Interested in adding a special touch to your house painting? Stencils have been used for hundreds of years by not-so-artistic DIY home painting folks who want to turn out beautiful designs without too much effort. Unfortunately, stenciling doesn’t always turn out like it should, so let me share a few painting tips that I’ve learned over the years.
Use a stencil brush. You’re going to be tempted to use a regular paintbrush, but this is not a good idea! Stencil brushes use short round bristles to give better coverage, whereas regular brushes are too long and the bristles tend to slip under the edge of the stencil, messing up your design. To use the stencil brush, load lightly with paint and stipple the area, dabbing at the area to be painted rapidly. A small roller can work for larger, same color stencils, too.
Do the edge first. Make sure you start around the edge of the design and then fill in the middle. In fact, if you want a nice shaded effect, you can use less paint in the middle, making the edges darker. This works particularly well for flowers and leaves.
Don’t overdo it. One of the best painting tips for DIY home painting and stenciling is to avoid painting too thickly. If need be, do two thin coats and you’ll have much better end results with your home painting.
Use tape. You might think that you can hold the stencil steady with one hand and dab with the other, but it’s not worth having a wobbly design running across the wall to find out. Use low tack or painters masking tape to hold the stencil to the wall. You’ll get the best results if you measure first to make sure you’re going in a straight line, since it is easy to slip a little as you work and create a poor effect.
Using a stencil really doesn’t require a lot of talent, but it does require precision. Unlike other house painting areas, you will need to be very careful with this type of DIY home painting. These painting tips will help you get great results.
