Where To Start With Your Painting FAQs

Welcome to my first blog! I am Kevin, owner of Painting Excellence LLC. I get asked a lot of paint and painting related questions. I kept thinking that I should write a blog to help answer them; but i didn't know where to start. Well, I finally have an idea. So let's get to it.

What paint should I use? Should I paint it myself? Should I hire a local handyman or a painting company? How much would it cost to hire either one? Is it worth it? How long should it take? And others.

The answer to all these questions starts with a question. 'What are your goals and expectations?"

If you're moving out or selling your home, for example, you probably are just looking to "clean it up" a little. Maybe cover the stop sign red wall that seemed like a good idea at the time. If you're moving in, you may want clean, sharp lines, and a smooth, washable finish, that will outlast the latest color trend. You're probably planning on being there a while and spending a good bit of quality time as well. You don't want to be staring at wavy ceiling lines, drips, runs and cheap, plastic-looking paint for years to come.

Also, some people are more detail oriented than others. It may be an overall look and feel, or a single speck that will catch one's eye but not another's. Let your contractor (if you hire one) know what your expectations are. Get everyone on the same page.

Product Choice: Professional paint brands. Sherwin Williams, PPG, Benjamin Moore, as well as other regional brands and specialty coatings suppliers. The big three will all have everything from lower priced apartment style paint all the way to top of the line $90+/gallon luxury coatings. For professional brands, I think the brand is less important than the line of product. For the most part, they will have similar features on a line to line basis.

Professional brands are generally geared toward professional use. What does that mean? It means they will typically release and flow better, level out smoother and dry faster than hardware brands. It helps to paint easier, with faster recoat times and a better finish.

Nearly all have mold and UV light resistance, and, often, better binders and pigments.

Hardware brands are marketed to DIYers, and handymen. They typically have slower dry times, low to mid cost, little or no leveling component, and cheaper ingredients in general. Why? a diy project probably won't be getting a second coat on the same day...if ever. Also, he will likely chalk up the awful pull and drag of the product to painting in general, He may not even be aware that walls don't have to have a heavy "orange peel" texture. Some are better or worse than others; but most of the the characteristics are similar because of the market for which they are made.

Regardless of the product you choose, just know what you'll get from it. Will it achieve the goals you've set? This is important when hiring too. Cheap painters more often look to learn "tricks of the trade" rather than to develop in the trade. Again, what are your goals and expectations? The level of Product, equipment, knowledge, care and experience are typically held to about the same degree. In other words; if your painter isn't very knowledgeable or experienced; he will likely be lacking in skill set and method of operation. If he uses low line product and equipment, you will see it in the care as well.

Cost is always a factor. And it varies by region, so I wont get into specific market prices. Start with your expectations, estimates and budget. Remember that there are painting companies that focus on rental and real estate properties, commercial work, low cost, mid range and high end residential painting companies. And they are all geared to their market (employee compensation, scale, process, market specific knowledge, etc.). That's why (among other reasons) you'll sometimes get three wildly different estimates. At least one of them had no business in that bidding process. Get estimates from companies that specialize in the work you want done.

Time is money... but the more knowledge, experience, work ethic, etc. a company has, the the better the project will go. Having an efficient system adds value for both the client and the company.

I hope this helped give you a better understanding toward a basic approach to your next project. Or maybe you found a useful tidbit of information in there that you're glad you picked up. Let me know if you have questions or topics for our next post. Thanks for reading!