How to decorate, no.3: Don't use putty, use Dry Seal

Linseed oil putty seems to be the embodiment of the very best traditional methods and craftsmanship: it has been around, probably little-changed, for a long time; it is easy to work with; and it smells wonderful, like the naturally derived product it is. 

But as a method for sealing glass into traditional timber-framed windows it is prone to failure — indeed, ask 100 experienced decorators to tell you the curing time for putty, and you will probably receive almost as many different answers. 

In 2014, we bade farewell to our last tub of putty, and switched to Dry Seal, made by Repair Care. It is a considerably more expensive synthetic product, but it is truly superior to putty. Dry Seal remains permanently elastic and, perhaps best of all, can be painted — no arguments — within 30 minutes.

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How to decorate, no.2: Buy good paint brushes

There isn’t any way of dodging this ironclad rule: buy the best brushes and rollers you can afford.

Granted, buying professional quality paint brushes and rollers won’t suddenly and miraculously transform you into a professional decorator — but good equipment will maximise what ability you do possess. Or, to put it another way: it’s impossible to do a good job with poor quality equipment. 

purdy_brush

Let trusted brands, pricing and specialist shops be your guide:

  1. Never buy cheap-as-chips packs of own-brand brushes from B&Q, Wickes or Homebase, such as these. Never buy brushes from Poundland. 
  2. The names to look out for, and which are pretty much a guarantee of quality, are Purdy, Wooster and Corona. Start viewing £25-£30 — not £3-£5 — for three brushes as the going rate. 
  3. Specialist decorators’ merchants are a better bet than the big all-round DIY shops. B&Q do sell Purdy brushes, but much more expensively than elsewhere. The following outlets are all worth checking out: Whites Trade Paints in Honor Oak, south London .. Decorating Direct .. My Paint Brush

The closest we can offer to a sure-fire tip is to buy Purdy’s XL Elite 3-pack from My Paint Brush, which contains a 2″, 1.5″ and 1″ brush. If you’ve been toiling away with B&Q multi-pack brushes, these are going to be a revelation…

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Joseph Giles

Our eye was drawn, on a recent job, to this exceptional hardware: the casement stay, in particular, has the sort of allure one only ever finds when the designer has exercised thought as well as restraint.

Joseph Giles, based in Croydon, is the manufacturer. 

A casement stay made by Joseph Giles

 

A locking casement handle made by Joseph Giles

 

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Decorating the Myla and Davis hairdressing salon

We’ve just finished decorating the interior and exterior of the new Myla and Davis salon in Brixton.

The expansion of Katya’s business is continuing strongly and we’re delighted to have worked on all three salons, with the long-established Herne Hill salon being joined by East Dulwich in November 2013.

The bold colour chosen for the exterior woodwork and masonry — Railings by Farrow & Ball — works well in the busy central Brixton location.

The carpentry in the interior — mainly 18mm stained birch ply with black powder-coated metalwork  — was designed and built by the skilled team at Made by Jason.

The salon is at 425 Coldharbour Lane.

Photos showing the facade of the Myla & Davis salon in Brixton, before and after being painted by Trim Decorating

 

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Smith & Rodger woodfinishes

Smith & Rodger is a venerable Glasgow company, established in 1877, which manufactures French polishes, lacquers, stains and varnishes.

When I sanded the floorboards in my tenement flat on the southside of Glasgow in 2001, my Dad strongly recommended a product from Smith & Rodger, Aquacoat Xtra. It was indeed a superb product: hardwearing, and yielding a beautiful finish.

A fine short film about the company was released recently, produced by Make Works — their site has details of many independent businesses, from leatherworkers in Shetland to a laser and CNC studio in Glasgow.

Smith and Rodger from Make Works on Vimeo.

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