Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with paint

Help me stain or paint my ikea desk

If only I had a penguin... — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:38:31 -0800

I want to stain (ideally) or paint (less good) my ikea wood veneer desk. How can I best do this? I have a desk made of the same material as this one. It's basically a light coloured wood veneer. I'd like to make it a darker brown-black colour. While I could get a desk of the same material in the colour I want for a mere $69, it's not the same size and I really need the new desk to be the same size.

How can I stain or paint this? I'd prefer a stain or a glaze that would let the original grain markings through, but I might settle for paint. Whatever you advise, I will go to Ikea and buy a piece of board of the same material/colour in the as-is section to try it on before tackling my actual desk.

I'm aware of a previous question about painting ikea laminate, but I don't think this is laminate (except, see next paragraph)

Oh, and one more thing: I'm not absolutely sure it's wood veneer. It might be some kind of plastic. What makes me doubt is that I have an Ikea Billy bookcase that is an ash veneer (stained brown-black) and you can actually feel the grain of the wood. You can't feel anything on the desk. It's super-smooth. Does this mean it's not a wood veneer?

So what do you advise oh wise hive mind?

Does EMF-responsive paint exist?

swimming naked when the tide goes out — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:07:42 -0800

I'm looking for a material I'm not sure exists. I want a plastic (or even better, a paint) that glows (at all) in response to being in an electromagnetic field. Please tell me...does this exist? I'm willing to accept "exists but costs eleventy-billion dollars a microgram" answers as well. Thanks!

Paint to go with Bamboo floor?

marlys27 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:50:24 -0800

Decor Filter : What colors of paint go with blond bamboo flooring? We just bought a house and are looking to paint before we move in. Presently the room with the bamboo floor
is a lovely light green that makes the room look sunny and large. We would like to keep the effect but have the room painted a more neutral color so as to be able to match more of the room's furniture etc. Concrete suggestions of actual paint colors would be appreciated. We are looking to use Benjamin Moore Aura Paint.

What's American for 'undercoat'?

holgate — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:56:44 -0800

Can someone give me a primer on translating the British terms for wall / house paint into their American equivalents? I am no stranger to paint. At least, I wasn't until I moved from Britain to the US. Now I go into Lowe's Ace Depot and all the labels read "interior latex" and similar, which presumably makes sense to Americans, but doesn't help when I'm just looking for a tin of undercoat. Could someone with experience of doing paint jobs on both sides of the pond translate undercoat, gloss and emulsion into their American equivalents?

Please help me repair natural slate tile.

rinosaur — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:48:45 -0800

Please help me repair natural slate tile. Some white oil-based Killz primer was absorbed by our (NEW) unsealed dark, natural-slate floor during our bathroom remodel. Buffing/sanding/wire-wheeling has not had the desired results since the paint seeped deep in to the porous slate.

My next best idea is to mask it with art-grade oil paints before sealing, unless the Hive can come up with a better solution.

Thoughts? Thanks so much, AskMe!

The Blunderbus needs a makeover.

twirlypen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:12:34 -0800

Where can I paint a bus? I have an old minibus that I've been slowly doing up over the last year, and now I want to paint it. I've got an air compressor and paint gun and some paint, but nowhere to go. I can't do it in my driveway, don't have a backyard or garage, and don't have any friends who do. The store I bought the paint from didn't have any suggestions. It's a Toyota Coaster, would seat about 15 (if it had seats), so it's a little big for your normal car garage, but isn't a giant public bus.

Friends have suggested:
- drive for ages until I get to some empty car park, hire a generator, and do it there. This feels pretty dodgy.
- Hire a generator, find somewhere close by, drive there at 2am and do it then. This feels even dodgier.
- Hire a garage. Great! But can't seem to find anything.

Any suggestions, or comments on the above suggestions, would be great. I'm in Perth, Australia, if it helps. I'm happy to pay a little bit to rent a garage or something for a weekend, but can't find anything like that.

Relocation relocation relocation of an interior design article

Beautiful Screaming Lady — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:49:18 -0800

Interior/exterior design memory loss: a few months ago I was casually flipping through one of the many interior design magazines on the shelf at Borders and saw an article about an amazing place that I'd love to find more details about. Unfortunately I was distracted and don't remember many details... This is a long shot, but - a guy (likely German) had bought a turn-of-the-20th century square red brick mid-terrace house, like those you find in any UK working class town (here's an example), painted the exterior entirely black, had replaced the windows with smaller, ultra-modern brightly coloured glass and had gutted the insides to leave (as I remember) a super white and super minimal interior. It was stunning both for what it was, and for where it was.

