10 Common Painter’s Terms and What They Mean

Learning about any industry or job will expose you to slang and jargon you don’t know. It’s the language of the industry and the workers who participate in it. To outsiders, it might seem like the painters working at your house are speaking a different language when they talk about what paint products they’re using and how they’re conducting their work. Here are a few painter’s terms you might want to know before contractors appear at your home:

 

Bleeding: The residues of a previous coat or markings are coming through the outer paint coat. When a darker color is showing through a lighter-colored fresh paint coat, the darker color is ‘bleeding’ through the newer coat..

Bump it: Give the surface one coat of paint. When someone says, ‘just bump it,’ they mean throw a quick layer of paint on the surface and call it good.

 

Size line: Painting around the top edge of the trim. Usually, painters tell each other to do a size line near the end of the day when they don’t have time to fully paint the trim of an interior room, but they still want to get the room wallpapered the next day.

 

Hardness: Describes paint and its ability to resist dents, scratches, and marring.

 

Orange peel: When the paint film has the roughness of an orange because of poor roller or spray application.

 

Runs: Blemished or otherwise compromised paint film usually caused by excessive paint coating and flow.

 

Sags: Excessive paint flow on the surface, which causes runs or sagging in the paint film due to too heavy a coat of paint or using too much paint thinner.

 

Seeds: Small granules or particles contaminating paint, varnish, or lacquer other than the dust that inevitably contaminates paint.

 

Shellac: A sealer or finish for floors or sealing knots usually found in the form of thin flakes. This natural resin is derived from a resinous substance called Lac.

 

Mineral spirits: Any common mineral solvent usually used for cleaning oil-based paints and varnishes—also used as a paint thinner. As the painters will surely warn you, beware when they break out the mineral spirits. Mineral spirits have a strong odor and can cause harm if inhaled or ingested.

 

Easing oil: Paint thinner or substance used to thin paint, such as mineral spirits.

 

Satin: Smooth finish with an increased gloss and better washability than flat, eggshell, matte, and other finish paints.

 

Flashing: The paint hasn’t covered the surface properly, or the surface shows through where it has been touched up.

 

Pickle: When you accidentally soak paint rollers in paint overnight, making them unusable.

 

Communicating with Your Painting Contractor

 

Hopefully, these painter’s terms make it a little easier to understand what your painting contractor tells you when they’re making their estimates or working on your home. Remembering just a few terms during the process can help you better communicate with the painting experts and understand their jargon. Of course, they will be glad to explain anything you don’t understand, so don’t hesitate to ask questions.

Ready to hire painting contractors to tackle your painting project? Contact us for your free estimate!

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