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Painting Preparation Tips
Posted by: | CommentsPainting Preparation Tips
If you’re going to paint your home yourself, here are a few helpful tips and techniques.
If you were a house, there would be nothing more important to you than the paint that covers you, inside and out. A few hundred dollars worth of paint can instantly change the way you look and take a home from a suburban-tract tedium to country-cottage romance. The challenge is getting the paint on the walls in a reasonably expert fashion.
There are generally two ways to go – hire a team of pros and spend several thousand dollars, or do the job yourself.
There’s a reason professional painters are paid well. There is usually a noticeable difference between the quality of work they do and the job the average homeowner or beginner painter does.
But you can close the gap considerably and end up with an almost professional looking paint job. Just use a few of the painting tricks the pros use:
a) Start with good paint. You know the old saying, “There’s nothing more expensive than a can of cheap paint.” Discount paints contain “fillers” which add nothing to the quality of the paint. Spending an extra $10, $20, or even $30 per gallon almost always delivers better results and a longer lasting paint job.
b) Thoroughly prepare all surfaces. This is perhaps the single most- important task. Good preparation ensures a longer lasting paint job.
Skip these critical preparation tasks and you’ll be repainting years before you should have to. Remember – paint does not stick to dirt. Replacing rotted wood or removing old peeling paint takes time and money.
c) Use an appropriate premium grade primer on bare or exposed surfaces. Primer helps cover and protect the subsurface and extend its useful life. Metal surfaces and wood surfaces require different primer products.
d) Use flat paint on bumpy or uneven surfaces. High gloss or semi-gloss paint dramatically highlights flaws or imperfections. On the other hand, on flat surfaces such as doors or trim, paint with a bit of a sheen to help the color pop a little.
e) Buy better quality paint brushes and roller naps to produce better results. Unless you are familiar with using a paint spray gun, we suggest you leave this application method to the pros.
f) Latex (water-based) paint cleans up well with water. Alkyd (oil-based) paints require mineral spirits or turpentine for clean up.
How to Hire a Painting Contractor
Posted by: | CommentsNeed to hire an Arizona painting contractor?
CLC Enterprises, Inc., Mesa, AZ
Use this checklist:
__ 1) Does the contractor satisfy the basics – license, liability and worker’s compensation insurance? CLC Enterprises is licensed as both a commercial and residential painting contractor. Our insurance coverage is well above the minimum requirements.
__ 2) Is the proposal professionally prepared? The proposal speaks volumes about the professional-ism of the contractor. CLC provides a detailed, comprehensive proposal covering the scope of work, preparation and application methods, materials to be used, warranty, and quality assurance.
__ 3) Is the scope of work clearly defined? If not, you may have problems since what is expected is often not delivered. CLC Enterprises provides a detailed scope of work that makes your job easier.
__ 4) When reviewing proposals, are you comparing “apples to oranges?” Without specific direction, painting contractors often define their own scope of work according to their needs, not yours. This can make comparing bids difficult. CLC will assist managers in defining a general scope of work or arrange for one to be created by a paint manufacturer on the manager’s behalf.
__ 5) Stucco surfaces, especially the Spanish-lace style, contain numerous nooks and crannies that are easily missed by paint applicators using a sprayer. The result can be a splotchy appearance. Backrolling is a painting technique that ensures these nooks and crannies are reached by “pushing” the paint into these tough to reach areas. Basically, a worker with a paint roller follows the spray applicator and “rolls” the paint into wall. The process is more labor intensive and more paint is applied to the wall. The results are superior. CLC doesn’t recommend backrolling every stucco surface, but it will be defined in our scope of work.
__ 6) Can the contractor deliver professional results? Since 1982, CLC Enterprises has enjoyed a reputation as the applicator of choice for quality-conscious professionals and homeowners. We know you’ll be pleased with our company.
__ 7) Is a separate written warranty provided and is an Extended Warranty available? Be wary of warranties from companies with no substantial track record. We constantly hear about communities who received warranties only to find out the contractor is no longer in business, making the warranty worthless.
CLC Enterprises is an Arizona painting contractor since 1982.
CLC provides written warranties on all our work. Typical warranties range from three to seven years, depending on the products used and the characteristics of the substrate. CLC Enterprises performs all warranty work at no additional cost to the owner.
CLC Enterprises, Inc.
Arizona Painting Contractor
Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona
Painting With Color: Tips
Posted by: | CommentsColor Decorating: Tips for Painting With Color
Light colors, such as whites and yellows are expansive and cheerful. Use these colors in small or dark areas to make the space appear larger and lighter. Use darker colors such as brown or navy blue to create a cozier, sophisticated feeling in large rooms.
Use color to establish a focal point or create interest where there is none. For example, a square room s more interesting with one wall is painted in an accent color.
Create the appearance of heightening or lowering a room with color. A dark color painted on a high ceiling will make the ceiling seem lower. Make a small room appear larger by painting the ceiling the same light color as the walls.
Color alters the proportions of a room. A narrow, long room appears wider when both the shorter walls are painted a darker color than the longer walls.
History of Painting
Posted by: | CommentsHere are some interesting historical facts about painting:
Paint made its first appearances about 30,000 years ago when cave dwellers used crude paints to decorate the walls of their ancient cave dwellings.
Color in painting dates back 20,000 years with the ancient Egyptians. By 1500 BC, paint making was widely established in Greece. Between 600 BC – 400 AD, the Greeks and Romans introduced varnishes.
Plato made one of the earliest recorded discoveries about color. He discovered that a third color is produced with the mixing of two colors.
In 1700, the first recorded American paint factory was established in Boston by Thomas Child.
The Sherwin-Williams company spent years perfecting a new paint formula. In 1880, they introduced a paint formula that far surpassed the quality of all other paints at that time.
In the 1960s two anthropologists conducted a worldwide study of color naming.
Many languages contained just two color terms, equivalent to white (light) and black (dark). Of 98 languages studied, the highest number of basic color terms was found in English: black, white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, grey and brown.
