After reading the brief explanations below you will have a clearer
understanding of what these commonly used decorating terms mean when you
next page through a DIY magazine or website looking for inspiration.
Acrylic: A term describing waster based decorating materials.
Acrylic Filler:
Water based gap and surface fillers that remain highly flexible when
cured to allow movement, particularly useful for ceiling cracks and
junctions between plaster and wood.
Ageing: Giving something an aged appearance - various techniques can be used, such as staining and denting, also referred to as Antiquing or Distressing.
Anaglypta: Originally a trade mark in the wallpaper
industry, this term is now used to describe any wallpaper that has a
thick, embossed surface pattern that is designed to be painted over.
This wallpaper is very effective in hiding even the most glaring of
plastering faults. A wide variety of very attractive textures and
patterns is available.
Alkyd: An oil based paint made from synthetic resin instead of natural oils.
Bleed through: A painting fault, usually
caused by a contaminant under the area being painted, showing up as
stains in the final painted surface, proper surface preparation and a
high-hiding undercoat will eliminate this problem.
Blocking: An easy technique used to apply
an original design of your choice to a wall, floor, or any other surface
you may wish to decorate. A cut-out or shaped object that is first
dipped in paint before application is used to achieve a variety of
different effects and patterns.
Brushing out: Also sometimes referred to as “laying
off”. In order to get an evenly painted surface finish, paint needs to
be thoroughly distributed or “brushed out” using light brush strokes,
generally in the same direction to produce a smooth finish with no drip
lines or visible brush marks. This painting technique can be used for
both interior and exterior paint jobs.
Colour washing: A painting technique using
diluted paint, resulting in a semi-transparent finish. This is
especially effective when used on a wooden surface where the grain still
shows through even after applying colour.
Combing: Also referred to as “wood graining”, this paint
effect uses a specially designed decorator’s comb that is swivelled and
dragged through a glaze in order to produce fine lines and knots that
give a realistic hardwood effect to surfaces.
Cut in:
To paint the edges of a wall or ceiling to complete the coverage of the
surface. Especially applies where a paint roller or pad is used which
cannot reach into the corners.
Distemper: A
traditional unstable wall 'paint' comprising water, pigment and glue.
Now largely replaced by emulsion paints, old distemper normally needs to
be removed or sealed before redecoration.
Dragging: Achieved by
dragging a long-haired paintbrush – sometimes referred to as a “flogger
“- across a glaze to create a series of irregular, fine lines.
Eggshell: An oil or water based paint with a semi-gloss finish.
Emulsion: A water based paint normally used to paint large areas such as walls and ceilings.
Flexible filler: This kind of filler is usually a
water based surface filler that is used on surfaces such as wood or
plaster where there is a degree of movement and therefore a likelihood
of cracking. It is particularly useful for ceiling cracks and joins
between plaster and wood. Once dry, any repairs done using this kind of
filler can easily be painted over.
Flogger: A long haired paintbrush used to create a Dragged paint effect
Frieze: A band of decoration applied along a
surface, such as along a wall or around architectural features like
windows and doors using wallpaper borders, stencils or free-hand
decorations.
Grinning: This term refers to a painting fault that
comes about when paint has been applied too thinly over a darker
surface. The colour of the surface below may show or “grin” through. The
best painting advice that we can provide you with? Make sure that you
use an adequate primer before applying the paint and you will be able to
prevent this problem entirely .
Grout: This refers to a waterproof paste used to
fill the gaps between tiles and mosaics. This paste can be coloured to
suit the tile or mosaic being used.
Inset tile: Usually a smaller, highly decorative tile used for adding additional design detail to surrounding tiles.
Liming: Also often referred to as “whitewashing “,
this is a technique used for treating wood, resulting in a pale,
bleached appearance. This technique is popular when a clean, light look
is required.
Lining Paper:
A wallpaper used to cover poor surfaces prior to applying paint or
wallpaper - when being covered with wallpaper, the lining paper is
normally put on at right angles to the final paper
Low-tac: This is a term used to describe types of
masking tape that have a low level of grip so that the tape can be
removed without damaging the surface that it has been applied to.
Make good: To prepare a surface for decorating by filling in holes, smoothing etc. It is often
said "90% of the time to make good, 10% for the actual decorating"
Marbling: This clever paint technique is used to
create the impression of a surface being made from marble. It is one of
the more difficult paint techniques to master.
