Tips for Painting with Insulating Paint

Painting is probably one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to change the decor of a room, but did you ever think you'd see the day when a paint additive could save you money on your heating and cooling bills? Back in my college days, I used to work for a well known department store that sold paint. During those days, it was very uncommon to see a woman in the home improvement section, let alone, know anything about home improvement. It was a great challenge to get the customers comfortable enough to talk to me, the woman, who shouldn't know so much about paint. But that was usually the only thing out of the ordinary in the paint department in the early 90's.

Paint was pretty bland back then. There wasn't a lot of fancy products like faux finishes and the only protection a paint can could guarantee was that it would not peel, fade, or crack for a certain number of years. The hardest part about buying paint was trying to find the right finish and color for your project. Don't get me wrong, additives existed way back then, but they were for floor paint or mildew resistance. They were not for insulating paint.

Two companies are now boasting the fact that an additive can help insulate your paint so that your heating, cooling, and lighting bills can be reduced. Hytech Sales claims that their roof coating/ insulating ceramic paints are better than 7" of fiberglass insulation. The paint is also not harmful to the environment because it has a low VOC. Therma- Guard, a competitor of Hytech Sales, claims that their insulation paint will help to reduce your lighting bills because the paint contains aluminum. Aluminum is highly reflective and the reflection of this paint will brighten the room.

Both of these companies state that this additive will only enhance your insulation and is not meant as a replacement to other insulation solutions. This paint can be used in attics, on roofs, interior rooms, exterior siding, metal surfaces, or anywhere that could use some extra insulation.

One may wonder if this type of paint will need special prep work or extra tips for handling, and the answer to that is no, not really. This paint is pretty much like most others where prep work is key to a long lasting look. So lets go over some of the basics of prep work for a room when you want to paint.

A regular paint tends to cover 400 square feet of a smooth, non- porous surface, thermal paint can only cover up to 250 square feet of a smooth, non- porous surface. A porous or rough surface like a popcorn ceiling or stucco surface, will need more paint for coverage. These surfaces tend to cut gallon coverage to about half for a regular paint (250 square feet), so it is safe to assume that ceramic or insulating paint will only cover about 100 square feet. The additive works better for this type of situation because you can use the additive in a regular paint, thus giving you a bit more coverage.

It can seem like a daunting task to figure out how many gallons you may need for a room, especially if you are not that good in math, like myself. But all you need is a tape measure and a calculator. If the room you will be doing is relatively square, you can measure the height and width of one wall. Multiply those two numbers together and then multiply that number by 4. After you get that number, divide it by 250 to get how many gallons you will need. Another easy way to calculate these numbers is by using the paint calculator on Hytech Sales' site (http://www.hytechsales.com/paint_calculator.html) If you plan on doing a room that is oblong, measure one long wall and one short wall, add those numbers together and then multiply by 2, then divide by 250. You do not need to account for windows or doors because you will want a little extra paint left over for any touch-up work. To give you an idea of how many gallons you may need, an average sized room (10 by 12) will take about a gallon of regular paint, so plan on two gallons of ceramic or insulated paint. Hytech Sales and Therma- Guard also suggest using their brand of a flat base coat in order to achieve proper insulation, so you will need to consider that when thinking about how many gallons you will need.

Another thing to consider is primer for your room. Most paint will only adhere to a surface well if the prep work is done. Having said that, you will need to take into consideration how long it has been since the walls were primed. If it has been quite some time, you may want to prime the entire surface before you begin to paint. A way to tell if it has been a while since the walls have been primed is to do a water test. Splash a few droplets of water on your wall. If the water rolls down your wall quickly, you have a good seal of primer. If the water seeps into the wall, it is time to prime the whole surface. A primer typically covers 400-500 square feet per gallon.

Do your walls show any signs of water damage? If so, you will want to correct those areas with a stain blocker primer, as well as, make sure that the source of the leak is properly sealed with caulk. Common areas for water damage are near windows or the ceiling just below your tub and shower.

Other signs of potential problems are loose and peeling paint. This could be a sign of water damage, or it could just be the old paint breaking down. Either way, you will want to remove this chipping paint before proceeding, this way your new coat will have proper adhesion to the wall.

Once you are done with this prep work, you can then sand down your chipped areas to make your walls smooth. If you are going over a higher sheen, like a semi-gloss, with Hytech Sales flat undercoat, you will have to sand down all of your walls before painting. Skipping this part will make adhesion almost impossible, or worse, you may need more coats of paint to finish the job, and that can be very time consuming. A light sanding with 220 grit will work fine.

After you sand, remove all the debris before painting. Some people will clean the wall with a solvent like Spic and Span and then wait 24 hours before painting. However, I did know one friend that put their shop vac to the test and vacuumed their walls free of debris so they could paint later that day. It actually did work-- believe it or not.

When you are done with all of this, it's time to paint! This is usually when I start to move all of my furniture around. I tend to only move one side of the room at a time so I don't have to disturb an entire room for a week. I have little ones and to make a room off limits for any amount of time is next to impossible. If you feel a need, you can use drop clothes over your furniture. Cloth drop clothes can run you a pretty penny, so you might want to consider using plastic ones for this. If you really want to be frugal, large trash bags will also work.

After this, you can tape over your trim and base boards with painters tape to avoid painting mistakes. Plain masking tape will also work, however, make sure you have a hair dryer over the tape when you are removing it to prevent any paint underneath from coming up along with your tape.

Once you have completed this step, you can work around your trim first with either a good angled brush or an edger. I suggest spending the money on a good brush because they last a very long time, do not shed their bristles into your freshly painted wall, and can form a professionally straight looking line. Paint edgers are okay, but the pads tend to soak up a lot paint and this can lead to paint drips that will make your finished wall look unprofessional. A brush can also feel a bit more comfortable to arthritic hands due to its design-- at least, that's what this arthritic person's opinion is.

When you are done with your trim work, you can start the rest of your wall. I like using a roller for walls because the coverage looks good. Painting pads can leave brush marks, as well as, excess drips on the wall. Pads also soak up a lot of paint like their counter part the edger. Your roller should be a smooth one if you are painting a smooth surface or thick if you are doing a rough surface. Be sure to finish an entire wall. Paint can look mismatched if you stop at an unnatural break in the wall.

Once the paint is dry to the touch, it is okay to move your furniture back, just as long as it is still protected with drop clothes and is not up against the wall. Paint will dry to the touch within a couple of hours, however, it takes time for it to completely dry. Paint will usually throughly dry overnight unless it is unusually humid. It is best to paint on a day when it is not humid to avoid this problem, but if you can not avoid this, allow extra dry time. After your paint is completely dry and the furniture is put back in place, the only thing left to do is to enjoy your newly redone room.