Glossary
Painting Terms, in Plain Words
Painting terms explained in one sentence each, from cutting in and back-rolling to primers, sheens, cure times and WSIB clearance.
9 terms
Prep and repair
- Masking
- Covering floors, furniture, hardware and edges with paper, plastic and tape so paint lands only where it should.
- Caulk
- A flexible sealant run into the gaps where trim meets walls, or around windows and doors, so joints look solid and stay sealed as the house moves.
- Joint compound
- The paste used to tape drywall seams and fill holes, dents and cracks; painters also call it drywall mud.
- Nail pop
- A drywall nail or screw that has worked loose and pushed a small bump or crack through the surface; it is reset, filled and primed before painting.
- More on this: Fixing nail pops and cracks
- Skim coat
- A thin layer of joint compound spread over a whole wall or ceiling to make a rough or damaged surface smooth, often after popcorn removal.
- Feathering
- Sanding the edges of a patch or an old paint edge thin, so the repair blends into the surface around it.
- Deglossing
- Dulling a glossy surface by sanding or with a liquid deglosser, so the next coat can grip.
- TSP
- Trisodium phosphate, a strong cleaner used to cut grease and grime before painting; phosphate-free substitutes are common.
- Spot-priming
- Priming only the repaired or bare spots before the finish coats, so patches don't show through as dull or shiny marks.
13 terms
Paint and primer
- Primer
- A first coat that seals the surface, helps the paint bond and blocks stains, so the finish coats look even.
- More on this: Do you need primer?
- Bonding primer
- A primer made to grip slick surfaces such as glossy paint, laminate, tile or metal.
- Stain-blocking primer
- A primer that stops water stains, smoke, marker and wood tannins from bleeding through new paint.
- Tannin bleed
- Yellow or brown staining that rises out of woods such as oak and cedar through water-based paint, unless the wood is sealed with a stain-blocking primer first.
- Latex paint
- Water-based paint made with acrylic or vinyl-acrylic resin; it is the standard for walls and most exteriors, dries quickly and cleans up with water.
- Alkyd paint
- Paint made with alkyd resin that levels to a hard, smooth finish for trim, doors and cabinets; traditionally oil-based, it now comes in water-based versions too.
- Contractor-grade paint
- A lower-cost line made for volume work such as new builds and rentals; it often needs an extra coat and washes less well.
- Hide
- How well one coat of paint covers the colour underneath it.
- Tint base
- The uncoloured paint the store adds colourant to; deep colours start from a base with less white pigment, which is why they often need more coats.
- Colour code
- A paint maker's name and number for a colour; written into the quote, it lets anyone match the colour years later.
- VOCs
- Volatile organic compounds, chemicals that evaporate from paint as it dries and cause much of its smell; low-VOC paints release less of them.
- Technical data sheet
- The paint maker's specification for a product: its temperature limits, dry and recoat times, coverage and the prep it needs.
7 terms
Sheen and finish
- Sheen
- How much light dried paint reflects, from flat and matte through eggshell and satin to semi-gloss and gloss.
- More on this: Which sheen goes where
- Flat and matte
- The lowest sheens, which hide surface flaws best; they suit ceilings and walls that don't need scrubbing.
- Eggshell
- A low sheen, a step up from matte, that wipes clean more easily; a common choice for living rooms and bedrooms.
- Satin
- A soft sheen between eggshell and semi-gloss that stands up to cleaning, often used in kitchens, hallways and children's rooms.
- Semi-gloss
- A shiny, hard-wearing finish that stands up to scrubbing, used on trim, doors, cabinets and bathrooms; it shows surface flaws more than lower sheens.
- Flashing
- Patches of uneven sheen on a finished wall, often where repairs were not primed or where paint dried at different rates.
- Lap marks
- Darker or shinier stripes where fresh paint was rolled over paint that had already started to dry.
