Weekend Project: Add a Pop of Colour

Looking for something to do on one of your weekends during Winter? Why not add a Pop of Colour to a key piece within your home! Think of highlighting a piece of furniture, a stair case, some of your Kitchen joinery or even a door and paint it in a bright colour. If you only have the weekend to complete your project, don’t think too large as paint takes a little longer to dry in cooler weather.

Unsure what feature colour to use for your piece? Have a look around the room it’s going in for inspiration. If you have a piece of artwork, then choose one of the colours that are in the artwork. Or if you like random things, then choose a completely different colour that isn’t already in the space or choose a few different colours to make your piece really stand out. There aren’t really any rules when it comes to adding Pops of Colour to your space – have some fun, move out of your comfort zone and go bold with your Pop of Colour!

Tip: If the piece you are painting is already painted and you want to use water-based paint (ideally a water-based enamel is the best as it’s chip resistant) then you need to find out what the previously coated paint is. Water-based paints can be applied over water-based paints once lightly sanded to remove any sheen level, but cannot be painted over oil-based paints, as it’ll just peel and scratch straight off (won’t stick). If unsure, the best way to test it is by using some methylated spirits on a cloth and lightly wipe over the existing paint. If some colour comes off onto the cloth, then it’s water-based. If no colour comes off and the paint just dulls slightly, then it’s oil-based. If oil-based, you’ll still need to lightly sand the surface to remove any sheen level and then apply one coat of a suitable product such as Dulux Precision Maximum Strength Adhesion Primer before applying your top coats. If you are wanting to paint over your laminate, it can be done with the use of Dulux Precision Maximum Strength Adhesion Primer as your undercoat and follow the same steps as above. Unfortunately laminate is a hard surface to get paint to adhere to, so not all undercoats are suitable for this and it’ll definitely need to be lightly sanded and undercoated before painted.

Note: once applied the Dulux Maximum Strength Adhesion Primer, you’ll need to wait at least 24 hours (or longer in cooler weather) for it to do it’s job before applying your top coats, otherwise you may find your topcoats won’t stick and will peel straight off.