Paint Life | Ask The Painter

ExitFlex Swiss Technology

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 02:24:32 GMT

ExitFlex TwinFit Explained

How to Use the ExitFlex TwinFit Airless Spray Gun Guard with Speedy-6 and Speedy-7 Tips

The ExitFlex TwinFit airless spray gun guard is designed to give painters flexibility—but that flexibility can cause confusion if you’re not sure which side of the guard, spray tip, and seat & seal combination goes together.

If you’ve ever installed a tip and thought “this doesn’t feel right”, you’re not alone. Let’s break it down step by step so you can confidently use Speedy-6, Speedy-7, Graco RacX, and other common airless spray tips with the TwinFit guard—without leaks, blowouts, or frustration.

Understanding the TwinFit Guard: Two Sides, Two Systems

The ExitFlex TwinFit guard has two different sides, each designed for a specific spray tip size and standard.

�� Round Side = Speedy-6–Style Tips

The round side of the TwinFit guard is designed for Speedy-6–style spray tips , which use a smaller barrel size.

This side is compatible with:

ExitFlex Speedy-6 tips
Titan spray tips
TriTech spray tips
Bedford spray tips
Graco RAC 5 (RAC V) spray tips

These tips all share the same general size and seating design and will sit properly in the round side of the TwinFit guard when installed correctly.

�� If you’re using any of the brands listed above, the round side is the side you want.

◼ Square Side = Speedy-7 / Graco RacX–Style Tips

The square side of the TwinFit guard is designed for larger-barrel spray tips, including:

ExitFlex Speedy-7 tips
Graco RacX spray tips

Speedy-7 tips sold at Paint Life Supply Co. are blue and are built to match the Graco RacX platform. These tips will seat properly only on the square side of the TwinFit guard.

�� Speedy-7 or RacX tips should never be used on the round side.

Seat & Seal: The Most Common Mistake Painters Make

Even if you’re using the correct side of the guard, the setup can still fail if the wrong seat & seal is installed.

Speedy-6 Seat & Seal

Identified by a black nylon O-ring

Must be used with:

Speedy-6 tips
Titan, TriTech, Bedford, and Graco RAC 5 tips
The round side of the TwinFit guard

Speedy-7 / RacX Seat & Seal

Identified by a baby blue O-ring

Must be used with:

Speedy-7 tips
Graco RacX tips
The square side of the TwinFit guard

��Important:

Speedy-6 and Speedy-7 seat & seals are not interchangeable . Using the wrong one will cause leaks, poor spray patterns, or tip failure.

What’s Inside the Tip Housing (This Trips People Up)

If you pull out the green housing of a Speedy-6 tip, you may find a Speedy-7 seat & seal already inside.

The baby blue O-ring seat & seal:

Is only for Speedy-7 or RacX tips
Will not work with Speedy-6–style tips

If you’re running a Speedy-6, Titan, TriTech, Bedford, or RAC 5 tip:

Remove the blue O-ring seat & seal
Replace it with the black O-ring Speedy-6 seat & seal

This is one of the most common causes of confusion when switching between tip types.

Quick Setup Cheat Sheet

Tip Type Guard Side Seat & Seal

Speedy-6 - Round side - Black nylon O-ring

Titan - Round side - Black nylon O-ring

TriTech - Round side - Black nylon O-ring

Bedford - Round side - Black nylon O-ring

Graco RAC 5 - Round side - Black nylon O-ring

Speedy-7 (Blue) - Square side - Baby blue O-ring

Graco RacX - Square side - Baby blue O-ring

Final Takeaway

The ExitFlex TwinFit guard is an excellent system—but everything has to match:

Speedy-6–style tips (including Titan, TriTech, Bedford, and RAC 5)

→ Round side

→ Black nylon O-ring

Speedy-7 and Graco RacX tips

→ Square side

→ Baby blue O-ring

Once you understand this setup, switching tips takes seconds—and your spray gun performs exactly the way it should.

No Grind Epoxy Floors

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 20:54:44 GMT

Epoxy Floors with The Idaho Painter

You Don’t Need to Grind Your Garage Floor Before Epoxy (Yes, Really)

For years, homeowners and contractors alike have been told the same thing:

“If you don’t grind your garage floor or acid-etch it, your epoxy will fail.”

I used to believe that too—because I did it that way for years. Grinding. Muriatic acid. Harsh fumes. Extra cost. Extra mess.

But I decided to put that belief to the test o n a customers garage floor … and the results might surprise you.

The Experiment: No Grinding. No Acid. Real Results.

No fancy grinders.
No acid etching.
No nasty chemicals.

And the floor looks amazing .

I installed the floor 2 years ago using a proper prep process and the right products , not brute-force grinding. Here’s exactly what I did.

The Prep Matters (Grinding Isn’t the Only Way)

Instead of grinding or acid etching, I focused on thorough cleaning and proper priming , which is what actually allows epoxy to bond.

Here’s the process I used:

Cleaned the concrete with Krud Kutter Pro Neutral Industrial Cleaner & Degreaser. Spot cleaned with Krud Kutter Pro spray foam cleaner.
Made sure the surface was fully clean and contaminant-free with a pressure washer
Applied EP55 Epoxy Primer from Rust-Oleum (Citadel)
Installed:
Epoxy base coat Rust-Oleum (Citadel) PLE-100 FC
Decorative Torginol flake coat
Polyaspartic clear top coat Citadel Polyurea-1 HD
Filled the saw cuts with Rust-Oleum (Citadel) PolyFlex 93 two part filler.

That’s it. No grinders. No acid burns. No chemical fumes.

“That Floor Will Fail in Two Weeks”

I heard it all.

People said:

The epoxy wouldn’t last
The saw cuts (a.k.a. expansion joints) would crack
Hot tire pickup would peel the coating
The floor would fail after one season

Well… none of that happened.

One Full Year Later: Still Looks Brand New

This floor has now been through:

Freezing winter temperatures (down to around 0°F)
Summer heat over 100°F
Daily use
Hot tires

And here’s the reality:

No cracking in the saw cuts
No hot tire pickup
No peeling
No scratches
Still looks like glass

Honestly, it still looks brand new.

Why This Works

Grinding and acid etching are methods , not magic. What truly matters is:

Removing contaminants
Opening the surface properly
Using a high-quality Rust-Oleum Industrial epoxy primer
Following a proven coating system by Rust-Oleum

Rust-Oleum’s epoxy and primer system made this possible, and I’m genuinely impressed with how well it’s held up.

The Best Part? Safer, Faster, and More Affordable

By skipping grinding and acid etching:

No grinder rentals
No expensive equipment
No breathing muriatic acid fumes
Less mess
Less downtime

For homeowners and professional painters looking for a safer, cleaner alternative that actually works, this method is a game-changer.

Final Thoughts

I’m honestly stoked about how this floor turned out—and even more excited that it proves you don’t have to grind your garage floor to get professional-level results when you use the right products and process.

I’ll be back next year with another update, but if this first year is any indication, this floor is here to stay.

Stay tuned. ��

Grain Filling Primer

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 18:03:55 GMT

Grain Filling Primers

The Idaho Painters Go-To Primer for Grainy Woods: Why We Trust Renner 648 High Build White Primer

When it comes to painting cabinets and furniture, grainy woods are where most paint jobs either level up—or completely fall apart.

Oak, ash, hickory, and other open-grain woods look great stained, but once you paint them, that grain has a way of telegraphing right back through the finish. Traditional cabinet primers most painters use just don’t cut it. They shrink back, take forever to dry, and require multiple coats and endless sanding.

That’s exactly why Renner 648 1K/2K High Build White Primer has become The Idaho Painter’s go-to product for cabinets and furniture where grain is problematic.

What Makes Renner 648 Different?

Renner 648 (YL—M648/–C02) is a premium Italian-made, water-based urethane primer designed specifically for professional results. Unlike typical primers, this product is engineered to fill grain, build thickness, and create a smooth foundation that stays smooth.

Here’s what sets it apart.

1. High Build That Actually Fills Grain

The biggest challenge with grainy woods is filling the pores without loading on endless coats of primer. Renner 648 is a true high-build primer, meaning:

Fewer coats to achieve a smooth surface
Less shrink-back over time
Dramatically reduced grain telegraphing

This makes it ideal for:

Oak cabinets
Open-grain furniture
Doors and millwork
MDF and manufactured wood products

If you’re chasing that factory-smooth finish, this primer gives you a serious head start.

2. Fast Dry Time = Faster Projects

Time is money—especially on cabinet and furniture jobs.

Renner 648 dries fast, allowing you to:

Sand sooner
Recoat the same day
Keep projects moving without downtime

This is a huge advantage over traditional oil or slow-drying primers that can stall a job for an entire day (or more).

3. Sands Easy and Clean

High build doesn’t mean hard to sand.

