As we’ve discussed in the past, having a paint business is about a lot more than just painting. One of the most important – and most overlooked – aspects of owning and operating a paint website is marketing your business. Most paint professionals rely on word of mouth and repeat business to provide the revenue they need to stay in business and grow. This kind of marketing is often thought of as the “best” kind: it’s free and most people trust the recommendation of a friend over an advertisement on the television or in a newspaper. A healthy number of referrals and happy customers is certainly an excellent way to continue growing your business.
Monthly Archives: November 2013
Peel, Scrape, and Sand: How to Strip Paint Safely 1
There’s more to being a professional painter then just painting. In fact, most professional painters spend as much time preparing for the job as they do actually paining. Taping off borders, setting up scaffolding, laying drop clothes, and other similar tasks often take up more time than applying the paint itself. Furthermore, if you were to ask professionals their least favorite part of preparing to work, you would hear the same answer from most: stripping paint.
New Innovations in Smart Paint and the Advantages for Professional Painters Reply
Most people that buy a can of paint at a home improvement store lack an appreciation and understanding of what is actually involved in not just the ongoing manufacture of the paint, but the initial development of it as well. Paint companies large and small invest significant time and capital into creating great products for a wide variety of uses. Companies like BYK invest similar amounts of time and resources into making products that help everyone from manufacturers to paint professionals reach their professional goals. So how can you, the modern paint professional, take advantage of these developments?
Rise of the Machines – The Future of Airbrushing Robotics in Professional Painting 1
Many professionals don’t think much of airbrushing when it comes to industrial painting. Sure, some professional painters use sprayers to apply paint quickly to large areas, but most impressions of air brushing revolve around delicate and detailed artwork. Airbrushing is utilized to paint art pieces on motorcycle gas tanks and at tanning salons, and is typically perceived to be as much art as science. In fact, the word “airbrushing” has become synonymous in many cases with digitally retouched photographs, where software and not an actual airbrush is responsible for making a person’s skin appear smoother or teeth appear whiter. But the robotics integrated with some new airbrushing machines are beginning to blur the line between what is reliant on human skill and what can be replicated by a machine.
The Importance of a Dew Point Meter for Today’s Paint Professionals Reply
We’ve spent a lot of time discussing how to prepare for an upcoming paint job. From making sure the color is correct to calculating the right quantity of paint needed, there are a number of important steps to perform before starting a paint job. One thing we have not yet covered is the importance of making sure environmental conditions are optimal for proceeding with your work. And though it might seem obvious that excess humidity might keep a paint from curing while an excessively dry environment might lead to paint cracking after drying too quickly, there are a staggering number of painters that don’t objectively measure all conditions and properly prepare all aspects of the upcoming job.
Mix It Up – Industrial Paint Mixers and the Modern Paint Professional 2
Jerry was anxious to get the job finished. He had spent three days on a project that was originally supposed to only take two. Now he ran the risk of running late for the next client and creating scheduling conflicts that would last well into the next week. Despite trying to stretch the last gallon of paint to finish the last wall, he had come up short and was going to need another gallon of paint. Jerry raced to the industrial paint supply store across town and placed his order. Already stressed over the predicament and anxious to get back to the job site and finish, Jerry asked the man behind the counter to please hurry with the paint.
“I’m sorry, Jerry,” he replied, “I’m doing the best I can but I can’t rush this process. I have to do it right.”
Color Chameleon – Advances in Color Changing Paint and the Science Behind It 2
Did you know that water doesn’t conduct electricity? Really, pure water does not conduct electricity. Rather, the elements and imperfections within the water (such as salt content) break up into positively and negatively charged ions that work to form the closed circuit necessary for conductivity. Paint is the same: in and of itself, it is not conductive.
Furthermore, did you know that color is a the result of what part of the spectrum is reflected off of a surface? So a red car isn’t the color red at all – it’s every color EXCEPT red, since that’s the color that reflects off of it. In this installment of the Chemistry Corner we will be examining some new advancements in color changing paint that rely on electrical conductivity and viewing angle, the applications of these types of paints, and the products available for professional painters to test, measure, and evaluate them.
Five Cost-Effective Ways to Advertise Your Painting Company – Business Tips 4
You’ve opened a bank account and chosen a name for your painting company. You have the materials and instruments needed to do a great job. Now, all you need is customers. Uh oh…maybe you should have thought of that first?
The most important part of any business is actually having customers. That seems obvious, but a startling number of people who start companies worry over relatively unimportant details (the color of their logo, whether to use Quickbooks or Peachtree for bookkeeping, etc.) while ignoring the most important aspect of future success: Having customers in the first place.
Rise of the Machines – Manicures on Demand? Paint Robotics and Personal Services Reply
Can a robot paint a car? Absolutely.
Can a robot replicate painting a masterpiece? You bet.
Would you trust a robot to give you a manicure on your wedding day?
You had to stop and think about it, didn’t you? Despite knowing that robots are masters of precision and capable of levels of detail that evade even the most delicate human touch, it is hard to imagine trusting a robot to perform a task like painting a person’s nails.
Cracks, Crevices and Crinkles: Professional Painters and Corrosion Prevention 1
Last week, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board announced that it had concluded a fatal explosion at an Illinois manufacturing facility in 2009 was ultimately caused by unnoticed cracking due to corrosion at the facility. A high temperature tank exploded, killing one nearby technician. An employee standing over 200 yards away was struck by a flying piece of steel and severely injured as well. An investigation after the accident found that the tank had been slowly cracking over time due to improper protection inside the vessel. The company that owned the plant thought the material inside the tank would create a protective layer and did not perform inspections to confirm that no corrosion was taking place.
BYK-Gardner Laboratories Blog 