Painting and Decorating

This 1940s instructional film, likely aimed at vocational students or DIY enthusiasts, offers a practical guide to painting and decorating homes in the postwar era. Filmed in black-and-white, it opens with a neatly suited narrator introducing the trade’s essentials. Exterior painting unfolds first: a worker preps a wooden house—scraping old paint with a putty knife, sanding rough spots—then applies a coat with a wide brush, the camera lingering on even strokes over siding. Inside, interior techniques shine: rolling paint onto walls with a lambswool roller, cutting in edges with a trim brush, and highlighting tools like ladders and drop cloths. Paperhanging follows—measuring wallpaper, brushing paste, aligning patterns—while plastering shows trowels smoothing wet compound over lath, patching cracks with precision. Each segment emphasizes tool use—brushes, rollers, trowels, scrapers—tying skills to the 1940s boom in home improvement as families rebuilt lives post-WWII. A straightforward, hands-on lesson in craft and care.