Renner 648 sands smooth and powdery, whether you’re hand sanding or using an automatic sanding machine. It levels beautifully, making it easy to knock down grain, brush marks, or spray texture without clogging paper or fighting the surface.

That easy sanding is one of the reasons we rely on it for cabinet doors and furniture pieces that demand perfection.

4. More Durable Than Traditional Cabinet Primers

This isn’t just a prep coat—it’s a urethane-based system, which means superior durability.

Compared to common cabinet primers, Renner 648 offers:

Better adhesion
Improved moisture resistance
Long-lasting performance
Mildew resistance with proper application

This makes it suitable for both residential and commercial projects, especially kitchens, bathrooms, and high-use furniture.

5. 1K or 2K Versatility (Catalyzed at 5%)

Renner 648 can be used as:

Mono-component (1K) for simpler jobs
Two-component (2K) when catalyzed for maximum performance

When catalyzed at 5%, you gain increased durability and chemical resistance—perfect for cabinets and furniture that need to last.

Catalyst Tip:

When catalyzing at 5%, 1 quart of Renner Italia™ Catalyst is good for up to 5 gallons of Renner water-based urethane products.

This flexibility lets you scale performance based on the project.

6. Designed for Professional Results (Without the Harsh Chemicals)

Despite its performance, Renner 648 is:

Water-based
Low VOC
Extremely safe to use
No known use or shipment restrictions

You get industrial-grade results without the headaches of harsh solvents.

Ideal Applications

Renner 648 High Build White Primer is perfect for:

Cabinets (especially oak and open-grain woods)
Furniture refinishing
Doors and millwork
MDF

New builds and refinishing projects

Whether you want a filled, glass-smooth finish or a controlled open-grain look, this primer gives you options.

Why We Use It at The Idaho Painter

At The Idaho Painter, we believe in doing it right the first time. Renner 648 saves time, reduces callbacks, and delivers a finish that holds up—not just on day one, but years later.

When grain is the enemy, this primer is the solution.

Final Thoughts

If you’re tired of fighting grain, over-sanding, and watching your finish sink back weeks later, it’s time to upgrade your primer system.

Renner Italia™ Water-Based YL—M648/–C02 High Build White Primer 2K delivers:

Grain-filling power
Fast dry times
Easy sanding
Professional durability
Stunning, long-lasting results

For safety information or the technical data sheet, contact:

�� info@waterbasefinish.com

If you want cabinets and furniture that look factory-finished, this is the primer that gets you there.

The Fan Pivot

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 02:14:10 GMT

Fan Pivot Airless Innovation

The Fan Pivot: A Game-Changing Spray Accessory Every Painter Needs

At the National Hardware Show a few years ago, I came across a product that immediately caught my attention. At the time, it was just a prototype—promising, innovative, but not yet available. Fast forward to the 2025 National Hardware Show , and that same product is now officially on the market.

It’s called The Fan Pivot , and after putting it to work in real-world conditions, I can confidently say: this is one of those tools that makes you wonder why it didn’t exist sooner.

What Is the Fan Pivot?

If you’ve ever sprayed paint, you know the constant battle between vertical and horizontal spray patterns . One minute you’re cutting in a vertical edge, the next you’re spraying horizontal siding or trim. Traditionally, that means stopping, grabbing the guard, twisting it—often in awkward, unsafe positions.

The Fan Pivot solves that problem.

It mounts between your spray gun and tip (or extension) and allows you to instantly rotate your spray fan 90° with a simple flick of your finger. No awkward arm angles. No wrestling with the guard. No downtime.

Just quick, clean transitions—exactly when you need them.

Why This Matters on the Jobsite

1. Speed & Efficiency

Every time you stop to rotate a guard, you lose momentum. Over the course of a day—or a week—that adds up. With the Fan Pivot, switching spray direction is instant, keeping you moving and productive.

2. Improved Safety

This is a big one.

Most of us are used to grabbing the front guard to rotate our fan. That puts your hand dangerously close to the spray tip, increasing the risk of paint injection injuries —one of the most serious hazards in spraying.

The Fan Pivot keeps your hand away from the danger zone . You never have to reach in front of the gun. You can rotate it with one finger, from behind the guard, safely and confidently.

3. Works With Extensions

Need more reach? No problem.

You can leave the Fan Pivot on your gun full-time and add any extension you want. The rotation works exactly the same—giving you reach and control without compromise.

4. Magnetic 90° Locking System

Inside the Fan Pivot are dual magnets that lock the unit into precise 90° positions.

Don’t turn it far enough? It snaps back.
Turn it past the midpoint? It automatically locks into the next position.

No guesswork. No half-turned fans. Just clean, consistent alignment every time.

Built to Last (and Rebuildable)

This isn’t a disposable gadget.

The Fan Pivot uses a single aircraft-grade O-ring —designed to withstand extreme temperatures, solvents, acids, and high RPMs. In real-world use, you’re rotating it maybe once per second at most. That means the O-ring will last virtually indefinitely.

And when it does need service?

Replacement O-rings come with it
You can service it yourself
No special tools required

This is a tool designed for years of professional use .

Compatibility: Will It Fit My Gun?

Yes—most likely.

The Fan Pivot currently comes in two versions:

7/8 thread base (standard North American)
11/16 thread base (common in the EU and parts of Latin America)

The black version simply indicates the different thread size. Same performance—just color-coded for compatibility.

Does It Add Weight?

This was one of my concerns at first.

After spraying new construction for 18 straight days , I can honestly say: I don’t even notice it’s there . The weight is minimal and doesn’t contribute to fatigue at all.

The Best Part? The Price

I guessed this thing would cost around $150.

Actual MSRP?
�� $39.95

For a tool that:

Improves speed
Increases safety
Reduces fatigue
Lasts for years
Pays for itself in productivity

That’s a no-brainer.

Final Thoughts

Anything that helps painters work faster, safer, and more efficiently is worth paying attention to—and the Fan Pivot checks all those boxes.

It’s simple.
It’s smart.
It’s finally available.

Once you use it, you won’t want to spray without it.

Check it out. Try it. And welcome to faster, safer spraying.

— Paint Life TV

Triade Airless Innovation

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 01:42:59 GMT

Airless Sprayer Innovation

Triade Quick Release Airless Gun Extensions: A Game Changer on the Jobsite

On a recent new construction job, I rediscovered a tool that completely changed how I spray — the Triade quick release airless gun extensions . Funny enough, I’ve actually had these sitting in my trailer for a year or two, but I hadn’t really put them to work until now. After using them for the past couple of weeks, I can confidently say they’re one of the most efficient airless sprayer accessories I’ve used.

Why Quick Release Extensions Matter

If you’ve ever sprayed a stairwell, vaulted ceiling, or tight interior space, you know how often you’re switching gun extension sizes. Traditionally, that means stopping, unthreading an extension, threading on another, tightening everything down, and repeating that process over and over.

The Triade system eliminates that downtime .

Instead of threading extensions on and off, Triade uses a quick release adapter that screws directly onto your spray gun (in place of your guard). Once that adapter is installed, any Triade extension can be snapped on or off instantly.

No threading. No tools. No wasted time.

Multiple Extensions, Swapped in Seconds

On this particular job, I was spraying an upstairs area and a stairwell with a lot of awkward angles. I needed multiple extension sizes throughout the day — from a 6-inch extension all the way up to a 36-inch extension .

With the quick release system, I could:

Swap extensions in seconds
Hand extensions to my hose manager and have them ready instantly
Add multiple extensions together when needed
Adapt quickly to ceilings, walls, and tight spaces

At one point, I even used two adapters to quickly extend my reach for a vaulted ceiling. Instead of fighting the setup, I was able to stay focused on spraying.

Built for Real Jobsite Use

The Triade quick release extensions use a replaceable O-ring system inside the coupler. Over time, O-rings will wear — that’s normal — but Triade makes replacement O-ring packs, so maintenance is simple and inexpensive.

After weeks of daily use on a new construction job:

No leaks
No failures
No fitment issues

The quality of the metal, machining, and overall construction is obvious the moment you handle them. These aren’t gimmicky accessories — they’re built for professional use.

Why I Always Use Gun Extensions

Anyone who’s followed my work knows I’m a big believer in gun extensions in general. It’s rare you’ll ever see me spray without at least a 6-inch extension on my gun. There are specific reasons for that — ergonomics, control, and efficiency — but that’s a topic for another post.

What I can say is that the Triade quick release system takes gun extensions to another level by removing the biggest downside: constant threading and unthreading.

Final Thoughts

After finally putting these to use, I can honestly say the Triade quick release airless gun extensions are a game changer , especially for:

New construction
Interior spraying
Stairwells and vaulted ceilings
Jobs that require frequent extension changes

This is one of those tools that, once you use it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t sooner. Just another solid product I’ve discovered and now confidently recommend to anyone looking to spray faster, cleaner, and more efficiently.