I can't remember where this was, the guy's name or which magazine it was in, but based on this vague description, if anyone can help me to find pictures of this place, or any article about it online, I'll be deliriously happy.

Do Canadians think about paint in terms of gallons, or some other measurement?

23skidoo — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:17:54 -0800

Is paint commonly sold in gallon containers in Canada? When Canadian people think about painting something, do they think about how many gallons they will need, or do they think of paint in terms of liters? (1. Tried googling, but I'm not doing it right. 2. I'm writing a word problem, if you must know.)

Seeking the Uber-Sharpie

kalapierson — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:32:43 -0800

Ultra-permanent marker (more permanent than Sharpie Industrial, on soft rubbery plastic)? Alternately: paint or coating that's very strong AND very soft-thin-flexible? What kind of marker or paint or coating would permanently change Apple headphone cables from white to black, yet still leave them almost as soft, as thin and as flexible as they naturally are?

I want to do this right because, aside from the white color, I've got my perfect Frankenphones now (the stock Apple phones with in-line mic/clicker plus the earpieces from my high-quality sealing earphones, via my friend's soldering magic).

Things that wouldn't work:
• electrical tape wrapped around the cable (inflexibility and bulk).
• Sharpie (tried both standard and Industrial as recommended in another AskMe; both are solid black at first but soon start to rub away in daily use).
• anything liquid that couldn't be delicately spot-applied (I need to preserve the clicker's mic hole and its ability to click, by carefully hand-painting).

I have to end up with black headphones, not white, so please help me figure out how to get there. Thanks!

Is magnetic paint worthwhile or just a gimmick?

lbo — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:11:23 -0800

How should I display my collection of travel magnets? I have a large collection of travel magnets. When they outgrew the refrigerator, I moved them onto a couple of sheets of metal. They're now outgrowing those, and I am considering magnetic paint. My concern is that the magnetic paint won't be able to handle the heavier of my magnets. Does anyone have any experience with hanging a lot of magnets on magnetic paint? Or, do you have another good idea for how to display my magnets?

Can I use software to paint with my voice?

ndaguiar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:41:54 -0800

Can I use software to paint with my voice? I'm a High School teacher, but not an art teacher, and I've had an idea for an artwork project in but I don't know whether it is possible. The background is that there is an art event coming up when pupils and staff in the school are being asked to produce original and varied ways of making your mark or art.

I got this inspiration yesterday, but don't know if it is feasible. Please advise me.

It is in 3 parts:

1) Software on a computer which captures the human voice (or at least sound of the voice).

2) Software which takes sound a provides a "visualization" based on the pitch or beat of the sound.

3) A way to combine the two so that it feels like that you are painting or making pictures purely based on your voice. This could be screen shots of a visualization, but it may seem better to come out as a print out or jpg.

I am aware that this may be too advanced and complicated to succeed, but thought I would ask.

Dry erase/whiteboards walls and me?

alexherder — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:27:55 -0800

My animation company is moving into our first real office and we want to make a very large "brainstorming wall" with a dry erase surface so that we can collaborate and share ideas more intuitively. We are an animation company moving from a bunch of people working at home into our first office. I'm really excited about this because we'll be able brainstorm together without the intermediary of Skype. I want to make our new space as collaborative and creativity-nurturing as possible. To that end, I want to cover an entire wall of our office (~100 sq. ft.) in dry erase surface so that we can sketch out ideas together for sequences, characters, etc. Ideally I'd like this wall to also be magnetic so we could put up paper sketches or other multimedia materials and not break the brainstorming flow.

I have seen this question but it was posted in 2005 and asserts that there is no one selling dry erase paint anymore, which I'm pretty sure is not true. Lifehacker posted this in 2008 about Markee which sells gallons for about $100 and I have also discovered IdeaPaint who appear to be about twice the cost. My question is whether any one out there has used these products (or similar) and how successful they were? Was it helpful? Is this a good idea? Bonus answers as to how to involve the magnetic part.

