The Brushmate is as simple as it is effective: a sealable vapour box containing a pad impregnated with a clever proprietary fluid; it means you don’t need to clean your brushes after using them.
Finish using your oil paint brushes, store them for days — or even months — and when you come back to them, they’ll be ready to use.
Highly recommended.
A quick progress note on this job in south London which has involved reboarding a ceiling with fireproof plasterboard .. followed by taping and filling all joints.
The work was required following the removal of built-in enclosed storage above the existing kitchen area.
Updates follow…
Rebuilding and repainting a Victorian ceiling in south London Read Post »
2-part filler — usually simply called “2-part” or 2-pack”, depending on your preference — will set you apart from the herd as your pursue a professional finish.
Generally: use plaster-based fillers for wall and ceiling repairs; use 2-part for woodwork.
A solvent-based product, you’ll work with a golf ball-sized amount of the filler, and mix it well with a pea-sized amount of hardener. The sets off a chemical reaction and, from the moment it has begun, the mix will start to harden: you don’t have long — maybe 5 minutes before it starts to become gritty and unworkable.
Use it to repair dings and surface damage to doors and skirtings indoors, and see how it really comes into its own for challenging exterior repairs where wet rot has been a problem.
In terms of manufacturers: historically, the gold standard for professional painters and decorators has been Decor Fill by Bonda.
A more recently launched alternative is made by Ronseal — the big benefits of this are that it is much easier to sand, is easier to feather-in to the surrounding surface, and that it is available in white.
These images show the appearance — after more than a century — of the lovely, if occasionally higgledy-piggledy, brickwork on a late Victorian chimney breast.
The second image shows the brickwork prior to the removal of the lime plaster stuck to its surface, the last shows the clarity and definition brought about by cleaning the bricks and raking out the mortar.
This is the absolutely beautiful fanlight detail on a substantial property on Charles Street in Mayfair.
The house was built in c.1753, and was altered significantly in the 19th century.