Twirly HD Review

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 20:34:56 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

PaintLine Spray Twirly HD Review: A Heavy-Duty Upgrade for Serious Painters

PaintLine has taken one of its most popular tools and leveled it up. The Spray Twirly HD is the heavy-duty evolution of the original Spray Twirly—designed for painters who need more stability, more capacity, and more control when spraying larger or heavier projects.

After years of using the original Spray Twirly, it was time to see if the HD version truly delivers. From unboxing to assembly and real-world use, here’s a full breakdown of what makes the Spray Twirly HD stand out.

What Is the Spray Twirly HD?

The Spray Twirly HD is a rotating spray table that allows painters to spin projects smoothly while spraying, eliminating the need to constantly reposition items by hand. The HD (Heavy Duty) version is built specifically to support larger, heavier projects without wobbling—a common limitation of lighter-duty spray table.

Unboxing & Assembly: Still Jobsite-Friendly

Right out of the box, the Spray Twirly HD feels solid. Unlike the original version, the HD includes nuts, bolts, and modular components , but assembly is still quick and straightforward. PaintLine even includes the necessary tools—Allen wrench and wrench—so there’s no scrambling around the shop looking for hardware.

Despite being heavier-duty, the unit remains portable and can easily be transported to a jobsite, especially when paired with PaintLine’s canvas carrying bags.

Key Features That Make a Difference

1. Rock-Solid Stability

One of the biggest improvements is stability. The Spray Twirly HD features:

A wider, heavier base
Adjustable leveling feet to compensate for uneven surfaces
Zero wobble, even with heavy furniture placed on top

This alone solves one of the biggest pain points of the original Spray Twirly—fear of large pieces tipping or shaking while spraying.

2. Adjustable Height Without Tools

The HD version introduces a pin-based height adjustment system , allowing you to raise or lower the spray table instantly—no unscrewing or readjusting hardware. This is a major workflow improvement, especially when switching between different project sizes throughout the day,

3. Modular Setup for Big or Small Projects

The Spray Twirly HD is incredibly versatile:

Extension arms support large furniture like coffee tables
Removable arms convert it into a compact stand
A flat wood plate option allows you to spray drawers, vases, or oddly shaped items that were previously difficult to balance

This flexibility means one tool can replace multiple stands in your spray setup.

4. Hands-Free Rotation

Unlike the original Spray Twirly—which required one hand to spin and one hand to spray—the HD version allows you to rotate the project using your foot . This lets you:

Keep both hands on the spray gun
Maintain consistent spray distance
Improve finish quality and efficiency

It’s a small change that makes a huge difference during long spray sessions.

Real-World Use: Built for Furniture Refinishing

When testing the Spray Twirly HD with a coffee table , the benefits were immediately clear. The unit stayed planted, rotated smoothly, and handled the weight without flexing or wobbling. Large pieces that once felt risky on the original Spray Twirly now feel secure and controlled.

For anyone refinishing furniture, cabinets, or oversized built-ins, this upgrade is a game changer.

Final Verdict: Is the Spray Twirly HD Worth It?

Absolutely.

If you:

Spray large or heavy projects
Want better stability and control
Need a versatile, professional-grade spray stand

…the PaintLine Spray Twirly HD is worth every penny. It keeps everything painters love about the original Spray Twirly while eliminating its biggest limitations.

This is one of those tools that doesn’t just make spraying easier—it makes your results better. The Idaho Painter.

New Construction Tapes

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:11:08 GMT

The Best New Construction Tapes!

What FrogTape to Use When Painting a New Construction Home

When you’re painting a new construction home, choosing the right tape is one of the most important steps for getting clean, crisp lines. With so many surfaces, textures, and trim types in a new build, not all tapes perform the same—and using the wrong tape can lead to paint bleed, splintering, adhesive residue, or even damaged surfaces.

In this blog, I’m breaking down the exact FrogTape products I keep in my trailer , what each one is designed for, and which tapes I use in a new construction setting. These recommendations come straight from years of professional use and the techniques I share on Paint Life TV.

Understanding FrogTape’s Polymer Technology

Before we get into each tape, it helps to understand what makes FrogTape different.

Most FrogTape products contain a special polymer on the outside edge . When liquid hits that edge—like your paint—it swells up and seals the tape against the surface. This prevents paint from bleeding underneath the tape and gives you razor-sharp, professional lines.

However, not all FrogTape products include this polymer , and that’s a key factor in choosing the right tape.

FrogTape Options I Use on the Job

1. FrogTape Orange – The Production Tape

FrogTape Orange is designed to be a cost-effective production tape . It’s great when you need speed and budget-friendly masking, but there are a few differences to note:

No polymer on the edge
3-day clean removal
Lower cost than other FrogTape products
Best for quick-turn projects

Since it lacks the polymer, you won’t get the same level of anti-bleed protection as with their premium lines. I use it when straight-line precision on rough surfaces isn’t critical.

2. FrogTape Blue – For Clean Lines & Moderate Release Time

FrogTape Blue is a step up from the orange line because:

It does have the polymer edge
14-day clean removal
Comes in multipacks
Slightly more expensive than orange

Because of the polymer, FrogTape Blue gives you very clean lines and is great for anyone worried about paint bleeding under the tape.

3. FrogTape Green – My Go-To Premium Tape

FrogTape Green is one of my most-used tapes, and for good reason:

Polymer edge for sharp lines
21-day clean removal
Excellent adhesion (tack) on almost every surface
Reliable paper that rarely splinters
Individually packed rolls as well a single packs

his is the tape I use anytime I'm masking trim in a new construction home :

Baseboards
Door jambs
Window trim
Anywhere I cannot risk paint bleed

It’s dependable, consistent, and delivers professional results every time.

4. FrogTape Yellow – Delicate Surface Tape

FrogTape Yellow is a specialty tape and serves a very unique purpose:

60-day clean removal
Delicate-surface safe
Great for:
Finished floors
Engineered hardwood
Wallpaper
Decorative finishes
Faux finishes
Very thin crepe paper
Polymer edge included

Because the paper is thinner than any other FrogTape option, it leaves the smallest “dam.”

A dam is the ridge of paint that forms along the tape line. Thinner tape = smaller ridge = easier to paint over later if you ever want to remove stripes, patterns, or designs.

This is why I choose FrogTape Yellow anytime I paint patterns—like checkers —on walls.

Which FrogTape Products I Use in a New Construction Home

On a new build, you typically deal with raw trim, freshly painted walls, newly installed baseboards, and floors that need protection without damage. Here’s what I use and why:

For Trim, Baseboards & Door/Window Jambs

�� FrogTape Green
It gives the best all-around performance with long release time, great adhesion, and the polymer edge for clean, crisp paint lines.

For Floors & Delicate Surfaces

�� FrogTape Yellow
Because it’s safe on finished flooring and minimizes dame lines, it’s perfect for hardwood, engineered floors, and sensitive surfaces.

For Fast, Budget-Friendly Masking

�� FrogTape Orange
If precision lines aren’t essential, this production tape works great—but I don’t use it where bleed-through could cost time or rework.

For General Clean-Line Masking When You Need More Release Time Than Orange

�� FrogTape Blue
It’s a solid mid-range option with polymer protection and a 14-day release window.

Final Thoughts

In a new construction home, the tape you choose can make or break the final finish. Using the right FrogTape product helps prevent paint bleed, protects delicate surfaces, speeds up production, and ensures your lines are perfectly straight every time.

My go-to system:

FrogTape Green for trim
FrogTape Yellow for floors and delicate surfaces
FrogTape Blue when you need clean lines and flexibility
FrogTape Orange for fast, lower-cost production masking

Choosing the right tape means fewer headaches and sharper results—exactly what you want on a brand-new home.

Apollo vs Fuji

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 16:21:52 GMT

Apollo vs Fuji HVLP Comparison

Apollo Precision-6 vs FujiSpray D6: Which HVLP Sprayer Is Better for Professional Painters?

Choosing the right HVLP spray system can make or break your finish quality, productivity, and long-term costs. Two of the most talked-about professional turbine sprayers are the Apollo Precision-6 and the FujiSpray D6—but when you compare them feature by feature, the Apollo Precision-6 clearly stands out as the better investment for serious painters and finishers.

If you’re looking for consistent spray pressure, superior cooling, professional-grade filtration, and true digital control, here’s why the Apollo Precision-6 is the smarter choice.

Digital Pressure Control: Precision vs Guesswork

One of the biggest differences between the Apollo Precision-6 and the FujiSpray D6 is how accurately you can control air pressure.

The Apollo Precision-6 features true digital pressure control with 115 variable-speed pressure settings. A built-in pressure sensor ensures your selected pressure remains constant until you change it, regardless of:

Altitude
Barometric pressure
Heat buildup
Voltage fluctuations

This means consistent atomization and predictable results on every job

The FujiSpray D6, on the other hand, offers just 6 pressure buttons with no digital readout. Users are left guessing what pressure they are spraying at, and those settings can change as heat, voltage, or atmospheric conditions shift

If you’re searching for a precision HVLP sprayer, the Apollo Precision-6 delivers far more control.

