PaintTouch Up Tips

It's about that time to start sprucing up the house for holiday visitors. Throughout the year, do your walls get a few dings and bumps that leave an unpainted surface? Here are a few tips you should know before you break out the paint can and start touching up.

1. Surface temperature can make a difference in the appearance of the touch up area. Touch-up work should be done under the same temperature conditions as the initial painting. So make sure your basement isn't too cold or you've got the heater cranked way up. Always apply the paint when the ambient air and surface temperatures are well above 50.

2.  Time can affect how well a touch-up mark blends into the original painted surface. Different types of paints have different final finish times. For example, alkyd based paints can sometimes take several weeks to reach their final appearance, while latexes get to that point pretty quickly. The best practice is to wait and judge your touch-up success after about a two week period.

3.  Your paint application method can result in a different outcome. If you initially painted the wall with a roller, using a brush to do your touch-up will cause a noticeable difference. Be sure to use the same type tools when you touch-up your paint and you should get a nice looking surface.

Number 2 in the Pie World

"While pumpkin pie was not present at the first Thanksgiving, it was by the time of the American Revolution. The predecessor to the modern American pie was made by colonists that cut the tops off pumpkins, removed the seeds, added milk, honey and spices to the interior of the pumpkin, and roasted it over a fire. It was not until 1796 that the first written version of a recipe for a pumpkin pie similar to today's version was recorded. Since that time, pumpkin pie has evolved and become easier to make with the introduction of canned pumpkin in the early twentieth century."

(from http://www.ehow.com/about pumpkin pie)

Pumpkin pie is now the 2nd most popular pie, ranking close behind apple. This time of year brings that delicious smell of pumpkin spice baked in a pie, a roll or even cookies. It's the smell that makes you think of family and food and parades and football and .....

Take this time to reflect and be thankful for all that you DO have. There are many folks out there without family or friends to share that yummy pumpkin pie with. We are very thankful for all our amazing staff, our hard-working installers and our loyal customers.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday!

Great Success!

Our Let's Decorate event was a huge success! All of our presenters came armed with color trends and new color matching applications. Tyger and Bryan did a fabulous job with our DIY countertop transformation kits. I think a few husbands might be a bit annoyed that they now have a "Hunny Do" project!

We collected donations to the BRHC Cancer Fund and will continue with this until Thanksgiving. We will make a 5% donation of all sales from our Let's Decorate attendees from now til November 25th.Our sales associates are busy with measures and consults so we're hoping to make a sizable donation in December.

Thanks to everyone that attended our event. We hope to make this an annual event and grow our attendance.

Let's Decorate and donate for a cure!

Thursday, October 27th 5:30 to 8:00

Dugan's will be hosting a "Let's Decorate" event, partnering with Bothwell Regional Health Center Foundation and receiving donations to benefit local cancer patients.

We will have Hunter Douglas giving a presentation on window coverings; a designer from Kansas City will help you get started decorating with that favorite pillow or picture as your inspiration; Dugan's will have a demonstration of our new countertop technique that will transform your room; Color, Color, Color!!!  we will discuss how Dugan' can match any color Exactly.

The evening will start off with light appetizers and a short presentation from the BRHC Foundation about the new Cannon Cancer Center and the Women's Cancer Care charity. We'll progress with decorating ideas and then move right into the Dessert Buffet...yum! We'll be giving away prizes and one lucky attendee and a friend will get a FREE designer consulation from Karolyn Spagnolo of Spagnolo Designs! Giving a $5 donation will get you a $10 Dugan's certificate toward your next purchase. We will also have several opportunities to generate donations for the Women's Cancer Care.

Should be a fun night. Wear PINK and receive a special gift!

My weekend was saved!

As my college-bound kids packed and  moved out, I was left with a room needing some attention. After hauling what appeared to be junk out to the garbage, I began my quest to freshen up the space. I was on a mission to get this project done DURING the weekend and not have it drag out for weeks. So how do I get it painted and things moved back into it in just two days?

Using the right paint and right tools!  What exactly does that mean, you ask. Spending a bit more money and getting quality paint AND quality tools. I needed paint that had great coverage and low odor but I also needed the tools to reduce my time involved. I'm tellin' you....being conservative (cheap skate, tightwad, whatever you want to call it) with paint brushes and rollers only causes more work and frustration.

