa.gov/lead/

  sizable modification of an exterior that has tested positive for lead—

  pubs/renovation.htm.

  hire lead-abatement specialists. Complying with particulars of the

  broadly stated, the rules are designed to make people aware of the

  rrP rule will be their headache, not yours.

  hazards of lead, require renovation firms to be certified in lead-safe

  in theory, containing lead-painted debris is straightforward, but

  work practices, present ways to limit potential contamination, and, in in practice, it is a nightmare. Most job sites are already a chaotic effect, direct those doing the abatement to capture lead-contaminated stream of delivery trucks, subs, inspectors, and crew coming and materials, treat them as toxic wastes, and dispose of them safely.

  going. add to the mix nervous neighbors—thanks to extensive

  the law is quite specific about how waste is to be captured—

  notifications of lead abatement in progress, posted throughout the

  requiring, for example, that exterior trim painted with lead paint be

  neighborhood. if your region is windy, containment may also involve

  individually wrapped in sheet plastic before being carted off site.

  erecting scaffolding and a plastic envelope around the house. it can

  Containing the limited amount of debris generated by, say, a kitchen

  be a huge undertaking.

  remodel is probably within the capabilities of most contractors or

  514 Chapter 18

  in the 1950s, paint manufacturers began to phase

  it out. It was banned altogether in 1978 by the

  U.S. government.

  Because lead is a neurological toxin, it is par-

  ticularly damaging to children ages six years and

  younger, who seem drawn to it because it’s slightly

  sweet. Breathing or eating it can cause mental

  retardation in children. In people of all ages, lead

  can also cause headaches, anemia, lethargy,

  kidney damage, high blood pressure, and other

  ailments.

  Because of its durability, lead paint was com-

  monly used on exteriors, glossy kitchen and bath-

  room walls, in closets (which rarely get repainted),

  and as an enamel on interior doors, windows,

  stair treads, and woodwork. So each time a

  swollen window or sticking door was forced

  open, it ground lead paint into flakes and dust.

  Roof leaks, drainage problems, and inadequate

  ventilation added to the problem because exces-

  Houses built before 1978 should be tested for lead paint. Cut out a small chunk of surface paint to

  sive moisture causes the paint to degrade and

  expose older paint layers, and rub the exposed area with a test swab. This bright-red LeadCheck

  reading indicates a high concentration of lead.

  detach sooner.

  If you have an older home, the presence of

  lead may not be a dire problem if your home is

  well maintained and old paint is well adhered.

  any other lead-related questions, contact The

  However, lead becomes most dangerous when it

  National Lead Information Center at www.epa.

  becomes airborne, especially during sanding or

  gov/lead/pubs/nlic.htm.

  heat stripping, for then it can be inhaled and eas-

  P R O T I P

  ily absorbed into the bloodstream. Therefore, if

  steP tWo: Cover uP

  you are considering renovating your old house,

  Wear a respirator with N100 or P100 HEPA fil-

  be methodical. Postpone any demolition or paint

  if painted surfaces are intact

  ters and snug-fitting goggles; a full-face respira-

  removal until you test to see if lead paint is pres-

  and you don’t have small chil-

  tor is not a bad idea but may be too hot to work

&
nbsp; ent. If it is, develop a plan for dealing with it.

  dren, either leave the lead paint

  in. Disposable coveralls, booties, and gloves are

  alone or paint over it to seal it in

  also a must; tape shut neck, wrist, and ankle

  steP one: test For lead

  place. You might also cover walls

  openings. At the end of day, shed contaminated

  with 1⁄4-in. drywall.

  If you suspect the house has lead paint, test it to

  work clothes at the job site: Wearing them home

  be sure. There are a number of test kits available

  can endanger your family. Note: You can find dis-

  at home centers, but at this writing only one sat-

  posable respirators for about $10, but a reusable

  isfies EPA criteria for false positives and false

  respirator with replaceable filter cartridges is a

  S a f e T y a l e R T

  negatives: LeadCheck™.

  better buy if the job extends beyond a few days.

  Testing is pretty straightforward. Using a utility

  Whenever you take a break,

  knife, cut away a small amount of surface paint

  steP three: Contain the Mess

  stop for lunch, or quit for the

  to get at earlier layers underneath. Rub the test

  day, wash your hands well.

  swab on the exposed area: the brighter the

  interior containment. Tape shut all HVAC regis-

  otherwise, you can easily ingest

  swabbed area, the greater the concentration of

  ters and turn off the furnace/AC so it won’t start

  lead dust. at the very least,

  lead. Test several areas, such as door and window while you’re working in the room. To contain

  change out of your work clothes

  trim and siding. A LeadCheck kit contains

  lead-paint dust and debris inside, use 6-mil sheet

  and take a sponge bath at the

  16 swabs and costs less than $50.

  plastic and painter’s tape to isolate and contain

  site before changing into clean

  If sample areas test negative, it’s probably safe the mess. Tape plastic across door openings to

  clothes. this is definitely one

  to work on the house, although you should of

  seal off work areas from living spaces, and cover

  time when you don’t want to take

  course still wear appropriate respirators and

  walls inside the work area with plastic as well so

  work home with you.

  minimize exposure to paint dust. If renovation

  they can be wiped down and vacuumed when

  is extensive, however, you’d be well served to

  you’re done. Protect floors with rosin paper or