Cooling Design That Protects Performance and Motor Life

Heat buildup directly affects turbine pressure and finish quality. Apollo engineers addressed this problem head-on.

The Apollo Precision-6 cooling system includes:

Advanced automotive air filtration on both intakes
26 non-restrictive cooling louvers
A 3/8" bleed port that improves heat dissipation and stabilizes spray pressure

This design keeps the turbine cooler, helping maintain steady pressure during long spray sessions

By comparison, the FujiSpray D6 relies on:

Two simple foam cooling pads
One automotive-style filter only for spray gun air
Just 10 restrictive cooling slots
An undersized 1/8" bleed port, which restricts cooling and can increase spray temperature while reducing pressure

The result is greater performance drift over time, especially on larger jobs

Advanced Filtration for Cleaner Air and Lower Maintenance

Filtration matters—not just for finish quality, but for turbine longevity.

The Apollo Precision-6 uses advanced automotive-grade filtration on both air intakes, effectively removing paint particles before they reach internal components. These filters are washable, reducing replacement costs and long-term maintenance

The FujiSpray D6 uses foam pads for cooling air and a non-certified HEPA-grade filter with no certification number, limited to the spray gun intake only

SEO benefit: Lower operating costs + better protection = higher ROI for professionals.

Lighter, More Durable Hose Built for Jobsite Use

Apollo also outperforms Fuji where it matters day to day: usability.

The Apollo Precision-6 includes a USA-made hose that is:

3 pounds lighter
More durable
Designed to resist flex-hose damage

This reduces fatigue and downtime, especially on long spraying days

The FujiSpray D6 hose components are heavier, and the flex section can be easily crushed when stepped on, a common jobsite issue

Smarter Remote Control for Faster Workflow

The Apollo remote fob is designed for real-world efficiency:

On/Off control without manually turning on the unit
Pressure settings are retained until changed at the turbine

This saves setup time and ensures repeatable results between jobs

The FujiSpray D6 remote requires manually turning on the unit first, adding unnecessary steps to your workflow

Lower Freight Costs and Easier Shipping

Shipping costs are often overlooked—but they matter.

The Apollo Precision-6 offers up to 50% freight savings due to reduced packaged weight and dimensions. The FujiSpray D6 can cost up to 50% more to ship, which adds up for contractors, distributors, and repeat buyers

Final Verdict: Why Professionals Choose the Apollo Precision-6

When you compare the Apollo Precision-6 vs FujiSpray D6 side by side, the difference is clear.

The Apollo Precision-6 delivers:

True digital pressure control with 115 settings
Consistent performance regardless of environment
Superior cooling and filtration
Lighter, stronger components
More efficient workflow
Lower shipping and long-term ownership costs

For professional painters, cabinet refinishers, and high-end finishers who demand reliability and repeatability, the Apollo Precision-6 is the clear winner.

FrogTape Tips!

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:44:34 GMT

FrogTape Tips For Professional Painters

Hey Fellow Painter,

This might seem like a boring topic. It’s just tape, right? But painter’s tape is one of the most important supplies we use.

Whether you’re taping off trim to paint walls or masking cabinets to spray inside someone’s kitchen, you need that tape to do its job. And for me, the tape that always gets the job done is FrogTape.

When my company made the switch to FrogTape, it helped us make more money.

No more paint bleeding under tape lines

No more time wasted on tedious touch-ups

And definitely no more disastrous overspray mishaps (trust me, overspray mistakes are no joke!)

Even if you’re just starting out, FrogTape removes the learning curve, giving you those perfect, crisp lines from day one.

You’ve probably seen the bright green tape in the paint aisle, but have you given it a try?

Now’s your chance, because we sell FrogTape in the Paint Life Supply Store!

We offer:

�� Green FrogTape: The original with PaintBlock Technology— an added polymer that swells when liquid hits it, preventing paint bleed and keeping your lines sharp.

�� Blue FrogTape: Offers the same PaintBlock Technology as the green version, but with the affordability of traditional blue painter’s tape.

�� Orange FrogTape: The ultimate production tape. It sticks to everything— fences, masonry, even dusty and humid surfaces— yet removes easily every time.

Stock up on the best painter’s tape in the game from Paint Life Supply, and support our family-run online store! When you’re confident in your supplies, you can focus on delivering your best work.

Masking for perfection! Using FrogTape to mask doors and windows while tackling exterior work. Follow Paint Life on Instagram for more pro tips.

Once you’ve got the right supplies, take your skills to the next level with our Online Masking Course and Online Caulking Course .

Master the fundamentals of masking and caulking with our in-depth courses , designed to help you become a faster, more efficient painter.

Because let’s face it— a painter who can’t mask and caulk is like a chef who can’t boil water.

Our courses are perfect for:

Aspiring painters ready to learn the essentials and start charging for your services

DIYers looking to achieve professional results when painting their own home

Business owners who want to give their new hires structured, effective training

Professional painters eager to sharpen their skills and work faster and cleaner

Ready to elevate your painting game? Check out our courses and stock up on FrogTape today!

Best,

Chris Berry

The Idaho Painter

Who knew a bike ride in Amsterdam could inspire perfect caulking?

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 20:02:49 GMT

A Lesson in Precision Painting from the Streets of Amsterdam

Hi Paint Lifers,

I just wrapped up a trip to Europe with Premier Brushes (I’ll fill you in on what I was up to in my next email). My wife and I managed to squeeze in a side trip to Amsterdam — and let me tell you, it was everything I’d hoped for.

We rented bikes and cruised through the city, something I’d always wanted to do.

We rode down cobblestone streets with the canals on one side and rows of beautiful old buildings on the other, most dating back to the 17th century. Each building had so much character, with countless windows reflecting the sunlight and precision paintwork that blew me away.

As we rode, I kept stopping to admire the buildings. Crisp lines and smooth surfaces would never suggest these buildings were older than the United States.

Their upkeep reflects a level of care and attention to detail that I find inspiring , especially as a painter.

I couldn’t help but wonder about the crews who painted them and their process to achieve such flawless, seamless finishes.

It reminded me of my painting crews in Idaho and our pride in getting the details just right. We were always striving for that same level of finesse. And when it comes to achieving such precise, professional results, caulking is the unsung hero that makes it all possible.

Whether we were sealing windows to keep out Idaho’s winter winds or creating flawless lines on cabinet jobs, caulking was the foundation of every project.

Mastering caulking is like tying knots for a sailor (a thought that crossed my mind while watching boats glide through Amsterdam’s canals). It’s an essential skill that anchors your craft , giving you a solid foundation to build on. Without it, you risk drifting off course.

That’s why I created my Online Caulking Course . Think of it as your go-to guide for everything caulking: the best techniques, tools, and brands you need to protect, perfect, and elevate every paint job you take on.

Whether you’re painting exteriors, interiors, cabinets, or anything in between, mastering caulking is the key to achieving professional-level results. Dive into the Caulking Course to learn the essential skills every painter needs— whether you’re running a painting business or taking on home renovations yourself.

Happy painting (and caulking)!

Best,

Chris Berry

P.S. Check out this video of my wife and I on our ride , enjoying the views in Amsterdam and eating stroopwafel.

Gather around a table you’re proud of this Thanksgiving

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 05:23:33 GMT

Flip Furniture For A Profit

Hey there,

Thanksgiving’s right around the corner, and I’m already excited to spend the day with my family.

As the years go by and my kids now have kids of their own, everyone’s schedules seem busier than ever. That’s why this year, it will feel extra special to have the whole family gathered around my dining room table.

As everyone eats, talks, and laughs together, I know I’ll take a moment to appreciate the table itself. I put a lot of work into refinishing it, and now it holds more than just dishes and decor— it holds memories, stories, and a bit of my own handiwork.

There’s something about having my family close, gathered around something I put time and care into, that makes this season feel like home.

I love imagining this same scene happening in homes all across the country— families gathering around tables, appreciating their spaces and the people who fill them.

Take a look at my dining room table and the transformation I’m so proud of!

If you’re looking to create that picture-perfect holiday scene this year, a beautifully refinished piece of furniture can make all the difference. When done right, refinished furniture can transform a room and bring a touch of warmth and personality that’s perfect for the season.

I know refinishing furniture can sound daunting. Some people love the idea, while others find it overwhelming (especially if they’re reminded of that half-finished dresser collecting dust in the garage).

That’s exactly why I created the Furniture Refinishing Course, the latest addition to the Paint Life Academy.

With the right steps, products, and tools, painting and refinishing furniture can be both fun and rewarding. Whether you want to update your home or start a flexible side hustle, mastering furniture refinishing is an excellent skill to have.