I decided to use PPG Pittsburgh Paints Manor Hall (spent a little over $35) because it had good coverage, low odor and the color palette I was looking for. Now, normally I would have spent $35 on the entire project, paint and tools both, but I only wanted to deal with this for two days. Time to shop for quality tools.

You can buy roller covers for about $2 all day long, but as you roll, you get those funky "hairs" on the wall that you have to scrape off with your fingernail. By the end of your project, you've got paint under ALL your nails, on the end of your shirt and down your leg from wiping those pesky "hairs" off. I had no interest in that so I spent $4 and got the Purdy White Dove roller with woven dralon fabric. Dralon is a derivative of nylon, which enables the paint to flow freely and makes for easy rolling. That type of fiber can also carry alot of paint at one time, reducing your paint time. Sounded like a deal to me! TIP: lightly wet your roller cover before you start and it will pick up paint from your tray more evenly the first time.

Trimming out the room....ugh! My least favortie job that takes time and patience. I only wanted to drag the ladder around the room one time so I stepped it up and bought a quality brush. The Wooster Chinex 2" angled brush was around $20....could've bought a case of the "cheapies" for that, huh? Nonetheless, I was determined to do this the right way. This brush has some added stiffness and a softer tip, which increased the paint release and reduced drag. It actually helped push the paint farther and I had much cleaner edges. My only question was "will it clean up easily?" and man, did it ever.

My weekend was saved! I started my quest at 8:00 Saturday morning and had the room back together by 7:30 pm. I made one trip around the room with the trim brush and two trips with the roller. My nails were free of roller hairs, my shirt was free of paint splatters and my evening guests had no idea I'd just painted the room. PLUS, I had all day Sunday to relax! I spent a little more on my renovation, but it was money well spent. The painting and clean up were so much easier with good, quality tools; I'm looking forward to doing it again.

Bye Bye Mildew

I decided to treat myself this summer with some new deck furniture. I found the perfect set and was excited to get it home and begin relaxing in my new outdoor lounge. As I sat enjoying the warm weather, my dream world slowly fizzled when I noticed the mold and mildew growing on the north side of my house - right in the middle of my "no kid" zone. I just couldn't relax while looking at the green, hairy stuff growing out from my vinyl siding.

So...I needed something that was easy to use, didn't require hours of scrubbing and would get rid of the green so I could enjoy my summer evenings.  JOMAX House Cleaner & Mildew Killer by Zinsser was the solution.  It  comes in a concentrate and makes 20 gallons of cleaner.  Perfect!

Items needed:  garden sprayer, CHECK; bleach, CHECK; water, CHECK. All I had to do was mix, spray, wait 5 minutes and rinse off. It truly was just that simple. As I sprayed JOMAX on my siding, the dirt and mildew instantly ran down the house and I sprayed it clean.  There were a few spots that needed a bit of scrubbing but not really that many. The only issue I had was the slippery ladder -- wet shoes on an aluminum ladder drenched with water was not a good plan. Maybe I'll wear water shoes next time.

Now that JOMAX has taken care of my creepy mildew, I can enjoy my new outdoor lounge for the rest of the summer. JOMAX kills mold and mildew and removes dirt and stains without scrubbing on most exterior, painted , non-porous surfaces such as aluminum, vinyl and wood siding and trim, stained or painted decks and fences, stucco, brick and painted concrete or cement block.
www.zinsser.com

The Eyes to Your Home

As I pull into my driveway, I'm drawn each day to the many windows I see.  I have to admit, they are a hodge podge of designs and annoy me terribly.  I find myself checking out how my neighbors and friends' windows look when I drive past their homes.  I know I need to do something about my windows but just don't know what path to take.

Research your options.  Find something durable.  For heaven's sake, make them look a little more uniform!  Your windows are the "eyes" to your home.  Ugh!  Where do I start?