11 terms
Applying paint
- Cutting in
- Brushing a clean line of paint where a wall meets a ceiling, trim or another colour, before the open areas are rolled.
- Wet edge
- The still-wet border of fresh paint; rolling back into it before it dries prevents lap marks.
- Back-rolling
- Rolling over paint just sprayed onto a surface, to work it into the texture and even out the coat.
- Airless sprayer
- A sprayer that pumps paint at high pressure through a small tip, covering large areas, exteriors and empty rooms quickly.
- HVLP sprayer
- A high-volume, low-pressure sprayer that atomizes paint with a lot of air at low pressure, for fine finishes on cabinets and trim with less overspray.
- More on this: Spray or brush trim and doors?
- Overspray
- The fine mist of paint that drifts beyond the surface being sprayed, which is why spraying needs thorough masking.
- Holiday
- Painters' slang for a missed or thin spot in a coat, the kind a final walkthrough is meant to catch.
- Dry to the touch
- The point when paint no longer feels tacky; it is not yet ready for a second coat, tape or everyday use.
- Recoat time
- How long a coat must dry before the next one goes on, as the product's data sheet gives it for a temperature and humidity.
- Cure time
- How long paint takes to reach full hardness, often weeks, although it feels dry within hours.
- More on this: How long paint takes to dry and cure
- Dew point
- The temperature at which moisture condenses on surfaces; exterior paint needs surfaces comfortably warmer than the dew point to dry properly.
- More on this: How cold is too cold to paint outside
9 terms
Surfaces and problems
- Chalking
- A powdery residue that forms on old exterior paint and factory siding finishes as sunlight breaks them down; it is washed off before repainting.
- Efflorescence
- White, powdery salt deposits on brick, stucco or concrete, carried to the surface by moisture that needs fixing before any coating goes on.
- Aluminum siding
- Metal siding with a baked-on factory finish, common on post-war GTA homes; once faded and chalky, it can be cleaned, primed and repainted.
- More on this: Aluminum siding painting
- Stucco
- A cement or acrylic plaster finish on exterior walls; before painting it needs its cracks repaired and a coating that lets moisture out.
- More on this: Stucco painting
- Masonry stain
- A penetrating colour for brick that soaks in and lets it breathe, unlike paint, which forms a film on top.
- More on this: Should you paint brick?
- Limewash
- A traditional finish of slaked lime and water that soaks into brick and wears away gradually, for a soft, aged look.
- Plaster
- The hard wall finish in many pre-war homes, applied over lath; its cracks need different repairs than drywall's.
- Popcorn ceiling
- A sprayed-on textured ceiling, common from the 1950s to the 1980s; older ones should be tested for asbestos before anyone disturbs them.
- More on this: Popcorn ceilings and asbestos
- Lead paint
- Paint containing lead, which Health Canada says is probably present in homes built before 1960; test it before sanding or scraping.
7 terms
Quotes and hiring
- Itemized quote
- A written quote that lists each area, the prep, the paint by brand and line, the number of coats and the price, instead of one lump sum.
- More on this: What a painting quote should include
- HST
- Ontario's 13% harmonized sales tax, added to a painting invoice on top of the quoted price.
- More on this: Do painters charge HST?
- Minimum job charge
- The smallest invoice a painter takes on, covering the fixed cost of a visit, travel, setup and cleanup.
- More on this: Why painters have a minimum charge
- WSIB clearance certificate
- A document from Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board confirming that a contractor is registered and its account is in good standing.
- More on this: How to choose a house painter
- Liability insurance
- A contractor's commercial general liability policy, which covers damage to property and injury to others during the work; ask to see the certificate.
- Walkthrough
- The final inspection with the homeowner, where any touch-ups are marked and finished before the job is signed off.
- More on this: How our process works
- Colour consultation
- A session with a colour-trained painter to choose colours in your own light, with samples on your walls, before painting starts.
- More on this: What happens in a colour consultation
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