The Furniture Refinishing Course will teach you everything you need to know to create one-of-a-kind custom pieces with professional-level finishes.

So if you’re dreaming of a beautiful home for the holidays or eager to build a side hustle you love, now’s the perfect time to dive in. Check out the Furniture Refinishing Course to get started and skip the trial-and-error phase. With the right training, you can truly master your craft.

Here’s to a warm, welcoming home for the holidays— and maybe a few more DIY projects along the way.

Best,
Chris Berry

P.S. Here’s a quick video showcasing what you can achieve when you learn to refinish furniture like a pro!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuEBxAaZo84

Behr Dynasty Review

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 16:44:25 GMT

Painting An Exterior With Behr DynastyⓇ

On the last exterior paint project for the 2023 season, I had the opportunity to test out BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint. Earlier this year, I used BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Interior Paint on a bedroom and was absolutely amazed at the one-coat coverage and the matte finish. With that experience, I had high hopes for the exterior paint as well!

BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint has key features like 10-year color fade protection* , early rain resistance in 60 minutes, and the ability to apply in temperatures as low as 35°F. This paint is available in a variety of sheens - Flat/Matte, Eggshell, Satin, Semi-Gloss, and High-Gloss Enamel. On this exterior, I used flat/matte on the stucco and satin on the body, trim, front door, and fascia.

Coverage

BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint has a range of colors to choose from on their One-Coat Hide Color Collection. I was surprised to find out just how well these paints do cover in one coat when working with the interior paint, so it was time to see how well this would work on an exterior repaint. The customer chose a color off of Behr’s One-Coat Hide Color Collection, which ended up being the body color. With a spray application, it definitely covered in one coat all around the house. No question!

The other colors we used on this house had excellent coverage. The most notable example of this was the front door - which the customer wanted painted a vibrant blue. Typically, when using a color like this, you would want to undercoat the substrate with a gray because the likelihood of it not covering is high. But I went straight in with an airless sprayer and shot it with one coat, which was pretty heavy. I was absolutely amazed - it was covered in one coat! There was no need to reshoot the door or do a second coat.

White paints are usually the tricky ones - and we were using almost a pure white on the trim. With all the major paint manufacturers I’ve encountered, pure whites don’t cover very adequately. But this covered extremely thoroughly. I usually two-coat all the trim, but it almost completely covered on the first coat. White paints are also typically notorious for splattering and dripping off your brush or roller. I noticed with BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint that it hung on our brushes and rollers very well - no drips or splatters! It also did very well being brushed onto door jambs.

BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint covered so expertly that I ended up using less paint than usual on the entirety of this exterior repaint!

10-Year Color Fade Protection

When it comes to exterior paints, I only use lifetime warranty products for the sake of my customers and clients. BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint has a lifetime limited warranty on this product, but another part of the warranty is the 10-year color fade protection *. This is the only paint I’ve ever seen that has a color fade protection warranty on it or has even addressed color fade. In the past, I have even used certain lifetime warranty paints where the paint color has faded within five years. Now, you have this protection by Behr to have color fade protection on the paint.

Once again, there is only a certain selection of colors that have this protection on them, but I think it’s absolutely incredible. Please view the disclaimer below to ensure your warranty eligibility.

Early Rain Resistance

Another cool feature about BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint is that it has the ability to resist rain within 60 minutes. On this job site, we did have the opportunity to see this put to the test. One of the days that we applied it, I sprayed the body of the house, and it rained pretty hard that same evening. But, the downspouts had not been put back up yet. When we came back the next day, I looked over the areas where water had splashed back onto the body. There were no issues at all.

If you look at the weather forecast and see possible rain in the afternoon, you can start your day by spraying and giving the house at least 60 minutes to dry. By then, it will be resistant against the rain. Another cool feature on a cool product!

Hangability

One quality I like to put to the test on the job site is how well a paint hangs. What I mean by this is - does the paint run, drip, or sag when it is applied with a brush, roller, or sprayer? On this exterior, we sprayed the paint on the body, multiple garage doors, and the front door. We were well within the range of temperatures that BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint can be applied in - as low as 35°F and up to 90°F, which is a wide range for this paint’s ideal application temperature! Even though we applied the paint in cooler temperatures, which typically lends the paint the opportunity to run, drip, or sag, I don’t think we saw anywhere on the entire house where we had a run, drip, or sag.

Typically, when I’m applying paint, I apply it super thick because I want it to be above and beyond the mil thickness, just to make sure the customer/client does get their warranty and there are no issues with that. We also want the paint to cover well, so we’re applying it pretty thick for that reason as well. A thick application does tend to lead to paint running, but once again, nowhere on this house, through our entire application process, did we see a run, drip, or sag. I think it performed exceptionally well when it came to the product's hangability.

Dry Times

Dry time is an extremely important factor to consider when picking a paint. On this exterior, we were using a total of 5 colors, and on most exteriors, you will be using anywhere between 3-5 colors. When you have multiple colors like that, you will likely have overlapping colors. You need a paint that will dry quickly so that you can mask off the color that you just applied and then apply the overlapping/nearby color. The faster a paint dries, the quicker your team can move around the house and continue painting. BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint has a 1-hour dry time and a 2-hour recoat time. It definitely dries extremely fast. I was able to spray the stucco, mask it off, and spray the soffits the same day.

Wet Overspray Control

With an airless sprayer, there is atomization of the paint. Water vapors and chemicals in the paint will flash off in the air. But, with some paints, you’ll get wet paint droplets flying around - landing on the roof, concrete, plants, etc. I’ve had the experience of using paints in the past, and when I was spraying overhead, I felt paint raining down on me. A paint’s ability to have wet overspray control is key to avoiding issues that you could be liable for on the jobsite.

While we were using BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint, you could definitely see some chemicals flashing off in the air, but there was no wet overspray on any surfaces nearby. No wet paint hit my face as I sprayed the soffits, and I left the jobsite each day with no paint on my clothes. The plants, the concrete, the roof - no wet overspray. This product has exceptional wet overspray control.

As I began to apply the paint via airless sprayer, I did notice that BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint has a high-solid and high-resin content. Typically, I would be spraying at around 2200 PSI, but with BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint I turned it down to 1600 PSI to further limit dust and overspray. Turning the pressure down helped control the overspray even more and helped the application process. This proves that overspray is due to more than just the chemical makeup of the paint - a variety of factors can affect overspray as well.

Conclusion

By the time we finished up this exterior repaint, the house looked absolutely amazing. On the stucco, we used a flat/matte finish to make the stucco look more natural. It ended up not being too shiny or flat, and turning out well. On the body, trim, fascia, and front door, we used a satin finish. Some satin finishes have too much of a sheen and look like plastic, but I have to say that this satin finish looked absolutely amazing.

So, is BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint a paint that I would use again and recommend to others? It absolutely is! This is a paint I would put on my own house. When the weather warms up again, and we get back into exterior season, check out BEHR DYNASTYⓇ Exterior Paint, sold exclusively at The Home Depot.

This is a paid partnership with Behr Paint Company. Read below for warranty information and eligibility.

* Valid only when tinted to colors from the BEHR DYNASTY® specially curated Exterior Color Fade Protection Palette. Based on predictive lab testing with a color shift less than Delta E of 5 as measured by CieLAB. A primer coat may be needed. Two coats of BEHR DYNASTY Exterior Paint are recommended for optimal durability. Individual results may vary. See back label instructions for details. Behr Paint Company can provide project-specific warranties. Ask your BEHR PRO Rep for details. The Limited Lifetime Warranty does not apply to or cover BEHR DYNASTY 10-Year Color Fade Protection or professional projects.

To learn more about BEHR Dynasty exterior paints: Click HERE

Dangers Of Lacquers

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Tue, 16 May 2023 21:25:40 GMT

Why I Do Not Use Lacquers!

Lacquers are a type of paint that is often used for finishing furniture, interior trim, and cabinets. They are available in a variety of colors and finishes, and they can be sprayed with an HVLP or airless sprayer to create a smooth, even coating.

However, lacquers can also be dangerous if they are not used properly and the dangers is why I no longer use lacquers but have transitioned to using water based 2K poly coatings.

Here are some of the dangers of lacquers:

Inhalation of fumes: The fumes from lacquers can cause a variety of health problems, including headaches, dizziness, and respiratory problems. In severe cases, the fumes can cause death.

Skin irritation: The skin can be irritated by contact with lacquers. This can cause redness, itching, and blisters. In severe cases, the skin can be burned.

Fire hazard and explosion: This is the primary reason why I no longer use lacquers. Lacquers are highly flammable and with enough concentration can explode. if they come into contact with a heat source, static, and even electric current.

Environmental damage: lacquers can pollute the air and water, and they can also harm wildlife. This can have a negative impact on the environment.

If you are using lacquers, it is important to take precautions to protect yourself from the dangers.

