Spruce up your home and garden

Brian Santos knows painting.

He knows that putting lip balm around the edges of a window will prevent paint from marring the glass. He knows that a mixture of fabric softener and water will clean paint brushes in 10 seconds and that cooking spray prevents paint from sticking to skin.

Santos, known as "The Wall Wizard" who writes for Better Homes and Gardens and works with HGTV, will be sharing these "painting from the pantry" tips and more when he and more than 200 vendors set up shop for the sixth annual Greater Charlotte Home & Landscape Show this weekend at the Cabarrus Arena & Events Center in Concord.

The show will host master gardeners who will answer visitors' gardening questions as well as vendors with products ranging from pools and decks to wine and pottery. The show will also feature free soil samplings, activities for children and pets available for adoption from the Humane Society of Concord and Greater Cabarrus County.

Santos, the show's celebrity guest, said his seminars will focus on do-it-yourself decorating techniques, saving money and decorating while being environmentally friendly. He will give three seminars, "Painting Secrets," "Faux Finish Secrets" and "Wallcovering Secrets," several times throughout the show.

"It's not rocket science," he said of painting. "It's not brain surgery. It should be fun."

Santos, 52, who has nearly 30 years experience and degrees in chemistry, teaching and business, said many people are overwhelmed by the amount of painting products available, and, even after they've purchased all the necessary tools, they might not necessarily know how to use them properly.

"It's what you don't know that could hurt you," he said.

But Santos said that, for many people, home decorating is more than brushes and paint.

"It's an investment in themselves, in their lives and the happiness that their home brings them," he said.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, Santos now lives in Tampa, Fla. and travels around the country sharing his painting tips at more than 20 shows each year. Some of his former clients include retired NFL quarterback Joe Montana, Clint Eastwood, Doris Day and George Lucas.

But even celebrities face the same painting stumbling blocks as ordinary people, he said.

"Whether you're doing it yourself or having someone else do it, you'll have the same questions," Santos said.

Paint is the most accessible - and most affordable - means of decorating, he said.

"The question is, has somebody taught you how?"

Tips from the "Wall Wizard":

1. Pull the masking tape while the paint is fresh. Remove the masking materials within 45 to 60 minutes after the paint is applied and set to prevent surface tear-up. The idea of masking tape is to protect surfaces from the paint, but when you slop the wet paint over the sealed masking tape and let the paint cure to hard, the paint film bonds to both the wall and the masking tape. Removing the tape after the paint dries will also remove paint from the wall or trim work.

2. Use rubber cement to cover hardware. Instead of removing door hinges and handles, clean them with rubbing alcohol, them mask them with two coats of rubber cement. The cement peels right off when you're finished.

3. Use plastic wrap 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.

4. 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.

5. "I've been painting all my life and I still don't like the smell of paint!" said Santos. 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 because they won't mix properly with water-based paint.