Monday, February 28, 2011

The 3 rules for having your Exterior Paint last a long time







  • Repair & prepare the surface well
  • Only paint when the weather is good
  • Use top-quality primers and paints.

If any of these rules go ignored, you'll likely be painting again in a few years. Do it right the first time, and save yourself time and money in the long run.


Before "Paint Works" Outside ... We Repair and Prepare

The Basic Steps

A new coat of paint can only last a long time if the surface you apply it to is solid and dry. Here's what you need to do to repair and prepare an outside surface for painting.

1. Vent

o The major cause of peeling paint is moisture in the walls

o Cooking, showers, and heating create moisture in the house that has to find its way outside

o Without good venting, the moisture will literally push the paint off the wall

o Install proper attic, soffit, or siding venting to let the moisture out

2. Remove

    • Remove all loose paint, rust, weathered wood
    • Using sanders, scrapers, a wire brush, a heat gun, or paint stripper
    • Look for tiny cracks (micro-cracking) in the old paint - if we see any, we’ll remove all the paint even if it isn't peeling
    • For best results, strip down to bare wood or metal
    • Remove failed caulking from all joints (around windows, doors, light fixtures, etc.)

3. Sanding

    • Sand all glossy areas until they are dull
    • Sand all trim / smooth surfaces, to provide excellent adhesion and smooth finish
    • Sand areas where rotting fibers, or peeling is present, or scraping was necessary

4. Caulk, Patch & Repair

    • Patch all nail holes, cracks, and open seams
    • Caulk all joints (using high-quality paintable caulking) - paint will peel if rain and snow get through cracked or missing caulking
    • Let the patching and caulking dry before painting it
    • Repair any surface where water pools

5. Wash, Rinse & Dry --------------- DO NOT POWER WASH

    • Wash off all debris, grease, dirt, and chalk ("paint dust")
    • We suggest use of TSP (normal household detergents leave a residue)
    • Kill mildew by washing with 1 part bleach in 3 parts water (look for dark spots under eaves and on shaded areas)
    • Rinse well with clean water
    • Let the surface dry thoroughly before you prime
    • Live within 5 miles of the ocean? Paint within 24 of rinsing to prevent a thin layer of salt from building on your walls.

Wait for Good Weather

Paint and primer needs time to dry and cure. If the weather isn't good before and after you paint, your paint will fail early. We listen to the weather forecast and wait until the weather's right before painting. Unfortunately we have seen too many contractors working until after the rain starts and then resuming at the last drop.

The best time to paint --

a calm day when the weather will be dry and over 50F (10C). If it is sunny, paint the north and west sides in the morning, and the south and east side in the afternoon.

We don't paint when it's:

  • TOO WET (rain, fog, or heavy dew within hours of when you paint can lead to streaking and premature peeling / failure)
  • TOO COLD (if the temperature drops to below 50F / 10C at any time within hours of when we paint, the paint won't cure properly, leading to premature peeling / failure)
  • TOO SUNNY (the heat of direct sunlight causes paint to flash dry, leading to blistering and peeling)
  • TOO WINDY (if you paint when it's windy you risk having leaves, dirt, and insects stuck all over your new paint job)

Create a Solid Foundation - Prime

Benefits

  • Priming prevents "flashing" (areas of uneven gloss), and helps your walls look great
  • The right primer seals the surface and helps prevent peeling, rusting, and bleed-through
  • Priming can add years to the life of the paint
  • Priming can save you one or more coats of paint
  • The right primer helps your paint stick better

When to Prime

  • You have removed the old paint
  • You have patched the surface
  • You are painting with a Low Luster, Semi-Gloss, and Gloss paint
  • The surface is porous or chalky ("paint-dust")
  • You are painting with a dark color
  • When you are painting over bare wood or metal
  • When you aren't sure - play it safe and prime
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Choosing Interior Paint Colors


Painter aside... choosing Paint colors are the biggest decisions once you have decided to paint.

Most repaints are after 4 year or longer, especially for the DIY because most people just don’t want to paint again.

Because we realize this we should be careful to take our time and choose the perfect color that will be lasting and enjoyed.

