Decorating materials

This powdered soap is mixed with water to provide a liquid used for cleaning down any surfaces, which are to be painted on. The surfaces should always be allowed to dry before decorating.

This low-tack tape is used for protecting surfaces when painting. Masking tape is also used for creating straight lines where areas with different finishes meet.

Sandpaper is a generic term for abrasive paper covered with a type of grit (no longer grains of sand) available in sheets, rolls, blocks, and disc attachments for power tools. 'Liquid sander' can also be painted over a surface to provide a key for the finish. Sandpaper is either fully covered with grit (closed coat) or partially covered (open coat) and grit size varies from coarse to fine.

As its name suggest this abrasive paper can be used on wet or dry surfaces. It is suitable for use on hardwood and plywood, soft metals like brass and aluminium, plastic, and smoothing the edges of panes of glass.

Aluminium oxide paper is also suitable for sanding metal or timber. Cuts faster than sandpaper and is less brittle than wet-and-dry paper when used on metal.

Made from crushed natural rock bonded to a paper or cloth backing and is easily recognized by its bright green colour. Garnet paper lasts about twice as long as sandpaper and is particularly useful for smoothing hardwoods and for fine finishing work.

Steel wool is used when a much finer abrasive effect is required than can be achieved with sandpaper. It can be used on timber and metal. An excellent abrasive material to get into difficult and awkward areas.