My short story. A student came to my Paint Life Cabinet Academy. Later on his employees were coating an interior log cabin with lacquer sanding sealer in the winter. A lack of proper ventilation and the flipping of a light switch ignited an explosion with major consequences including an employee suffering burns to 40% of his body and the cabin burning to the ground.

Lacquers are dangerous and should be avoid if possible.

What Are Low VOC Paints?

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Tue, 02 May 2023 22:09:25 GMT

What Are Low VOC Paints?

Low-VOC paints are a type of paint that contains a lower than normal amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are chemicals that evaporate into the air and can cause a variety of health problems, including headaches, dizziness, and respiratory problems.

Low-VOC paints are becoming more popular as people become more aware of the health risks of VOCs. They are also becoming more widely available, as more and more paint manufacturers are producing them.

There are a few different ways to make low-VOC paints. One way is to use a different type of resin, such as a water-based resin instead of an oil-based resin. Another way is to add a chemical called a VOC reducer to the paint. VOC reducers help to trap the VOCs in the paint, so they do not evaporate into the air.

Low-VOC paints are a good choice for people who are concerned about the health risks of VOCs. They are also a good choice for people who want to reduce their exposure to chemicals. Low-VOC paints are available in a variety of colors and finishes, so you can find one that meets your needs.

Here are some of the benefits of using low-VOC paints:

Reduced exposure to VOCs: Low-VOC paints contain fewer VOCs than traditional paints, so they reduce your exposure to these harmful chemicals.

Improved indoor air quality: Low-VOC paints can help to improve indoor air quality by reducing the amount of VOCs in the air.

Safe for children and pets: Low-VOC paints are safe for children and pets to be around, as they do not contain as many harmful chemicals as traditional paints.

Better for the environment: Low-VOC paints are better for the environment than traditional paints, as they release fewer VOCs into the atmosphere.

PRO TIP: traditional painters tapes do not stick very well or at all to Low and No-VOC paints. Recently FrogTape has created a tape that has solved this problem. Look for it at Paint Life Supply Co.

If you are looking for a paint that is safe for your family and the environment, then low-VOC paints are a good option.

Abrasives 101

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Mon, 01 May 2023 19:35:11 GMT

More On Sanding Abrasives

So, what are the different coatings you’ll see, and what should they be used for?

There are generally three types of coating options available: open, semi-open and closed – each with a different ratio of grain and each with a different optimal application. There can be some variation in the terminology used between different manufacturers, but, for now, we’ll focus on these.

Closed Coat

A closed coat offers the most grain coverage, coming in around 90-95% coverage on the product.

This type of coating is best for sanding in a raw wood state, meaning, sanding with coarser grains. This works well because the rough sanding produces larger pieces, and with harder woods, there is also less pitch (wood resin), so heat has less of an impact. This means there is less need for space between grains because it will not load as much in the first place. Additionally, with coarser grains, there is naturally more space between the tips of the grain, simply because the larger grains take up more space and fewer of them can fit on any particular size of surface area.

For example, think of a mountain range with very sharp peaks and deep valleys, with the base of each mountain touching. Now, pretend that there is water in the valleys. So, underneath the water, there is not much space between the grains, but on the surface, there is quite a bit of space between the peaks. This is what happens on sandpaper. On sandpaper, the mountains are your grains and water would be the resin securing the grain to the backing.

Closed coats products are also used for sealers, lacquers and in other finishing applications to obtain the most uniform scratch pattern and highest quality finish. If you’re grinding hard metals, you’ll want to stick with closed coats as well, to maximize the amount of grain cutting the hard material.

The benefit here is that the closed coats have more grains, and the harder woods have less pitch, so the paper will not load as quickly anyway.

Semi-Open Coat

A semi-open coat offers 70—75% coverage of grains, a nice happy medium.

This level of coating is useful for hard woods, such as oak, cherry and maple, in the raw wood stage.

Similar to the closed coat, with harder woods, there is less resin present in the wood, so less opportunity for sticky residue.

Open Coat

With the most open space of the three coatings, coming in around 60-65% coverage of grains, this type is best for softer materials, including soft woods like pine and poplar, as well as softer metals, both for coarse sanding and polishing. With the extra space between the grains, there is more likelihood for the waste material to simply fall off, thereby taking a longer time to load the paper.

Paint Life Supply Co. features Uneeda abrasives and the Ekasand sanders. "The best abrasives and sander on the market" The Idaho Painter. Browse sanding supplies HERE .

Who Is Uneeda?

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 05:30:45 GMT

Who Makes Ekasand Sanders?

Uneeda Enterprises Inc. is a leading supplier of coated abrasive products and sanding tools to companies in wood, automotive, metal and marine industries. Uneeda’s sanders, the Ekasand Brand, are widely used by professional painters and refinishers who only rely on high quality industrial tools built to last the everyday rigors of jobsite use. Uneeda was founded in 1967 by Herman Fuchs and is headquartered in Springfield New York.

Uneeda Enterprises offers a wide range of products, including sanding belts, discs, sheets, machines, sponges, brushes, and accessories. Uneeda’s products are used in a variety of applications, including wood finishing, metalworking, automotive repair, marine maintenance, cabinet refinishing, and commercial and residential repainting. Uneeda is the manufacture of Filmtek, Ekasilk, Ekamont, and Ekastorm, with are abrasives professional trust and rely on to perform and outlast the competition.

Uneeda Enterprises is a family-owned and operated business the has been around for over 52 years. The company is committed to providing its customers with the highest quality products and services. Uneeda Enterprises is also committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility. The company has a number of initiatives in place to reduce its environmental impact, including using recycled materials in its products and reducing energy consumption.

Uneeda Enterprises is a member of the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Business Association. The company is also a certified Women's Business Enterprise.

If you are looking for a supplier of coated abrasive products and professional sanding tools, Uneeda Enterprises is the best option. The company offers a wide range of products, competitive prices, and excellent customer service.

"Uneeda makes the best abrasives I have used and I highly recommend you purchase the Ekasand." - The Idaho Painter.

Why Sandpaper Loads

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 05:26:57 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

Let’s get back to basics and discuss one of the most frustrating problems we face in sanding: loading.

Well, when you move the sandpaper over your work surface, you are creating friction, or resistance between the abrasive and the work piece. This action facilitates the cutting/scratching that you desire, but, there may also be some undesired consequences… namely: heat, static electricity and dust.

When heat is produced in the sanding process, this can cause the resin in the wood or chemicals in the finish to melt, which leads to a sticky residue that can get clogged, or loaded, into the sandpaper.

It’s not just annoying to have to replace your sandpaper, but this problem can also ruin your ability to create the finish you desire. It can lead to an uneven scratch pattern and blotchy finish when staining, as a result of sanding with grains that are not sharp… due to the residue and dust clogging your sandpaper.

While no sandpaper will last forever, the type of coating of the sandpaper has will help to increase the life of the product and achieve a better finish. I find Uneeda's abrasives like FilmTek and Ekasilk to be the longest lasting and resist this loading annoyance better than any other abrasive on the market. In my next blog I will talk about the coatings Uneeda uses on their abrasives and why it's important.

Uneeda abrasives including FilmTek, Ekastorm, Ekadiamond, and Ekasilk are all available at Paint Life Supply Co.

Dollar Store Tool Review

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 18:13:12 GMT

Premier Tools are Worth the MONEY!

Is producing a high quality paint job possible with Dollar Store supplies possible?

Recently, I went out to my local Dollar Store to see what paint supplies they had to offer. Interestingly enough, the Dollar Store raised their prices to $1.25, so I ended spending a little extra. Below I will provide my review of the supplies I was able to find and let you know if they are worth the bargain!

The Dollar Store was able to provide me with the most needed tool for painting, a paint brush!Right off the bat, I put the brush to the test and attempted to cut-in a line. It was more challenging than I expected. The biggest issue with this brush was the stiffness. Even paired with a one-coat paint, the brush was so stiff that it left white streaks on the wall. I went back over it with my roller to fix this issue.

The brush did not hold nearly enough paint, so I was unable to drag my line far - about a third of the distance a higher-quality brush would go with the same amount of paint. The filaments in the brush weren’t tapered and did not come to a point. Early on they began to separate and made it nearly impossible to continue using it. The edges were jagged and rough, making it a much more difficult progress.

I went back in with a Paint Life Brooke Paint Brush to fix the issues the Dollar Store brush caused. This brush comes to a nice point and allowed for a quick clean up and a nice line on my ceiling. Buying a $20 brush is going to be worth it in the long run - this brush can last a lifetime if taken care of properly. The Dollar Store brush created problems shortly after being opened, which resulted in having to buy a higher- quality brush in order to fix the mistakes. So save yourself the $1.25 and just go straight for the $20 brush!

