Helpful Hints:

1.             LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, START YOUR BRUSHES!

·               Always “size” new brushes for best results. Loosen brush tips with fingers and rinse in cool, clean water until the bristles become dull. Pat dry.

·               Wash brushes in warm, soapy water immediately after use to extend their life.

·               Be sure to use only warm water — hot water will loosen the glue and cause brush damage.

·               Always begin painting with a moist but blotted brush.

·               Shake your paint before using.

2.             THIS END UP!

         Use the pointed, wooden end of your paintbrush to make perfect dots.

3.             HERE’S A GOOD POINT!

         When using paint pens, reverse the tips for a different point. They’ll last twice as long!

4.             SAVE MONEY!

         To make inexpensive pallets, use paper or foam plates and old foam egg cartons.

5.             LIGHT INTO DARK!

         When painting, put on the darker colors last because they help to define and hide uneven lines.

6.             IT’S A FINE LINE!

         Hold your breath while painting a fine line. You’ll be amazed at how much more control you have.

7.             COLOR YOUR WORLD!

         Add a bit of white paint to paints that are more transparent. It will make them hide better and you’ll use fewer coats.

8.             NOT A TRACE!

         Use a colored pencil when tracing to remind you which lines you’ve already traced.

9.             THE PRESSURE’S OFF!

         Be careful not to lean on your patterns when tracing. This will prevent smears and unwanted marks that may be difficult to erase or cover.

10.         COOL IT!

         Use an old ice cube tray to mix your paints. If you have paint left over, put the tray in a sealed plastic bag and store in your refrigerator. The paint will keep until you need it again.

11.         MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE!

         Be sure to use the same measuring tools throughout each project. The calibration of two seemingly identical tools can be off by up to 1/8”— enough to adversely affect even simple jobs.

12.         OH, BEANS!

         Pour small uncooked beans, rice or split peas into mason jars to hold paintbrushes upright. The brushes stay separated while drying and the hairs of the brushes retain their correct shape.

13.         THE GREAT OUTDOORS!

         If your project will be displayed outdoors, be sure to use exterior grade plywood to prevent warping.

14.         BE PREPARED!

         To prepare a perfect surface for painting, lightly sand the wood and apply a thin coat of Gesso. This will give you a wonderfully smooth surface to paint on.

15.         MORE POWER TO YOU!

         Remember, power tools have no conscience. If you get in their way, watch out! Use the proper guards, guides and push sticks. Always wear safety goggles.

16.         CUT IT OUT!

         If you’re using a router without a table, always be sure to take shallow cuts, using multiple passes to achieve the depth you want.

17.         HIDE & SEEK!

         If you want to hide nail heads on your finished projects, you can always plug them with putty (but it can change color over time). Instead, carefully lift a sliver of wood with a knife or chisel, drive the nail through the exposed wood, then glue the sliver back in place.

18.         BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS!

To ensure success with your projects:

Be sure you thoroughly understand the step-by-step plans.

Have the proper amount of required materials.

Make sure you have the best, well-honed and oiled tools for the job.

19.         Im-PRESS-ive!

         To get rid of folds in patterns, place a dry cloth over the pattern and press lightly with an iron set on the steam setting.

20.         Fabulous Fur

·               An easy way to paint fine hair, fur and grasses is to use a rake brush (sometimes called a comb). The ends of the bristles come to a sharp flat edge and are thin and staggered. You can make your own version of a rake brush by trimming an old worn-out brush. Be sure your paint is extremely thin so it flows easily.

·               To create hair or fur, load the brush and hold it perpendicular to the surface, then pull down with short, quick strokes, lifting to a taper as you end the stroke.

·               To create the look of wavy fur, try grouping sets of strokes that fan out slightly, with each set remaining distinct from those around it.

·               For large areas of fur, create a row of longer strokes, then move halfway up and make another row that overlaps the first. Successive overlapping layers will create the unbroken look of a realistic coat for your animal.

21.         Special FX

·               Create dramatic and elegant special effects of reflecting light with a vibrant translucent glow using Iridescent Glazes (made by Delta). For use on a variety of surfaces, these brilliant varnishes in Gold, Red and Blue shimmer and shine like the rainbow. This special effect is intensified when applied over Delta Ceramcoat® Acrylic Paint.

·               Iridescent glazes can be used as a varnish on wood. They’ll add intensity to darker colors and give a subtle effect over light colors or unfinished wood.