How to hard coat a baby crib?

bjork24 — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:45:01 -0800

We're expecting in late November, and we just received a very nice, slightly used crib from my cousin. Before giving it to us, my aunt and uncle gave it a fresh coat of paint, but the top layer chips off a bit too easily for my liking. The last thing I want is for our baby to get a mouthful of paint chips when he's big enough to pull himself up and chew on the rail. What kind of coating can I put on the crib to ensure a hard, baby-safe finish?

Owning hip out of gamut pigment will make me cooler than you

Large Marge — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:57:10 -0800

Can I buy International Klein Blue pigment/paint? If so, where, and what form would it come in? I'd be interested in painting a few things this color. Notably a bike or as part of a pattern, but most likely with an airbrush or spray can, However I'll take anything I can get

How much prep does painted paneling need?

Lesser Shrew — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:31:49 -0800

Repainting already painted wood paneling - can I just slap on a new coat? My spare room has not-at-all fabulous seventies wood paneling which may have been in a trailer at one point. The previous owners painted it baby-puke yellow, which is gross. Can I just clean, lightly sand, and tack this old paint before repainting?

The paneling is only halfway up the wall, presumably to give the look of wainscoting, so it's massively lazy of me not to want to properly prepare the surface. And yet, here we are. Will new paint stick to old paint on wood if the old paint is clean and dry before I paint? Has anyone done this and regretted their method? Had success?

No idea what prep they may (or may not) have done and the paint appears to be rubbery cheap latex.

What's your favorite place to buy artists' canvas in NYC?

aquafortis — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:01:16 -0800

What's your favorite place to buy artists' canvas in NYC? I was just wondering if anyone has any tips on where to buy relatively good-quality, inexpensive artists' canvas in the New York City area for acrylic/mixed media painting. Any hole-in-the-wall places with fantastic deals I need to know about? Can I do better than Pearl on Canal Street? Thanks!

What's the best way to remove wallpaper from plaster walls?

nitsuj — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 06:53:34 -0800

I'll be spending this coming weekend removing possibly several layers of painted-over wallpaper from 70-year-old plaster walls in my new house. Got any tips, tricks, secrets, or advice? So we bought a house -- yeah! -- but the previous owners (and perhaps beyond) lovingly painted over what I'm anticipating to be several layers of old, thick wallpaper. Naturally, I'd like to start fresh and do this correctly, but I need your advice.

I've a ton of different guides on the Internet, many with bits of conflicting information; I'm looking for your anecdotal advice! What methods worked the best for you? What's the One Thing I should definitely do? How bad is this really going to be?

Thanks!

Patching and Painting a Fiberglass Sailboat?

LarryC — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:48:09 -0800

I accidentally bought an old 12' sailboat this morning. How do I repair and paint the fiberglass? So I was out garage sailing, minding my own business, and came home with a 12' sailboat. It is a Sunfish (I think) from the 1960s and is in pretty good shape. The pictures linked above show the fiberglass patches it has already, and also a gash along the keel that needs to be patched.

I want to patch and paint it. Any advice? My idea is to get a fiberglas patch kit from the auto parts store and patch the keel, to sand the whole underside down, and to prime and paint it. What kind of primer and paint do I use? Can I get away with foam rollers for putting on the paint or do I need to borrow the neighbors compressor and spray gun?

I am not looking for any kind of show quality at all here, just a functioning boat we can play around with on area lakes. Thanks!

Lead testing next steps

Lazlo Hollyfeld — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:59:23 -0800

My wife and I recently had some lead testing done in our apartment which turned up some very high levels. Now we are trying to figure out what to do next. Issues involving lead testing, abatement, leases and tenancy inside. My family (myself, my wife and our 18 month old daughter) moved into our current apartment in New Haven, Connecticut, in the beginning of June. When we looked at the place we were happy with condition it was in, as the paint seemed new and in good condition. On moving in we noticed that there was some old, chipping paint in the window beds. Last week we had some unofficial testing done by a local lead abatement company. We had done the same thing in our previous apartment, and gotten back borderline levels. We got the results for our new apartment back yesterday and the levels are very high, as in 10-50 times the acceptable limit. The soil in the backyard tests at 4x the limit.