If you have furniture or items that are similar in color, you may want to consider something that goes along with it. You do not want these colors to clash. Contrasting colors can go together, but you will need to use caution in your consideration.

Many Professional Paint Retailers have an experienced color expert on staff that will help you with this by going over your fabrics and pictures of the room and the details right in the store.

Since Color has the ability for setting the desired mood, plan on them asking you some questions like what is the room going to be used for? Is it to be formal or fun? By looking at the furniture and other items in the room plus photo's and your responses they will give you some recommendations.

So if you have swatches of the fabrics get them together for the process. Take some pictures of the overall room and bring it with you to the paint store, even include the rooms that are immediately connected.

Natural tones and conservative colors are great for lasting designs while bright fluorescent colors usually become those that desire change.

Once you have narrowed the selection to 1 or more, buy a sample sized batch of the color. I recommend buying a few 2’x 3’ pieces of white cardboard (and can be moved around the room) for applying the testing samples on, or you can paint a small area right on the wall for comparison, but I don’t recommend directly on the wall.

Now let’s get a little advanced and this makeover will look like a Professional Decorator executed the project. Fist consider painting the ceiling with color other than white, even if or especially if you paint the walls white. The second way for some added spice is to paint an accent wall.

Paint Works has a full service of bringing the decorators and color planning tools right to your home when your ready for your project to take off.

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Friday, February 25, 2011

YouTube.com Video

Today I created a video commercial on http://www.youtube.com/PntWrks I hope everyone likes this as it is my first and plan to create many videos of work in progress to showcase our abilities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_amI5Ur-kc

Enjoy,

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Preparing your Home For Sale & Painting





Curb Appeal is a top priority of Realtors and buyers. If you are planning to list your home for sale right now, you’ll find the competition can be rough . The recent downturn in the housing market makes selling your home somewhat more difficult than before.

Most people know that when trying to sell a home there are some basic rules such as clearing out your clutter to look neat and tidy and too many personal effects will cloud the vision of the potential buyer.

Buyers look at the rooms and walls to imagine how they will use the space. Make sure your home is in top shape for attracting potential buyers and fresh painting helps houses sell more quickly. (- do not expect to increase the value of your home -)

As the seller, you are looking for less expensive, quick fixes that improve the aesthetics of your home plus help it to stand out and influence potential buyers into purchasing your property.

When painting your home for sale, choosing the right colors can make a huge difference, so consider neutral colors verse fluorescent colors. A Color Decorator can be a valuable and inexpensive way to know what colors will show best for your home.

In response, Paint Works offers a “Prep for Sale” service. There are a variety of ways we can improve your home for sale. We can perform touch-ups over the entire property or patch and paint just 1 wall in a room, perhaps giving a ceiling a fresh coat of paint, or the walls to brighten up the space, or touch up problem areas on the exterior. We will do it all. No job is too big or too small.

Paint Works will work with you and your Realtor. Collectively, we can determine what type of preparation is best to assist in selling your home.

A home that has a complete Paint Works "prep for sale" service has a better response from potential buyers which can lead to greater profits and/or quicker sale of that property.

http.www.facebook.com/PntWrks
978.697.5782 Paint Works North Andover, Ma. 01845

Painting a Room with High Humidity






Painting in high humidity conditions can cause lasting challenges.


To achieve the best results, is when working in optimum painting conditions. (- see specific manufacture for optimum conditions -)

High humidity will require longer drying times for the paint, and in some instances the paint can remain tacky for a very long time to come.

To combat the humidity here are some simple solutions that will promote proper drying times and a better finish product.

Using a Fan after each application will Circulate the Air stimulating the drying process, if it is less humid outside opening a window may help also to ventilate the space.

Prior to starting your Painting Project operate a Dehumidifier in the room to reduce the humidity and continue to run for several hours even after your paints are applied.

In a bathroom using the shower to soon will create additional humidity and will prevent effective drying. Allow ample time for the paint to dry before use.

Helpful Tips:
Longer wait time between each additional application, consider using water-based paints, Dehumidifier, Fan