Contact: Brian Santos
(813) 654-7044
(813) 340-5258

Painting From the Pantry:
The WALL WIZARD’s Way!

Mixing vanilla with paint? Using toothpicks to repair walls? It sounds suspicious, but these and other tips are exactly what Brian Santos, the Wall Wizard recommends in his latest book, Painting Secrets from Brian Santos, The Wall Wizard.

“Why spend a fortune at the home improvement store when you can find lots of nifty painting tools in your pantry?” says Santos, America’s favorite painting and wallpaper guru.

Consider these tips:

• Plastic Wrap-Up Who knew something as simple as plastic wrap could create magic? Use it to cover doorknobs and keep speckles and splatters off hardware. Do the same with cordless phones. If you are painting the ceiling, press a sheet of plastic wrap over your eyeglasses. You can still see through them, but the wrap protects the lenses from paint drops.
• Oh baby! Here’s a $2 Wall Wizard solution for cleanup: baby wipes. Think about it: These wipes are designed to clean up really big messes. The alcohol in the wipes removes any grease, grime, and dirt; the lanolin renders them nonflammable. They’re biodegradable; plus they smell better than dirty old rags.
• Party Picks Colored party toothpicks make it a snap to remount drapery hardware, towel bards, or picture hooks in a room. Pack toothpicks snugly into each hole you want to reuse. Then spackle the holes without picks. The toothpicks make the holes easy to find when it’s time to reattach the hardware. To help you fasten the hardware securely, snap off the exposed toothpicks, leaving the rest of the toothpicks inside so the screws will seat firmly into the wall.
• Give me some lip. To create a crisp line between the wall and the ceiling when cutting in, apply a light strip of lip balm around the edge of the ceiling. The paint won’t stick to the wax in the lip balm, and there is no need to remove it after the paint is dry.
• Vanilla does the trick. I’ve been painting all my life and I still do not like the smell of paint! Here’s a tip: To every quart of interior latex paint, add four drops of vanilla extract. You can also use other extracts, such as peppermint, as long as the alcohol in the ingredients is methyl alcohol, which is formulated to mix with water. Do not use perfume or other alcohol-based fragrances; they won’t mix properly with water-based paint.

And that’s only the beginning. Painting Secrets is brimming with short cuts, time-honored tricks, and practical techniques that will help both the first-time and experienced painter produce a professional looking finish.

To reinforce painting pointers, Santos, a seasoned guest star at home improvement shows, uses the same “edutaining” demonstrations in his television appearances. Besides having a laid-back comedic style to complement his wealth of knowledge about painting and papering, Santos employs clever props—including a mock pantry stocked with household items like spray oil, lip balm, vanilla.

Santos is a fourth generation decorative artist who learned classical techniques from his father and grandfather. More recently, Santos has spent years lecturing and conducting demonstrations on the subject throughout the U.S. for industry giants like Sherwin-Williams, Imperial Wallcoverings, Home Depot, and Lowe’s at home and garden shows throughout the world.

To book an appearance, receive a review copy of his latest book, Painting Secrets from Brian Santos, The Wall Wizard, or for more information, contact The Wizard's Workshop at (813) 654-7044, (813) 340-5258, or wallwiz@tampabay.rr.com.