I decided that blinds and shades will do the job so I began my research.  Kirsch/Levolor has a multitude of options so I needed to really break down each room and what purpose the window covering was going to have. 
Bedroom:  Love the light during the day but don't really want my neighbors to get a peep show at night.  My pick for this room is the Honeycomb Shade. These can be Top Down/Bottom Up mounted to let the light in when I want it, but can cover to the bottom at night.  They also have an Energy Liner that adds additional insulation and eliminates air flow through the shade.  This helps reduce energy costs.  A definite plus since I'll have two kids in college this fall.
Bathroom:  For those areas in your house that are conducive to moisture, humidity or steam, faux wood blinds are a great choice.  I was afraid these might be too dark for my bathroom, but Kirsch has six new trendy finishes so I found several options to pick from.  They also offer an optional privacy feature that gives them an extremely tight closure.  No need for another peep show opportunity.
Livingroom:  With lots of big windows in this room it's a bit tough to know what to do.  The light is great, but very annoying when it glares on the tv in the middle of the day.  Here I like the Vertical Blinds with the Backstacker.  With traditional vertical blinds, the vanes collect in the middle of the windows, blocking your view.  With the Kirsh BackStacker system, the vanes stack neatly on the outer edge of the windows so you don't miss any happenings outside.  AND, the Kirsch vertical collection coordinates with the faux wood collection so I can actually match the window coverings in both rooms.  No more hodge podge!
Kitchen:  The place I spend the most time in while I'm awake needs to feel comfortable.  I'm liking the Woven Wood Shades ALOT.  They are a Roman-type style made with unique grasses, reeds and bamboos.  They are cordless and can be mounted Top Down/ Bottom UP.  They give you the feel of the outdoors and when I'm stuck in the kitchen by a hot stove, you can bet I'd much rather be soakin up some nature instead.

I'm feeling better about my ugly "eyes" and am anxious to get started replacing my window coverings.  Now all I need is strong, patient man to help me install them.  Oh wait!  Dugan's installs with every purchase.  Problem solved.

After 140 years, paint store thinks it's time for a makeover | business, change, store - Sedalia Democrat

After 140 years, paint store thinks it's time for a makeover business, change, store - Sedalia Democrat

Get It In One Trip

So you've finally decided to paint your living room.  You've chosen the color and are now ready to go buy some paint.  At this point, you need to remember that you'll need more than just a bucket of paint and a paint brush.  I can't tell you how many times I've gotten excited about making a color change and been missing supplies.

Remember this simple motto:  Three rights prevent wrongs!  Be sure to PREP right, to use the right TOOLS and definitely use the right APPLICATION.

Preparation is key to getting your room painted in a timely manner.  Moving your furniture away from the walls is great, but don't forget to use a drop cloth to cover the exposed flooring.  This will cause you less headaches when you're on your hands and knees scrubbing paint out of your carpet or off your hardwood after you've stepped in it an mashed it down....then tracked it out of the room as you went for a damp cloth....and found you rubbed against the newly painted wall on your way out of the room......not that I've ever done that.

Using Painter's Tape around edges you'll be painting is a must.  Most of us have a roll of masking tape in the "junk drawer" in the kitchen, but Painter's Tape will cause you less frustration.  It's made to adhere to the surface to block out the paint, but not enough to pull away the paint like masking tape does.  Be sure you pull the Painter's tape off before it gets totally dry to prevent any peeling of the new color.

Tools are key!  The finished look of your wall will be a direct reflection of the tools you use to apply the paint.  That old roller cover you've washed out a few times may LOOK okay, but it will certainly show it's age when you start painting.  Get a new roller cover, for heaven's sake, and throw that nappy cover away.  You will be glad you did.

Disposable paint tray liners are a fabulous invention.  I wish I would have come up with it because they make clean-up so much easier.  So does a 2" angled brush.  Trying to cut in by the ceiling or down a door frame is a breeze with the right paint brush.  I hate trying to wipe Caliente (red) paint off the ceiling (causing a big pink smear that I then have to get a can of white ceiling paint after) because I used the wrong kind of brush.   A good quality brush will make a difference.

Apply your paint liberally in 3-4 foot increments.  Roll your paint in a "W" pattern and fill in open areas using horizontal strokes with your roller.  This is the fun part!  Once you start rolling, the project seems to go quickly.  Before you know it, you're done!  The room is transformed and you can stand back and see what an awesome painter you are.

In a nutshell:  Right Prep, Right Tools, Right Application.  Piece of cake!