Jeff's tips for painting barn quilts

 Tips for better painting:                                                                     Jeff Kurtz   8/14/22

1.  Paint can start to dry (skin over) in as little as 8 seconds.  If you feel your brush start to “drag” when painting over a previous stroke, you should stop, put more paint on the brush, and move to an adjacent area to continue painting.  Brushing over a “skinned” area can leave deep brush marks.

2.  Once the design is laid out, start by erasing the lines before you apply tape.  Pencil marks can bleed and show through several layers of paint.

3. Special tip!  This helps avoid paint bleeding under the tape.  Use a thin coat of clear finish to coat the edges of new tape areas.  Bleeds are practically eliminated.  Seem like an extra step?  Thank me later…

4. Let a thin line of the paint you are taping over show before pressing the tape into place. This helps eliminate thin unpainted strips from occurring.

5. Use thin coats of paint!  You will get uniform coverage without paint layer being too thick.  Thick layers peel off easily.

6.  Paint the lightest colors first.  Dark paints will cover lighter colors.

7. Use your elbow (behind the painting hand) to line your brush up with the line.  Draw your arm directly toward yourself parallel to the line.

8. Use long brush strokes.  Try not to start or stop a brush stroke in the middle of a block.

9. Do thin coats of paint.  Several thin strokes will provide a uniform coat, with less chance of tape peeling up the paint.  It also reduces paint build-up along the edge of the tape.

10. Keep in mind, “Brush strokes are forever!”  A dab of paint can show through numerous coats of paint.

11. Wrap your brush in saran-wrap between coats of paint. This saves lots of time.

12. Don't reuse tape... It curls too bad and is a P.I.A..