DRJ PAINTING

There's nothing more frustrating than stepping back to admire your hard work, only to see it start to bubble, flake, or peel away just weeks or months later. Paint failure is a common DIY problem, and it's almost never the fault of the paint itself. The issue almost always lies with what’s happening underneath. Understanding the cause of the problem is the first and most critical step to fixing it permanently. Simply scraping off the loose bits and painting over the top is a guarantee that the problem will return....

Even with the most careful preparation, mistakes can happen. You step back to admire your work and your heart sinks when you spot it: a noticeable drip running down the wall, a fuzzy bit of fluff stuck in the finish, or a section full of unsightly brush marks. The good news is that almost all of these common DIY mistakes are fixable. The key is to know whether to act immediately while the paint is wet, or to have the patience to wait until it’s fully dry....

Is your bathroom or laundry stuck in a time warp with dated, patterned, or just plain ugly tiles? A full retiling job is a massive, expensive, and disruptive undertaking. This leads many Aussie homeowners to ask the question: "Can I just paint over them?" The answer is yes, you absolutely can – but with a very big catch. You cannot simply slap a coat of wall paint on them and expect it to last. Tiles are a non-porous, ultra-smooth, high-gloss surface designed to repel everything. To paint them successfully, you must use a specific system of specialised products and follow a meticulous preparation process. Get it right, and you can achieve a stunning, modern transformation for a fraction of the cost of retiling....

A freshly painted metal fence or gate can dramatically improve your home's street appeal, providing a crisp, clean frame for your property. But painting metal isn't like painting timber or plasterboard. Metal is a non-porous surface that is constantly under attack from the elements, with its number one enemy being rust. A successful metal paint job is all about creating an impenetrable, rust-proof barrier. Simply painting over a rusty surface is a short-term fix that will fail within a year. A methodical approach focusing on rust removal and specialised primers is the only way to get a professional finish that lasts....

You’ve just finished renovating or building, and you’re faced with a room full of fresh, new plasterboard (widely known in Australia by the brand name Gyprock). It looks clean, smooth, and ready for paint. It can be incredibly tempting to just grab a roller and start applying your chosen wall colour straight away. This is, without a doubt, one of the biggest and most costly mistakes a DIYer can make. New plasterboard is a highly porous and inconsistent surface that requires a specific sealing process to ensure a beautiful, uniform, and long-lasting paint finish....