abranet, Annie Sloan, Blog, hand-painted furniture, Little Greene, Mythic paint

This is one of a series of articles on how to paint pine furniture: preparation and painting of pine – waxed, varnished, bare or painted – laminate… One of the most environmentally responsible things you can do these days is to paint pine furniture that you buy second hand, or have had in the family [...]

abranet, Blog, Mirka

80 grade Abranet on a hand sander rubs down lacquer faster than a Mirka CEROS sander with 40 or 60 grade HD abranet! I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating. The hand sander for small areas is phenomenal and on walls and wood outperforms even the super nice Mirka CEROS (review here). The mechanical [...]

abranet, Blog, Mirka, preparation

Toupret TX130 fine surface filler is a first class choice to skim plastered walls that have been damaged, dinged or badly patched in. With Toupret skim coats, and abranet abrasives, I can achieve a super smooth surface, and the paint finish is far superior to what it is possible on conventional gypsum based plaster walls. [...]

abranet, Blog, Mirka, paint, Painting

Undercoat previously painted walls in good condition, prior to re-painting with a different colour emulsion? For the most part, that is the most ridiculous concept I have ever heard, but sadly it is a question that is gaining traction. I have been asked before, and Ingrid at Lilou Interiors (paint colour advice) was asked by [...]

abranet, Blog, Masking tape, Mirka, preparation

Looking closely around the home, you will see that many 15-pane glass panel doors need restoring rather than just painting! This looks OK from a distance through a groggy camera lense, but it is a horror show that some poor homeowner actually paid good money for. When glass is poorly bedded in silicone, when the [...]

abranet, Blog, Mirka, products

The Mirka CEROS sander uses revolutionary Abranet abrasives, and connects to a vacuum, extracting about 95% of the dust from source. This combination of sander, hi-tech abrasive and vacuum extraction ensures cleaner work areas and improved quality of preparation work, especially on ceilings and walls – what’s not to like?! What’s not to like about [...]

abranet, Blog, Mirka, preparation, products

Mirka’s Abranet sanding system is almost, but not completely dust free. (When you sand a flat area, it is dust free, but as you near an edge, dust is pushed off the edge, beyond the reach of the suction.) This video shows a) how abrasive Abranet actually is. and b) how effective it is at [...]

abranet, Blog, cleaning, Equipment, Numatic

I was reading a post by master painter, Jack Pauhl, where he deconstructed the humble vacuum cleaner and showed how to upgrade a shop vac . These are a couple of the tips I have put into practice to make it even easier to keep a site clean. Extra long hose I added a 7m [...]

abranet, Blog, Mirka, preparation

Even with experience and the fantastic Mirka CEROS / Abranet combo, you can get lost sanding a big area of wall. It is usually down to a distraction – someone comes in and starts talking to you, or a lapse in concentration as you think about food or pay day or… Either way, when you [...]

abranet, Blog, Mirka, posterous, preparation

I have a Posterous blog where I have regularly posted information about decorating products and works in progress. Some things improve, the more you use them, others don’t deliver as at first thought. When asked some time ago about the easiest filler for sanding, I suggested Polyfilla / Polycell powder wall filler, or Halls Beeline [...]

abranet, Blog, cleaning, Equipment, Mirka, Numatic

As far as I am concerned, quality comes before quantity and speed. However, if you can program yourself to work as efficiently as possible, while maintaining the highest standards, you have arrived! If you take a long hard look at everything you do and all the kit you use, you begin to see room for [...]

abranet, Blog, Eco, Mirka, Numatic, preparation

Abranet is a fantastic revolutionary abrasive that sands quickly, and beautifully. It comes in all shapes and sizes and grades, and keeps the air almost clear of dust when hooked up to a vacuum extractor. But it isn’t perfect when used on a random orbital sander to sand down very dusty / powdery surfaces. This [...]

abranet, cleaning, Equipment, Mirka, Numatic

When I first came across the Mirka Abranet products, I couldn’t quite get my head round what was involved with the whole abrasive-sanding-dust extraction system. But this video joins all the dots between marketing bumf like polyamide netting, 10000 holes, interface pads… Check out @BurtonTDSDerby on Twitter and ask Sarah about their trial and buy [...]

abranet, Blog, Mirka, paint, products

I was contacted today by a Dulux representative who asked me two questions? What is the Dulux paint you would miss the most and why? Answer: Dulux Supergrip Primer, because I paint kitchen cabinets and the water-based primer sticks fantastically well to laminate, melamine and clear lacquer. What is the product you could least do [...]

abranet, Blog, Equipment, preparation

When dealing with cracks, you have to prepare the cracks, double fill, sand smooth then paint! Filling cracks I rake out the joint with a knife to create a “V”. I then force the filler in the crack, working across the crack left, then right. Run a layer of filler along the length of the [...]

abranet, Blog, Eco, preparation

In my experience dust is the one side effect of decorating that really annoys customers. On the other side of the coin, if customers want a top job, the basic requirement is … a decorator who does lots of sanding! So how can you do a top job, sanding between coats (on woodwork and plaster [...]

abranet, Blog, Painting, preparation

So it isn’t a secret now, but attention to detail is what separates the painting and decorating men from the boys. Here are a few picky pointers that may be of interest to budding decorators, or curious customers. Sheeting up a room – I don’t own any traditional cotton dust sheets. Instead, to cover carpets [...]