22.         Over & Over

         Need to fill large background areas with a pattern? Make a stencil from cardboard. It will help you paint repeat designs quickly and easily.

23.         Get in Line!

·               Add interest to a plain surface by dividing it with contrasting bands or stripes of color.

·               Do your striping with a ruling pen. It takes a little practice but, once you get the hang of it, it's a terrific way to achieve precision you can't get with a brush. And, no taping required!

24.         Best Blends

·               Want to extend your paint’s drying time? Use Delta Ceramcoat® Color Float. This is a concentrated medium that MUST BE DILUTED, 1 DROP TO 1 OZ. OF WATER. When Color Float is added to water, it makes blending, shading and line work easier. Color will last longer with less brush reloading. It can be used in rinse water at all times for easier painting.

·               Gel Blending Medium is thicker than Color Float and does not have to be diluted. Mix with Ceramcoat® Acrylic Paint to extend drying time for easier color blending. Work a small amount into a flat brush, side-load color on brush and blend. Gel Blending Medium can be used to soften colors, too.

25.         Wipe Out!

         Ever want to change Rapidograph pen lettering on a project after it’s been sealed with varnish?  Apply window cleaner to a cotton swab, and with a slight rub, the lettering will be gone.

26.         Clean Up Your Act

·               If you’re a messy painter and spill oil paint on your clothes, it’s easy to get it out even if it’s dried. Apply spray-on oven cleaner to the spot and then wash as usual.

·               Some "baby wipe" products contain alcohol and can be used to remove paint from your hands, clothes and brush handles. Be sure to read the label.

·               To quickly get your hands clean, mix some sawdust into your liquid hand soap. The abrasiveness of the sawdust really helps.

27.         Without a Trace

·               When tracing a pattern, lay down graphite paper, then the pattern and top it off with a piece of tracing paper or waxed paper. This way, you’ll be sure not to miss any lines. Also, during painting, if you ‘lose’ your outlines, you can put your tracing paper over the painted surface (no need to use graphite and leave black smudges).

·               Here’s a quick way to transfer a pattern onto a work piece: make a photocopy of the pattern and use an ordinary household iron. With the photocopy placed face-down against the work piece, slowly move the iron (set on high) back and forth. The heat from the iron reactivates the toner on the photocopy and transfers the image to your work piece.

28.         Top Treetop Tips

·               To make scenery look more natural, paint the sky color down into the tops of the trees a bit so the sky shows through the groups of foliage.

·               Paint a bit past the tracing line to give a loose, irregular look to your treetops. The tracing lines are only a suggestion of how tall to paint the trees.

·               When painting leaves, tap with the corner of your brush, pushing the paint off the top of the bristles to build up heavier and brighter foliage at the top and side of your leaf clusters. Tap a lot of overlapping foliage to build up a fairly large grouping of leaves, thus building the shape of the cluster.

·               When painting trees, work with both lighter and darker values by varying the amount of water mixed with the paint. The lighter trees will look more distant.

29.         A Grand Finish

·               To get a smooth finish, use a slow brush stroke with a fully loaded brush and work from dry to wet so you always have a wet edge for each stroke to blend with. A slow stroke allows the finish to flow onto the surface very evenly, and it takes longer for the brush to run dry.

·               To remove a bristle, paint run or speck of dust dried in a finish, without ruining the finish, use a utility blade knife as a scraper. Grind the sharp points off the ends of the blade so you don't accidentally gouge the finish. Do not cut the flaw off; simply scrape it. First let the surface dry at least 24 hours (otherwise you’ll risk pulling the finish off the wood). Then, to remove hairs and bristles, lightly scrape with the wood grain until the flaw is removed and the finish is smooth.

·               Always finish the backs and undersides of your work pieces with a basecoat and varnish. It creates a much better presentation of your beautiful art.

30.         Dust-B-Gone

         Many painters use tack cloth to remove sandy residue. Unfortunately, the resin in the cloth can sometimes stick to your surface. If you've had this problem, try dusting the surface with a wide, flat brush — or, save your used fabric softener sheets for easy wipe ups!

31.         Trial Run

         When mixing values, test the colors on a piece of manila folder that has been painted with the background color to see how well the mixed values settle into the background.

32.         To Paint or Not To Paint

·               You can apply liquid frisket using a paintbrush on areas you want to remain unpainted. Let it dry, but wash your brush right after applying frisket. When you’ve finished painting, use an eraser to gently remove the frisket.

