"Clean & Touch-Up" phase for winter

If you are in a “clean and touch-up” phase for the winter rather than a painting phase, here are a few tips to help make those touch up’s invisible.

- Wherever possible, repaint full walls corner to corner. Especially if there is any hole filling or patching to do. Paint on the wall ages over time. Colours shift slightly and the shine level of the paint will dull. Touching the wall, even with the exact same paint, will show differently until it ages in.

- Pay attention to texture. If painting a full wall isn’t an option, and you use a brush to touch up a wall that was painted with a roller, you will create a new texture on just that area, and it will stand out until the whole wall is painted. Instead, use a small mini roller and use finishing strokes from top to bottom of the area using as little paint as possible. Several light coats, if required, are better than one heavy coat.

- Finally, maintaining your paint to keep it looking it’s best for as long as possible is a simple process. Stay away from “Magic Erasers” and quick fix cleaning items. They usually require quite a bit of pressure to get the surface clean which leaves a burnish (shiny) spot where the cleaning was done. Instead, use liquid soap and plenty of water with a soft cloth, using minimal pressure.

Following these simple tips can help your paint job last those few extra years until you’re ready for a full repaint.