My understanding of CT state law is that if we have an official inspection done and their findings match ours, the landlords are responsible for the lead abatement. My wife spoke to an inspector from the New Haven DPH, who confirmed this, but could not give us much guidance as to how long, difficult or expensive the abatement process might be. We brought this all up with our landlords and they expressed a desire to not go through official channels and maybe have some cleanup done off the record. Our landlords are an older couple who are very sweet and well intentioned, but we don't really trust their ability to deal with the cleanup on their own.

The way I see it, our options are either to get an official inspection and start the process of getting the lead cleaned up, or to move out and find somewhere else to live. Since we would need to vacate at least ourselves and maybe our stuff during the abatement process, and going the official route wouldn't put us on good terms with the landlords, we're currently inclined to go the "move out" route.

This would involve breaking our lease which lasts for another 10 months. Our landlords are not particularly computer savvy, so they have asked if we would do the work of listing and showing the place, which is fine. Our main concern is that if we can't find someone to move in by the time we move out that they will try to hold us responsible for the rent. We would like to get something in writing from them officially breaking the lease.

So the question is, is this a situation where we need a lawyer? If we destroy both copies of the lease, is that good enough? Are there other factors or options that we haven't thought of?

Just as a note, today was our daughter's 18 month checkup and we had her blood tested. We should know the results early next week, but since we've been here such a short time I expect that every thing is ok. Also, when we look at new apartments, we plan on testing before we sign a lease.

Why is gloss or semi-gloss paint recommended for exterior house trim?

muirne81 — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:37:01 -0800

Why is gloss or semi-gloss paint recommended for exterior house trim? Hubby and I are in the process of painting the trim on our WW2 brick bungalow dark brown. Before purchasing the paint, we sought the advice of The Google, paint pros, old-timers, and family--everyone recommended a gloss or semi-gloss finish. Being intrepid DIYers but never having painted a house before, we acquiesced. Fast forward two weeks: we stand back after painting two columns & gable porch siding and *hate* the sheen. Shiny (enhanced by the dark pigmentation of the paint and slight surface textures) and attention grabbing--even in partial shade, the gable porch now jumps out in a really unattractive way. We have since walked around the neighborhood and counted just how many houses have similar glimmering trim: not many.

We have 2 questions for the hive mind:

1. Why on Earth is gloss or semi-gloss recommended for exterior trim? Is it easy-to-clean? Longer-lasting? Is bling-bling curb appeal the new thing?

2. Will time, oak tree pollen, and the curing process of exterior latex reduce the shine? Are we screwed if we try to put a coat of flat exterior latex on top of this glossy hot mess?

Just to be clear, we love the color and the paint itself is top notch. It's just the sheen that is making us crazy.

Wagner any good? Not THAT Wagner.

te1contar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:02:34 -0800

Anyone have any experience with Wagner Paint Sprayers? I've got a LOT of wood fencing that I want to seal (probably with Thompson's Water Seal). I'm thinking about getting a Wagner sprayer to apply the sealer. I'm seeing mixed reviews, so I turn to my fellow MeFis for guidance. Really want to hear from someone with personal experience.

Sign painting help.

sharkhunt — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:45:12 -0800

Anyone have any tricks or tips on how to paint a large sign/mural on the exterior of a building? I need help on how to get the image on the wall, which is roughly 20ft by 100ft. The mural consists of a restaurant logo with lettering and other plant designs. It's nothing too complex, but I don't know the best technique to use. Any advice is appreciated.

Help me figure out if my watch is radioactive.

yellowcandy — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:56:03 -0800

Is my watch hot? I have a 1920s-era Bulova watch that I would like to have tested to see if it is giving off radioactivity from radium paint. I live in New York City (Midtown) and just need to take the watch someplace where someone with a Geiger counter can give me the verdict on potential gamma ray emission.

Less chalkboard, more paint.

Foam Pants — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:32:50 -0800

Chalkboard paint vs. matte dark latex paint: what's the difference? I know chalkboard paint has fine grit in it but is it necessary? Does the chalk come off easier?

Housepainters in Toronto? Suggestions?

jennyhead — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:31:30 -0800

Torontofilter: Any recommendations for indoor painting companies? I would like the inside of my condo painted nicely because I'm a control freak and know I will eff it up if I do it myself. Any suggestions for companies around Toronto who will do a good job but ideally still be cheap? Thanks MeFi.