Andrew and Louis had finished a paint job at an apartment complex just outside of Dallas in Rockwall, Texas. When the paint had dried in each of the units, the duo returned to inspect their work before telling the client they were finished. With any luck, a job well done would lead to more work from this property owner.
Monthly Archives: December 2013
Best Practices Never Go Out of Style: Why Professional Painters Still Need Drawdown Cards 1
I was going to write about some of the different gages available to paint professionals today, but an experience over the weekend made me change direction. I was at a well-known home improvement and building store on Saturday. A team of painters wearing matching clothes – including a company logo – appeared to be ordering a VERY large quantity of paint for what I can only assume was an equally large job. Best I could gather, the job had been booked in a hurry and this store was the best (or only) place to acquire such a large amount of paint on the weekend. The workers were gathering materials quickly and urging the two employees behind the paint counter to work as quickly as possible.
Chemistry Corner: Improved Paint Chemistry and the World Around Us Reply
Commercial painting plays a pivotal role in the world around us. From the appearance of buildings and automobiles to the protection of structures and machinery, we’ve already covered many of the myriad uses paint has in everyday life here on the Gardner Laboratories blog.
Following the Painting Industry from Paint Production to Paint Application 1
Sometimes when considering the work of professional paint production and professional painting, it is easy to focus on just the job at hand without viewing the broader context in which we work. Perhaps a chemist at a paint manufacturer spends each day thinking about viscosity without ever looking outside to see a building across the street being given a fresh coat of paint. Maybe an automotive painter finishes a custom paint job without giving a thought to the hours and hours of experimentation it took to derive a paint that would adhere well to the metal of the car body.
Twenty Rules for Starting a Successful Paint Business – Part Two Reply
In the first part of this installment we shared ten tips for owning and operating a successful paint business. As mentioned then, these aren’t the only good ideas, tips and rules out there for building your operation in to a thriving enterprise. That said, the rules below are an excellent foundation and provide useful insight in to what it takes so succeed. Here are rules 11 through 20 for having your own successful paint business.
Rule #11: Exceed expectations. At the halfway point of our list its important to be reminded once again of the importance of the paint work itself. Most customers and clients will have an idea of how they want the finished job to look but that doesn’t mean you can’t impress them anyway. Make sure each detail is handled appropriately not just while painting but also while planning for the job and cleaning up when finished.
Twenty Rules for Starting a Successful Paint Business – Part One 1
Owning and operating a paint business can be an amazing experience. Professional painters get to be creative and work with their hands. In most cases, being a paint professional means avoiding a desk and having a chance to meet interesting people. But like most other businesses, having a successful paint business is a lot of hard work. There are jobs to win and bills to pay, teams to manage and clients to keep happy.
For all the challenges inherent in owning and operating a paint business, there are a number of steadfast rules that can directly lead to sustained success. Follow these rules and your chances of having a growing paint business will grow. Break these rules – any of them – and your business will be increasingly vulnerable to failure. There are a number of great resources available to help you grow your paint business so this list is far from comprehensive. But the twenty rules below can be a bedrock upon which you build your business going forward.
To Serve and Protect: The Purpose of Protective Coatings in Professional Paintwork 3
My friend Rick just had all of the wood trim and moldings in his house repainted, as well as all of the kitchen cabinets. The home is 18 years old and he’s always been happy to entertain friends and family. After nearly two decades of use, he decided the inside needed to be refreshed.
Rick and the interior designer he was working with had picked out a gorgeous Ralph Lauren paint color that would liven up the baseboards and crown moldings, while also giving the cabinets a fresh new look after years of looking drab and dirty. He was smart enough to discuss the color decision with the painters he had hired before purchasing gallons and gallons of paint. While they all thought the color would look wonderful when they finished their work, they counseled Rick that the type of paint he was considering wasn’t the best choice.
Building Your Business: Hiring the Right Paint Team for Your Needs 3
Finding painters for your team is not difficult. However, hiring the right painters for your team can be a challenge. If you are serious about growing your business, then you need painters that are reliable, do great work, and support the goals you have for your organization. It’s important to balance the total cost of labor (compensation, taxes, paid time off) with the necessary skill to perform quality work.
Play it Safe with VOCs: How Paint Professionals Can Work for Safer Paint and Additives Reply
Every painter knows what VOCs are. Volatile Organic Compounds can be disastrous for the environment and despite continued progress in reducing VOC levels in many paint products, they still exist as a necessary aspect of commercial painting. VOCs are what give the paint its consistency in everything from adhesion to color. As the paint dries, VOCs evaporate and enter the atmosphere, combining with oxygen and sunlight to create ozone in a way that is harmful to the environment. While some ozone in the upper reaches of the atmosphere are good for the environment, ozone closer to where humans, plants, and animals live can produce catastrophic and unintended consequences.
Controlled Polymerization Technology Leads to New Additives in Professional Painting Reply
Larry’s paint business had been in service for almost thirty years in East Texas. As his son Carson was growing up, he liked to tag along with his father to jobs around town. Larry did a great job earning repeat business and by the time Carson graduated from college, Larry had more customers then he could handle. Thankfully, Carson had shown interest in the business and was able to step in right away to help. And since so many customers were repeats and the town was fairly small, most of them knew Carson already, and trusted him to do the same quality job as his father.
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