“I want to paint and  decorate my home, how do I make sure I get it right?”

A lick of paint and a splash of colour is the easiest, quickest and most affordable way to give your home an update and add your unique stamp upon it. BUT if 1 in 10 people say they are put off decorating because they don´t know where to start then now imagine trying to do it if you´ve just arrived in Spain!!

“Where do I go to buy paint?” ” If I get there what do I ask for?”

DIY stores like Leroy Merlin, AKI, Bricomart and Pinturas Andalucia are large paint and paint product centres with experienced staff on-hand ready to advise you. Every town has smaller paint-specific shops who are often the BEST at knowing what to use and how to use it! They will know EXACTLY what type of paint you will need to withstand the rigors of our glorious sunshine and provide you with a durable and beautiful finish long after all your hard work.

Be BRAVE and don´t be afraid to ask, paint professionals are eager to help you and #Spain has some top quality products waiting for you and are right up there for performance and innovation.

Can’t read the instructions? Go online and chances are you can change the language and get the inside info on what, where and how to use the products successfully.

This handy list of decorating terms and phrases should get you started with all you´ll need to get a professional-looking finish whether you´re a ´newbie´or a regular pro.

What are you waiting for? VAMONOS!

Painting & Decorating – Pintura Y Decoracion

1. Adhesive, glue – adhesivo, cola

2. Bad condition – mal estado

3. Base coat – primera capa, capa de base

4. Brush – pincel, brocha

5. Bucket – cubo

6. Ceiling – techo

7. Chalk paint – pintura tiza

8. Cleaning – limpieza

9. Coat, layer – capa

10. Colour – color

11. Colour chart – carta de colores

12. Cover – cubrir

13. Coverage, performance – rendimiento

14. Cracks – grietas

15. Dilute – diluir

16. DIY – bricolage

17. Door/Doorframe – puerta/I marco,

18. Dry – secado

19. Drying time – tiempo de secado, horas entre capas

20. Emulsion – plastico, emulsion

21. Extension pole – palo extensible

22. Fill – rellenar

23. Finish, top coat – acabado

24. Fix -arreglar

25. Floor – suelo

26. Gloss – brillante

27. Interior decorating – decoracion de interiores

28. Join/joint – juntar/ junta

29. Ladder – escalera

30. Linseed – linaza

31. Maintenance – mantenmiento

32. Mastic – masilla

33. Matt – mate

34. Mix – mezclar

35. Open – abrir

36. Paint – pintura

37. Painter – pintor/pintora

38. Paint thinner – disolvente, diluyente de pintura

39. Plaster – escayola, yeso

40. Repaint – repintar

41. Repair – reparar

42. Roller – rodillo

43. Roller tray – bandeja de rodillo

44. Rough – rugoso

45. Sand – lijar

46. Sandpaper – papel de lija

47. Sanding block/pad – bloque de lijado

48. Satin – satinada

49. Scraper – raspador

50. Smooth – liso

51. Spray gun – pistola

52. Solvent – solvente

53. Solvent based-paint – esmalte sintetico

54. Stir – remover

55. String – cuerda, cordon

56. Surface/new surface – superficie/superficie nueva

57. Tape – cinta

58. Thin layers – capas finas, capas delgadas

59. Technique – tecnica

60. Texture – textura

61. Tint – tinte

62. Turpentine – aguarras

63. Wall – pared

64. Wallpaper – empapelar

65. Washable – lavable

66. Water-based paint – esmalte al agua

67. Wax – cera

68. Wet – mojado

69. Window – ventana

70. Varnish – barniz

Brushes Up, Lets Go!! Preparado, listo y ya!!