DIY WITH DAWNA!!!

Hi everyone,and welcome to a new section in my blog DIY WITH DAWNA!!!!!!

In case some of you don’t know I have built, along with my husband 4 homes and each home we have tackled pretty much everything ourselves, unless it needed to be certified, then we leave it to the professionals! Besides that, I have been an interior painter for over 10 years, so there is not to much I haven’t done or will try to do on my own before I result to calling in the professionals,(wait a minute I am the professional!)besides let’s face it if you can save money by doing it yourself then chances are you will. This is why I have dedicated some time to do a section every now and then when I am doing a project to show you readers how simple these small projects can be. This DIY is on finishing raw wood trim,now I know there is not to much mystery around this but if you want it to look flawless and professional there are some tricks to take into consideration. The house I am doing now I have been on for over a year (there is a lot of wood),I’ve done the windows,ceiling,beams and now the trim and it’s all wood and I cannot afford to do a sloppy job seeing as this house is well over a 1,000,000 dollar home! The greatest compliment was paid to me the other day when the guy who sprayed the wood doors told me when he looked at my windows,that I was going to put him out of a job!

1.) MATERIALS!!! here is a list of the things that I use on this type of application

this is filler for Fir wood, make sure you pick a filler meant for your wood type.

You can choose plastic or metal,I prefer metal also use the smallest size putty knife you don't want to fill to much of the surrounding area.

Another suggestion,sometimes fillers can stain certain raw woods,if that is the case with the type of wood you are using, put a coat of the clear finish on first so that it seals the wood and then fill the holes.

this is 150 grit I wouldn't choose anything lower in grit, seeing as you don't want to damage the wood especially if it is a softer wood like Fir or Pine.

This is the finish that I am partial to, it is oil, but you can choose water borne if that is what you prefer.

If your lucky enough to have a husband like me that has every tool known to man,then you are lucky! This tool is a sander and man does it work! I love it!

You will need a shop vac to clean up the dust on the trim and the surrounding area. We call this vacuum Big Bertha!

A must have to clean the dust that's left over after you have used the vacuum.

2.) Preparation!!!!! This is absolute key if you want a flawless finish.

This is what the hole should look like when filled," puffy",you don't want to have to fill it more then once and you will if you don't get enough in the first time around.

Next using either the sandpaper or electric sander you will need to sand the surface till it is smooth. Make sure you have allowed ample time for the filler to dry before doing this step.

This is one of the most important steps, so make sure you do a good job cleaning the surface of any dust before you start,followed by the tack cloth for extra reassurance.

3.) GET TO WORK!!!!!!

pour the product into both the tray and paint container

This is a trick I use to get any excess fuzz off my roller.

cut in all the edges before you do the surface.

Next roll the product on the surface.

The reason why I choose to roll it on is because it puts more on to the surface and takes less work then brushing it on. You just have to be sure that you don’t put to much on, seeing as it will start to run.

After you have rolled it, you will need to take your brush and smooth the product down in one continuous motion,this smooths the product and ensures there are no bubbles left in the product.

After you have allowed 24 hours for the finish to dry, you will need to re-sand the surface ,vacuum,tack cloth and put the finish on again. This will need to be done a total of 3 times in order for the best results. But when you are done this is what it should look like……..