The second item I bought was a Tool Bench 9” roller frame to compare to a professional Blue Tiger 9” roller frame . When I inspected the bottom of this roller frame, it was clear that there was an attempt at creating threading for a roller extender. But, this frame was unable to attach to an extender because the threading was unable to attach to anything. This means that we were using a short handle with not much to grip.

Another thing I noticed was the diameter of the metal framework on it. The diameter determines how much flex you will get when you apply pressure to the wall you are rolling. A professional roller does not have much flex to it, but this one did. Roller frames that have more flexibility will likely have an edge that the roller cover will come off of or have a heavy edge, which will leave lap marks all over your wall.

Lower-quality roller frames also have a tendency for the roller to slip off. If you’re not paying attention while you’re rolling, the roller can slip off the end. Higher-quality roller frames have a locking mechanism that takes a lot of effort to take the roller off - it’s definitely secure on there.

They don’t have roller covers at the Dollar Store so I put a Woven-Pro 9” Roller on it to put the frame to the test. Immediately, the roller was struggling to turn when loading the paint on. I quickly noticed a gap on the end of the roller that allowed paint to get inside, fill it up, and drip as I started to roll.

The roller began dragging instead of rolling smoothly, leaving drag marks and allowing paint to drip down the wall. Within a minute or two, the roller began to slip off the frame, and the roller became so heavy that it was refusing to roll at all and I was unable to load up the roller with paint after a certain point.

I quickly determined the roller frame from the Dollar Store was not worth the dollar spent and I switched to my Blue Tiger 9” roller and was able to finish up the job quickly and with better results.

The last tool I picked up was a roll of 1 ½-inch Tool Bench Painter’s Tape to compare to 1 ½-inch orange Frog Tape . I started off by comparing the packaging and the Dollar Store tape didn’t list any additional information about the tape besides its size. Frog Tape’s packaging specifies a 3-day release time for the tape. Without any additional information, you really have no way to tell what you’re buying and how to use it.

One roll of Dollar Store tape was 15 meters, while one roll of Frog Tape is 55 meters. Looking at the math, you would have to buy 3 ½ rolls to get the same amount as one roll of Frog Tape. The price would be $4.29 for an equal amount of the Dollar Store tape, compared to $2.79 for a single roll of orange Frog Tape. So, it would be much cheaper to buy one roll from Frog Tape than going to the Dollar Store and buying tape to paint.

When I tested this product out, it went similar to how you’d imagine - very badly. It truly is “Dollar Store” quality, and I quickly switched back to the tried-and-true Frog Tape to finish the job.

At the end of the day, having tools that function, work efficiently, and allow you to be successful is going to make the painting process a more efficient and enjoyable experience.

Sanding Basics

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 22:26:52 GMT

Sanding Abrasives 101

When it comes to sanding, apart from tearing and other breakage, there are two main reasons for changing your belt, disc, sheet or sponge: either, the product is completely clogged, or the grains have dulled, rendering the abrasive useless. We always want to maximize the life of our abrasives, so making sure to choose the appropriate product based on the application is essential – that means understanding the mechanics of sanding, loading and prevention and the technical aspects of the products. For example, coatings, whether open, semi-open or closed, refer to the amount of grain coverage on a particular product. Understanding this can help to avoid common issues.

Quickly clogged sandpaper is one of the most common and frustrating problems known to anyone who sands. While it’s difficult to avoid completely, particularly when sanding soft woods and lower melting point metals, choosing an open coat product for these applications can help minimize the effects of loading, due to the additional space between grains. When sanding harder materials, or rough sanding, closed or semi-open coats can be used.

Ultimately, choosing the right product for the application will help you get the best finish in the most efficient way – whether you’re considering coatings, minimizing loading, grain type, or backing. If you are looking for the best abrasives on the market look to Uneeda. A worldwide leader in abrasives that is a family owned and operated business in New York. Paint Life Supply Co . is an authorized dealer in Uneeda abrasives and sanders.

What is the Brooke Brush?

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 21:13:38 GMT

Hand Made Paint Brushes in the USA!

A paintbrush is a painter’s most important tool - it is likely the first thing you will pick up as you start your painting journey. So, when I set out to make my own brush, this was something I took incredibly seriously.

It felt like a daunting task to find a company to help me bring this dream to life. What I wanted, was to find a family-owned and operated business. Shared ideals and values was a super important priority, along with someone whose products are made in the USA.

We found the perfect match, Premier Paint Roller. They are one of the largest and oldest family-owned and independent paint applicator manufacturers in the United States. Every one of Premier’s products is made by hand, including their brushes! I was able to see the amount of care that goes into their manufacturing process firsthand when I was given the opportunity to visit the Premier factory in New York.

With Premier, the vision for my first custom made brush came to life. And, of course, the biggest question was - what do we name the brush?

Brooke is my eldest daughter. I have fond memories of the summer we spent painting together and memories of her with a paintbrush in her hand as a little girl. Family is everything to me - starting a painting business and creating content online to help painters - it’s all born out of my love for my family and wanting to provide for them. This is my way to give back to them, and leave a legacy behind for my children and for me.

Brooke is extremely honored to have the brush named after her. She says, “It just reminds me of how far my parents have come. I remember being so excited as a child visiting my dad while he worked in the paint department of Home Depot. He used to show us the paint mixer and we took home a bunch of the color swatches. I thought he had the coolest job back then. Fast forward to more than 15 years later, and my parents have built multiple successful businesses and have a paint brush (named after me!) in Walmart. It just reminds me of how thankful I am to have parents that have taught me the value of hard work, no matter what the job or position. I hope my husband and I can also exemplify this to my son.”

The Brooke Brush is an amazing product, and I can’t thank Premier enough for helping bring my dreams to life. It’s currently available for purchase on paintlifesupply.com and walmart.com , as Walmart moves towards carrying higher-quality paint supplies, especially in regions with no hardware stores! Hopefully, the success of the brush continues, and everyone adores this brush as much as we do here at Paint Life Supply.

Caulking Tips

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 23:01:58 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

There are a lot of options out there to pick from when it comes to caulking new vinyl windows. Two brands I see every now and then are DAP and QUAD. DAP Alex Fast Dry Caulking, in my experience, does not adhere very well and is likely to dry out and crack. DAP does not expand and contract very well, so with movement in a house over time, it’s going to separate. It is a low-end caulking, and I would recommend something more resilient for this type of project. On the other hand, QUAD is a very good product. The only reason I prefer not to use QUAD is because it is not a water-based product. This means that you’ll have to use mineral spirits to clean up any mess, and this is not a good fit for the sponge caulking method I like to use. The back of the QUAD product also says “Do Not Tool”, which means that you’ll have to go very slow to get a nice bead and will have to get it just how you would like it on the first try out of the tube without touching or smoothing it out.

The caulking, or sealant, I like to use is Tower Sealants AU-1 from Paint Life Supply Co. It expands and contracts better, with more flexibility than QUAD and DAP. It’s a water-based product, and in my experience, it bonds better than any other product that I have used in the past. This is a great product to use with the sponge caulking method, and it fits in a standard caulking gun. It is a construction-grade sealant that will give you a good seal and is paintable. Fun fact, it was originally designed for the large gaps in concrete tilt-ups.

For the sponge caulking method, I start by getting my sponge wet in a bucket of warm water. It’s good to keep this nearby so that the sealant doesn’t get built up on the sponge - it’ll start to get messy real quick. After I wring out my sponge, I cut the tip of my caulking at a 45° angle. As long as you do not hold it sideways or up, this cut is going to make it so the caulking lays flat on the surface and help it get into the crack you are trying to fill. I apply just enough caulking to fill the gap. Too much caulking applied and you will end up wiping off a lot of sealant - it’ll end up being wasted material.

Take your time once you start. Create a nice bead and go slow to make sure you’re filling that gap. Another great feature of the AU-1 sealant is that it tools amazing - just like butter. Once I filled the gap with caulking, I wet my finger and press down just enough to where I can feel the sealant. Make sure it fills the whole gap and keep it off of your surface as much as possible. Personally, I don’t use any tools that are sold to tool caulking and sealants with. In my opinion, nothing works quite as well as padding your finger. You fingers have nerves that give you feedback that no tool will ever do.

Here’s some additional caulking tips for you!

On windows where the gaps are bigger, it’s helpful to use backer rod. It’s a flexible foam that can be placed in gaps to lessen the amount of caulking used.
When you’re caulking exteriors and it’s hot outside, you want to be aware of the weather and how fast your caulking is drying. You won’t be able to caulk very far before the caulking will start to skim over the top and not be very toolable.
Clean your caulking sponge frequently. When you get a lot of caulking built up on the sponge, it’ll get messy real quick!

Asbestos & Painting

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 22:53:08 GMT

Is Asbestos Dangerous If You Are Pregnant?

Asbestos exposure during pregnancy may subject the mother and the unborn child to health risks. The risk to the fetus is considered to be minimal, because asbestos fibers rarely enter the bloodstream.

