Home

Interior Painting

Exterior Painting

Commercial

Flooring

Service

Testimonials

How & Why

About Us

Contact Us

Employment

Links

Maintaining Interior Paint                  

Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute take on how to maintain your interior walls.

A. Dealing with Dirt

Interior paint typically gets dirty in many situations: hand prints around switches and knobs; splashes in kitchen and bathroom; marks on hallways and corridors; "soot" accumulating above electric lamps and other heat sources. Removing dirt before it accumulates not only improve appearance, it reduces chance of getting permanently embedded in the paint film. While changing color is a good reason for repainting.

1. Check for dirt periodically; assume it will will be present in and near cooking areas (airbourne cooking oil) and at places at hand height.
2. Always initially clean the surface with a mild detergent with a sponge or soft cloth; resort to or gloss or oil-based paint. Abrasive cleaners will burnish nearly any paint, and will dull the gloss or satin, semi-gloss and gloss products.
3. Washed surfaces should be rinsed thoroughly because residual cleaner can interfere with adhesion or paint applied later.  

B. Treating Mildew

Watch for growth of mildew on painted surfaces that tend to be moist; this includes laundry and basement areas, bathrooms and kitchens. Mildew should be treated and removed, and never simply painter over.

1. Apply a 3:1 mixture or water:household bleach to the mildewed area using a rag or sponge; wear eye and skin protection and a respirator; with colored paints, do a test area first to be sure the bleach solution will not cause fading; protect the floor and nearby articles
2. Allow the mixture to remain on for 20 minutes; add more as it dries  
3. Rinse off the area thoroughly

C. Sticking

Sometimes painted surfaces will stick to each other, as with a door and the door jamb. This is most likely of the painted surfaces are put back into service before the paint has fully dried. Dark color paints tend to stick more than light colors or white paints, all else being equal; and glossier paints stick more than do flat paints. Warm and damp conditions increase the tendency, and of course application of pressure increases sticking.

1. Always allow ample time to paint to dry before putting the painted object back into service.     
2. If sticking is observed, rub talcum powder onto both surfaces to  alleviate it.
3. The plasticizer in gaskets used in windows, doors, etc. can soften latex paints and cause sticking. This is most problematic with new gaskets, and with dark-tinted paints. Steps to minimize this include: waiting several weeks to paint a new installation; using a light color or white paint; and applying talcum powder to the gasket and the paint.