Nibbler: This hand tool resembles a pair of pliers
and is used to cut away tiny portions of ceramic tiles in order to
achieve a specific shape or size.
Non-drip (paint): A Thixotropic paint which has gel like consistency and so tends not to run or drip
Notched spreader: This tool is used to spread tile
adhesive over a wall before positioning tiles. It comes with different
shapes and sizes of notches that are used for different types of tiles
and/or situations.
Oil (paint): Paint
based on an oil solvent, such as linseed and tung. The final surface is
hard wearing but the paint gives off strong fumes and brushes etc can
only be cleaned using Mineral Turpentine
Primary colours: Refers to any one of the
three ‘pure’ colours – red, blue, and yellow. All other colours are
mixed using any number of combinations of these three colours together
with the addition of black and/or white.
Primer (Paint): A
paint used to seal and stabilise a surface before further coats are
applied - often with very little colour content to hide the underlying
surface. Different types are necessary for different surfaces (I.e.
wood, steel, non-ferrous metals etc) to provide good adhesion.
PVA: Polyvinyl
Acetate - the basis of various types of adhesives, paints etc. Often
used diluted as a stabilising solution on powdery surfaces
Rag rolling: This paint effect is similar to
ragging, but instead of bunching up the rag before dabbing it onto a
surface, the rag is made into a sausage-like shape and then rolled down a
glaze or emulsion in order to produce a more even, directional pattern.
Ragging: A paint effect achieved with a crumpled rag that is used to create a pattern on emulsion
or a glaze - alternatively, the rag may be dipped in the paint and then applied to a surface
Size: Before hanging wallpaper a diluted adhesive referred to as “size” is painted onto walls to seal the surface
Soaking time: This term is used when decorating
with wallpaper and refers to the time that the wallpaper is left after
pasting but before hanging, allowing the adhesive to soak in. This is an
important step in order to minimise the formation of bubbles and varies
according to each manufacturer.
Sponging: A natural sea sponge is usually used to
produce an impression in a glaze or emulsion. The sponge may also first
be dipped in paint and then applied to the surface. Although very
similar in appearance, these two different techniques result in a subtle
difference in the end effect that is achieved.
Stencilling: This decorative effect is used to
produce a design on any number of surfaces by applying paint on to the
cut-out areas of a paper, cardboard or acetate template. By adding
layers of colour and shading detail, a highly realistic effect can be
achieved.
Stippling: A finely textured paint effect achieved
by using only the extreme tips of the bristles of a lightly loaded
brush. Stippling is the technique most often used when using stencils as
there is less chance of excess paint “bleeding” under the stencilled
pattern.
Stripper (paint): This is a chemical solution to
removing old layers of paint or varnish from a surface in preparation
for redecorating. Manufacturer’s’ instructions must be closely followed
due to the fact that paint strippers are highly caustic.
Stripper (wallpaper): This clever piece of
equipment allows wallpaper to be more easily removed by using steam to
soften the backing adhesive. A flat plate held against the wallpaper
produces a consistent flow of steam, thereby evenly and effectively
aiding the stripping of wallpaper.
Thixotropic: A term used to describe materials that have a gel-like consistency until stirred so tend not to run or drip.
Tile gauge:
A piece of wood marked with the tile-width measurements along it and
used to mark off the positions that tiles will occupy on a wall.
Top Coat (Paint): The final coat of paint which is laid off, or subjected to a paint effect technique, to give the final finish.
Undercoat (Paint):
The paint applied after the primer to mask the underlying material and
to provide a key for the top coat - often now replaced by a combined
'Primer and Undercoat' for wooden surfaces.
Varnish: A resinous or water-based solution that seals and protects surfaces.
Verdigris: The greenish coloured coating on copper, bronze, or brass that forms naturally with age as a result of atmospheric corrosion.
Vinyl (Wallpaper): A wallpaper with a front surface of vinyl - usually water resistant.
Vinyl (Paint):
An emulsion paint with good wearing and cleaning properties - available
in a number of finishes such as Silk (semi-gloss) and Matt.
Wet-and-dry paper: A waterproof, sandpaper used wet in order to give a very smooth finish to a project.
Wood stain: This wood finish is available in a
multitude of glorious shades and is absorbed into the outer surface of
the wooden article so as to provide a richer colour, as well as a
greater amount of protection from the elements.
For other terms not mentioned, please contact us to update this article.
