Painting/polyurethane tips

I've done a bit of painting and got a few tips from painters and Utubes. (Stumpy Nubs is a great teacher)

1/ Diluting paint is a good idea. I used to think it was 'cheap and shoddy'. There are many good reasons to do it by 10% or more.
a) If it is on bare wood. That will be very porous, the first coat will be hard to spread on if not diluted.
b) If the paint is old or VERY good quality and quite thick. It'll give a much easier coat if diluted a bit.
c) If the ambient temperature or surface to be painted is cold.

2/ If you are doing a big paint job, use one brush for a few hours. Have a rest, put that used one in water to clean it and use another brush till the next break. Rotate the brushes during the day.

3/ A hand brush gives the best coat, roller brush next, then spray.

4/ When using a hand brush load up only the end 25% of the bristles. Put a really thick generous coat on. Try to coat entirely the whole item, as though it were being dipped. Add more paint to the brush often, do not try to cover a greater area with more hand stokes. It's more effort for a worse coat.

5/ Buy paint only from a paint specialist shop. If they ONLY sell paint, it has GOT to be good paint.
Never buy cheap paint. It is cheap as there is more water in it. Your labour is the same.

6/ Stir do not shake paint up to mix it. Shaking puts air bubbles in it

7/ Pour a bit of paint out of your big can to a smaller container you can hold easily.
It's more manageable, if you spill it there is a smaller mess, dipping your brush into a big can all the time puts air into your paint with every dip, you can seal the big can from air within minutes.

8/ Put newspaper over the lid when tapping it shut with a hammer. Paint will be in the groove and splash out.

9/ Paint takes a day to dry, a week to set and a few months to cure.

10/ If storing paints in a can for an extended period, put the can upside down.

11/ Put a good blob of paint on the can or write in the can what the paint was for and the colour.