·               To mask an area with contact paper, cut a piece into the shape you want to remain unpainted. Peel off the backing and stick the paper on the surface, pressing the edges firmly so that paint can't seep underneath. When finished painting, carefully peel off the contact paper mask, using a craft knife to lift the edges.

33.         Brush Up!

·               To provide better coverage when applying stain to a dowel, cut a V-shaped notch in a foam brush.

·               Make "instant" foam brushes by sticking pieces of self-adhesive foam weather-stripping on sticks made from scrap pieces of wood or craft sticks. For larger brushes, wrap the weather-stripping around the end of paint stirring sticks.

·               If you run out of glue brushes, use an old toothbrush.  The bristles push the glue around well and the toothbrush is wide enough to cover an entire edge in one pass.

34.         Sandpaper Capers

·               When applying liquid stains, the stain soaks deeper into the pores of the end grain than the face grain, darkening the ends much more than the face. One way to even out the stain color is to sand the end grain with a higher-grit sandpaper than the face grain. If you sand the face with 220-grit and the end grain with 600-grit, you’ll get a much better color match.

·               To sand coves, wrap sandpaper around small lengths of clear flexible plastic tubing (most hardware stores carry this type of tubing). Choose a diameter smaller than the radius of the cove. Slice the tube down its length and slip one edge of the sandpaper into the slit. Then wrap the sandpaper around the tube and hold it tightly while sanding.

35.         Tape Trick

         To prevent pipe clamps from staining wood while you’re gluing, apply a strip of masking tape to the side of the pipe that is near the wood. The tape prevents the iron in the pipe from reacting with the water in the glue.

36.         Wood Work

         To prevent a power sander (particularly a belt sander) from tilting near the edge of a work piece and rounding over the edge, place another board that's the same thickness against the end of the work piece. This way, the sander rides across the edge instead of rounding it over.

37.         Chalk Up Success!

         To determine if the entire surface of a board that has been run through a thickness planer is truly flat, scribble a chalk mark on the surface of the board. Then run it through the planer until the chalk mark disappears

38.         Carpet Tape Capers

·               To keep the point of a compass from marring the surface of your wood, use a scrap of Plexiglas, carpet-taped to your work where the compass point will be.

·               To make square corners, make triangular clamping blocks and stick them to the outside edges of mitered corners with carpet tape. Then use regular straight clamps across the blocks for the glue-up.

·               Stick carpet tape on the flaps of hinges to keep them from moving while you mark their location, drill screw holes and position doors.

39.         Hold It!

·               To prevent pencils from disappearing, make a ‘pencil cushion’ from a piece of pipe insulation that fits onto a wall stud. Sticking pencils in the cushion keeps them handy and keeps the tips from breaking.

·               Apply lip balm to the threads of screws to make it easier to drive in the screws.

·               Do your small, sharp tools for scribing, marking and cutting get dulled by keeping them loose in a drawer? To protect the sharp edges and still keep each tool close at hand, make a small knife and tool holder. Use a piece of dense foam insulation (blue board) and anchor to your workbench by building a wood frame to fit around the foam. When the foam gets too chewed up, just flip it over.

·               To keep power cords rolled up and tangle-free, tie them with elastic ponytail holders. The best holders are the type with a small plastic ball at each end. They can be found anywhere beauty supplies are sold and are very inexpensive.

40.         Vise Advice

         Clamping an irregular-shaped work piece in a bench vise can be a problem. If you exert enough pressure to hold the work piece, you may end up marring its surface. One solution is to use scraps of polystyrene insulation as “vise pads.” When you tighten the vise, the insulation conforms to the shape of the work piece without damaging it!

41.         Get a Leg Up!

         Outdoor furniture will last longer if the legs can't wick up moisture from the ground. A thin-bodied epoxy, applied to the base of the legs of your piece soaks, in the best. Hobby stores usually carry it in several formulations. Just pick the runniest one. It'll probably have an extended open time. If you get too exuberant and drip epoxy over the edges, clean it off with acetone before it cures.

42.         Bag It!

         A neat way to mix powdered putty, two-part epoxy, etc., is to put the ingredients in a small plastic sandwich bad and “squish” it until it’s mixed. Then, just snip off the corner of the bag and squeeze out what you need!

