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Found 111 results for the keyword ‘Finishes’

  • Modifying the paint can lid for small jobs.

    Bill in Stratford, Ontario sent in this great tip.When you just need a touch up of paint or stain, rather than opening the lid and increasing the clean up problem, simply punch a hole in the top of the can.You can cover the hole with a finger to shake the can if you like, even use your finger to ...
  • Can I paint over stain?

    Kelly wants to know if it is possible to paint over something that already has stain on it.The answer is YES, but only if the stain is ready! What do I mean by that?Most stain has water repellents built into it. Look at the first photo and you can see how the water is beading up, rather than so...
  • How to protect board and batten siding?

    Lori from North Gower, Ontario has purchased an old farm house with one part covered in board and batten wood while the main house is brick. She wants to know what she should do to protect the old board and batten. Presently it has simply been left to "silver" with age.Painting or oiling that o...
  • Painting vinyl and aluminum siding

    Victoria asked us: "I have really ugly vinyl siding on the house and would like to paint it. How do I do it?"Here is what works for both vinyl and aluminum siding.The first thing to know is that painting vinyl siding will void the warranty on it. But if it is old and ugly, it is probably beyond...
  • Is R-24 paint for real?

    A while back Glidden Paints had begun marketing Ceramic InsulCoat paint in Canada, claiming R-24 insulation values for a coat of paint. Does this new high tech paint really provide the equivalent of an R-24 insulation value to your Canadian home?No! In Canada, even the best reflective paint wil...
  • Painting tips with Jane Lockhart

    Although I have learned a great deal about paint and painting over the years, it is not my best subject, especially when formulations and even the tools are constantly changing. So I had my good friend and host of HGTV's One House Two Looks, Jane Lockhart, come on the show to answer some of our ...
  • What can kill fibreglass?

    We think of anything covered with fibreglass as being almost invincible, yet whether it is a fibreglass boat or a deck, this mixture of glass fibres and epoxy resins has one unrelenting enemy: UV rays from the sun.In the photo you see what a fibreglass skin looks like when put over wood, in a ma...
  • Shellac -- fixing drywall tears

    When you tear the surface of drywall, those fuzzy little hairs just keep coming through coat after coat of paint. The reason is that each time you sand it, they simply lie down and stand back up when they get wet with more paint.The way to cure it from the start is to put a coat of shellac over ...
  • Bathtub repair and refinishing

    Some of our viewers have some patching to do on their bathtubs. Here are the tricks, but remember that a patch almost always shows and some do not last forever so if you really want it nice without replacing the tub you will want to hire a professional refinisher who has special equipment and sp...
  • Removing Textured Paint

    "I have a painting problem: All the walls and ceilings in my apartment have been painted using a sponge technique. The paint itself is a latex flat base to which powdered pigments were added along with a small amount of an abrasive material to give the walls an "adobe" look.I now wish to repaint...