Most people think they know how to paint, and usually the results are pretty good. But for painting contractor John Dee, "pretty good" isn't good enough. After nearly three decades of rolling, brushing, and spraying paint he knows the subtle tricks for applying smooth, even coats to walls, ceilings, and woodwork, and for creating crisp boundaries between colors.
According to Dee, there's no magic to getting professional-looking results. Practice helps, and thorough surface preparation is essential. But the key, he says, is to paint in an orderly, systematic way. So whether he's painting a multi-paneled door or a flat expanse of wall, he proceeds almost scientifically from one step to the next, with no shortcuts. "Your approach to the task, the order in which you do things, can speed the work or slow you down," Dee says. "Here's the approach that works best for me."