43.         Stop!

         For a quick and simple bench stop, mount an old deadbolt taken from a door to the end of your workbench. In the “locked” position, the bolt stays put; in the "unlocked" position, it can be pushed down so you can use the unobstructed top.

44.         Get It On Film

         Have you ever wanted to position a pattern so the wood grain matches the shape of the pattern or to avoid a knot? To solve the problem of not being able to see the wood grain through the pattern, photocopy your pattern onto a sheet of clear self-adhesive film. (Clear self-adhesive film is available at art and office supply stores. Two brand names are Letracopy and Raven Reprofilm; they sell for about 70¢ for an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet.) The film makes perfect patterns for cutting with a band saw or scroll saw. Its adhesive isn't quite sticky enough to hold it on wood when cutting on a table saw or while drilling, however.

45.         KITCHEN HELPERS

·               Easily transfer a pattern onto a curved surface by first transferring the pattern onto a piece of flexible plastic wrap (the cheapest, least-clingy brand you can find). The plastic wrap will “mold” to the rounded surface much better than a stiff paper pattern.

·               Tape regular waxed paper on your work space, instead of the more expensive wax pallets, to protect your table when painting.

·               When tracing a design, place the pattern on your project surface, then place a piece of waxed paper on top of the pattern. This will help to eliminate indentations on your project and, in case you’re interrupted, the wax paper will show where you left off tracing.

46.         WIPE OUT!

·               Think your project might look better with a border or antique finish? Varnish it first, then add the border or antique medium. If you don’t like the look, you can easily wipe it off!

·               Everyday make-up sponges are great tools to erase mistakes on a painted project. They’ll pick up surface paint without damaging the basecoat. Plus, they can be washed and reused.

47.         MAGIC MATERIALS

·               If you need a carrot nose for a snowman, simply sharpen the end of a pencil or dowel rod and paint it orange.

·               Keep a strong magnet handy to quickly and easily pick up dropped nails, screws, tacks and washers. A magnet is also a great way to keep small adjustment tools (like Allen wrenches and chuck keys), in order, near your band saw, drill, etc.

48.         LET IT FLOW!

         If you’re painting a big sign or another large project, squirt a line of paint directly onto the wood. It spreads quite quickly and evenly — and you’re not forever reloading your brush from a palette.

49.         ARM YOURSELF!

         When carrying large pieces of wood into your shop, use a claw hammer as an extension of your arm. You can hook it on the bottom of the wood and carry the piece easily.

50.         BROWN BAG IT!

         To create a lovely, smooth finish on your projects, apply two coats of water-based varnish. Then “sand” with a piece of brown paper bag before applying two more coats of varnish. You’ll be surprised how this seemingly smooth paper actually finely sands your piece! You can also use a piece of quilt batting if you have scraps handy. Then finish your piece with painter’s wax and buff to a lovely finish.

51.         A BRIGHT IDEA

         Keep those strange plastic trays that Christmas lights come in. They make excellent drying racks for wet painted pieces. All of the little plastic tips keep newly painted pieces up off of the table and you can basecoat all sides at once!

52.         SCREW IT

·               If you keep stripping the heads of brass screws, try assembling your project using steel screws first (use the same size and thread as the brass screws you plan to use later). Simply replace the steel screws with the brass screws at the end.

·               Before screwing into hardwood, you should always pre-drill a “pilot hole.” If your screw still refuses to go any further, simply rub a little moist bar soap or paraffin wax on the threads to act as a lubricant. This is especially useful when using soft metal screws made of brass or aluminum. DO NOT use oil or grease as a lubricant because these products may leach into your wood and stain it.

·               Metal screws are a lot harder than wood and it doesn’t take much vibration or stress for them to begin to work their way out. Rather than replacing the screw with a larger one, try this: insert a few toothpicks and a little glue into the hole. The toothpicks will help tighten up the hole and re-secure the screw. NOTE: in more stubborn cases, you might need to re-drill the hole, tap in a glue-covered dowel and then drill a new pilot hole for the screw.

53.         CUT IT OUT!

·               When cutting plywood, here are some helpful tips:

·               Apply masking tape on the lines you’re cutting to prevent the plywood from splintering.

·               Use a second sheet of plywood as a rip guide when no long straightedge is available.

·               Sometimes, it’s easier to finish a sheet before cutting. Do this to save time when you can.

·               Break edges by running sandpaper from the inner portions of the plywood sheet outward to the open edge.