Can anyone help?
I was wondering.
Is there an actual physical law of nature, other than the ubiquitous Murphy’s law, that states that:
‘When decorating, the paint will be attracted to any clean item of clothing, any clean surface, or any person, within a twenty yard radius of the area in which you are painting.’
Now I will concede that I am not the best, most careful painter in the world, far from it. However, I have been taking extra special care, using dust sheets, masking tape and anything that I can to ensure that paint does not suspiciously find its way to places it bloody well shouldn’t.
But here’s the thing. It always fucking does. Always. However little painting I do. However much care I take.
So there you have it. It simply has to be some actual law of nature to which I am not privy.
Your thoughts in comments please.
Julian Froment's Blog 
Painter’s tape might work better than masking tape. Also, the trick is to wear clothes that you no longer care about. Though I’m not sure where this paint is going that is shouldn’t be going.
LikeLike
The paint just ends up in different parts of the house, Charles. I am thinking that painting naked may be easier.
LikeLike
There are some places that wall paint shouldn’t go. Sounds more like you’re trailing it somehow and bare feet won’t fix that.
LikeLike
No, but bare footprints are prettier than shoe prints. I can maybe convince people that it is some sort of modern art stenciling.
LikeLike
Or freak out when you see it and ramble about the ghost coming back.
LikeLike
That is a good plan, Charles. A money spinning activity I could set up. If I can make the footprints glow too, that would be perfect. Visit the haunted house for the fright of your life, blah, blah, blah
LikeLike
Have a short person dress up in a creepy costume and jump out of cupboards. People get really freaked out by tiny monsters. More than the big ones.
LikeLike
Okay. I will have to get me a short person then, I guess.
LikeLike
Buy them in bulk for a discount.
LikeLike
I guess I’ll have to get myself down to Costco
LikeLike
A year ago I painted my bedroom walls burgundy with cream. I was soooo careful. Burgundy crept into places it shouldn’t. I’m giving it until next winter and painting over it. I don’t love it as much as I thought I would.
My mum was painting her kitchen red once. She was at the top of the stairs to the basement when she fell. Thank goodness she didn’t kill herself (broken leg only) but it looked like a crime scene with red paint splattered all down the stairs.
How has all the flooding impacted you?
LikeLike
That must have been scary, Pam, with all the red paint. I am glad it was only a broken leg and not worse.
The floods are only really affecting my journey to work, turning a 20 or 30 minute journey into about an 80 minute one. The water has gone down along that road now though, fortunately. The winds have been pretty nasty the last few days. They seemed to take over from the rains. Blew my damned fence over.
LikeLike
It has certainly been nasty weather on both sides of the pond this year.
LikeLike
It has. I seem to catch it on both sides too 😉
LikeLike
There is a corollary to the paint law. “A bucket of paint will be spilled in quantities which are in direct proportion to the expense of the item being spilled upon.”
LikeLike
I like it. That is so very true, John.
LikeLike
I painted four rooms in the past year. I started buying those affordable plastic drop clothes after I realized that I could use painter’s tape to seal the edges of them; for example, along the wall if I was painting the ceiling. across the floor if I was painting a wall, draped across furniture They are a lot easier to use than the canvas ones, tend to cover better, and are much easier to clean up and toss away. Using the nice, soft trimmers with disposable pads instead of brushes also helped keep down splatters.
LikeLike
I am decorating the entire house and have most of it in different states of readiness, so everything is chaotic and a total mess. Sadly this adds to the transit of paint to places it shouldn’t be.
LikeLike
I think Murphy’s law is nothing more than the laws of thermodynamics. The second law is too obvious, i.e. increasing entropy, which itself relates to the third law. The first law, conservation of energy, plays a role, too. For example, when you drop a coin, it falls into the gutter, heading for minimum potential energy. 🙂
LikeLike
Absolutely, Chris. This makes total sense to me. But is the painting law a separate entity on its own, or merely a restatement of one of these more fundamental laws? I suppose I would have to suggest that it is increasing entropy creating a more disordered and chaotic state. Damn. I really wanted to be able to name this painting law, ‘Julian’s Law’.
LikeLike
And any pet within the household is also magnetically drawn to the newly applied paint too…..YourHobby…..
LikeLike
I am hoping that my tropical fish are safe from the paint, but then I guess that these laws imply that even they are not safe.
LikeLike