The most important measure pregnant women can take to protect themselves and their unborn children is to avoid asbestos exposure . This can prove challenging because most people who are exposed to asbestos do not experience symptoms and may be unaware when such exposure occurs.

Can asbestos fibers reach the fetus?

A growing fetus relies on the placenta to deliver nutrients from the mother’s bloodstream, according to the Mayo Clinic. If the mother’s blood contains asbestos, then the asbestos fibers could theoretically be able to cross the placenta and enter the baby’s bloodstream.

However, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has found that this is highly unlikely . It is rare for asbestos fibers to enter the bloodstream, and even if they do, they may not necessarily cross the placenta. Some fibers are not small enough to do so.

Risks to the Unborn Child if Asbestos Crosses the Placenta

Although it’s usually considered to be unlikely, asbestos may enter the bloodstream, cross the placenta, and impact the fetus. If a fetus survives asbestos exposure in utero, the child may be born with an increased lifetime risk of developing an asbestos-related illness.

However, the rarity of this scenario creates challenges in completing definitive studies. The few studies that have been completed demonstrate that prenatal asbestos exposure can have detrimental health consequences after the child leaves the womb.

For more information: READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

Facebook Marketing

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 21:40:54 GMT

Facebook marketing for painters!

Should you advertise your painting company on Facebook? Yes, painters should definitely advertise on Facebook. Facebook is a great platform for reaching a large audience of potential customers. You can target your ads to people who are interested in painting, or who live in your area. You can also use Facebook to promote your special offers and discounts.

Here are some of the benefits of advertising on Facebook for painters:

Reach a large audience: Facebook has a massive user base, so you can reach a large audience of potential customers.
Target your ads: You can target your ads to people who are interested in painting, or who live in your area.
Promote your special offers and discounts: You can use Facebook to promote your special offers and discounts.
Track your results: You can track the results of your Facebook ads to see how well they are performing.

If you are looking for a way to reach a large audience of potential customers, Facebook is a great option for painters. With Facebook, you can target your ads to people who are interested in painting, or who live in your area. You can also use Facebook to promote your special offers and discounts.

Airless Atomization

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 21:28:50 GMT

What is airless atomization?

Airless paint sprayers work by using high pressure to force paint through a small nozzle. The paint is forced through the nozzle at such a high velocity that it breaks up into tiny droplets. These droplets are then deposited on the surface being painted.

The high pressure of the paint also helps to create a fine finish. The droplets of paint are so small that they overlap each other, creating a smooth, even coat.

Airless paint sprayers are a popular choice for professional painters because they are efficient and produce high-quality results. They are also relatively easy to use, even for beginners.

If you are in the market for an airless paint sprayer I do suggest looking into TriTech sprayers. TriTech sprayers are 100% made in the USA, are virtually plastic free, include only what is necessary, and are built to withstand jobsite abuse. I have owned and used a T4 and T9 and they performed extremely well.

BEHR DYNASTY® Interior Paint Review

rahul@itgeeksin.com (Chris Berry) — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 20:39:30 GMT

BEHR DYNASTY® Interior Paint Review

Tired of going back over your projects with a second coat as soon as you’re done? BEHR DYNASTY® Interior Paint offers a solution. Claiming to be a one coat hide in select colors, scuff and mar resistant paint-and-primer-in-1, BEHR’s top of the line paint has garnered rave reviews from lots of professional painters. Does it do what it claims it does, and should you use it for DIY or professional painting? To give you an informed opinion, we picked some up ourselves to put to the test on a bedroom so that you don’t have to.

The color we chose is a dark grey-blue with a matte finish called “City Rain.” Colors as dark as this should not cover easily. However, it would cover stains more easily, but on the can it does specify that heavy stains can bleed through and may require a second coat to fully cover up. To begin our test, we recommend this step. No matter what paint or colors you’re using, always box your separate cans into a single, larger bucket to ensure you don’t end up with any inconsistencies in your color. From our testing, BEHR DYNASTY® Interior Paint in a matte finish is also a very fast drying paint, so to keep the paint in the bucket from skimming or drying out while I painted the room, I covered the top of the bucket with a Brush Beanie and set it aside.

One nice thing about BEHR DYNASTY® Interior Paint that sets it apart from the others is that the cans are plastic. This means you won’t ever have to deal with rust at the top, which is common in metal cans. The lids also feature tops that screw off, so you don’t need to pry the entire lid off. The product also comes with a pour spout that can be fitted to the opening after unscrewing the lid. This makes it easy to pour without making a mess and dripping paint down the can.

No matter what color I’m painting with, I always do my cut-ins between the first and second coats - never have I seen or used a paint that was actually a one coat hide. After testing a small amount of the BEHR DYNASTY® Interior Paint on the wall, I determined that this may actually be a one coat paint after all, which changes my process. Instead of doing cut-ins between coats, I’m doing cut- ins first and then rolling out the wall. Since I’m a one man show, I’ll be doing one wall at a time - both cut-ins and rolling - to keep up with my paint before it dries. With a one coat hide paint, you always want to keep your roller nice and loaded.

I could tell after starting that the product has super high solids paired with quite a thin viscosity. This is great for cut-ins as long as you’re using the right brush, which shouldn’t be too stiff but it also shouldn’t be too soft. The Paint Life Brooke Paint Brush provides a good medium that worked well for me and didn’t leave any brush marks behind. It allowed me to draw a really nice line too, which is usually pretty hard to do with this color. I was worried with the thin viscosity that my cut-ins might run, particularly since I put it on nice and wet to ensure it was covered in one coat, but they hung exceptionally well and there was never an issue. The paint displayed an excellent wet hide.

If you notice the paint beginning to dry, you’ll want to roll out the wall. Letting your paint dry separately will give you lap marks and haloing. After finishing my first wall, I was pleasantly surprised; with no visible haloing, I had ended up with a nearly perfect looking wall, and with a quite difficult color to use at that. The sheen looked amazing and hid almost all the imperfections in the wall.

After two days of using BEHR DYNASTY® Interior Paint, I was very surprised and impressed with the coverage and finish of the paint. Despite worrying me with high solids and a thin viscosity, it hung extremely well even when I laid it on extremely wet. There was only a little bit of splatter, and there was some odor, but that’s because of the drying chemicals in the product. At about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, the paint had a dry time of around an hour just as the can said it would. A fast-drying time like this is great for professional painters, allowing you to get in and out quickly while not being too fast to keep up with on your own. If the room you’re painting is a bathroom or has mildew problems, BEHR DYNASTY® Interior Paint is also an antimicrobial mildew resistant product and will work well under those conditions.

I used a testing board to compare how the paint looked when applied with a brush, roller, and by daubing, and the color maintained a consistent look between each. I also used this board to test the paint’s resistance to scuffs and marring and was able to wipe any marks away with a microfiber cloth. I’m unsure of the exact rating so I can’t say how much marring is beyond the product’s ability to resist, but with light scuffing from a shoe or scraping from a small piece of metal, a microfiber cloth will clean it right up.

I’ve come across a lot of products that claim to be a one coat paint in my career, but none of them have ever truly been that. Because of this, I had my doubts, but after painting an entire bedroom with it I have to say it truly is a one coat paint. It performs and acts just as advertised and manages to provide exceptional coverage in a single coat without leaving behind any brush marks, lap marks, or haloing. BEHR DYNASTY® Interior Paint is one of the best interior paints I’ve ever used, and I would highly recommend this product for both DIY and professional painters.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/BEHRIDPAINTERBlog

A Knife Worth Carrying

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 23:07:43 GMT

For Painters, By Painters

Every now and then a tool comes along made for a painter by a painter that is a must have. I wish I could say it happens all the time but it is rare. I want to introduce Steve Enguita, a painter out of Florida who is the mastermind behind this essential tool. The 2 Edge Knife combines a utility knife and a 5-in-1 tool to make one heck of a versatile painters tool. Two tools we utilize on every job site.

Creating a tool that solves a problem while maintaining high quality is not easy, yet this tool checks both of these off. At first touch you know this is well built. The blade quickly and easily comes out to change or reverse with a push of a button. It uses standard utility blades that you can buy almost anywhere. The blade retracts simply and easily with your thumb where it rests inside the handle of the 5-in-1 tool. The 5-in-1 end is ground and polished just right. I have never lost a 2-Edge knife for several reasons.

In my career I probably have lost at least 500 5-in-1 tools for a few simple reasons. They were too light and easily drug out of my pocket when working around plants. The tools' colors were dark and not easily seen if it fell in a bush. We are constantly working around bushes doing exterior repaints so I was constantly losing the small tool. I would buy a cheap Allway 5-in-1 cause I was tired of losing expensive Hyde versions. The 2-Edge knife solved my problems by making the color bright orange. The color has always been easily seen and discovered if it was ever dislodged from my painter's pants without my knowledge. The weight also played a major role in me not losing a 2-Edge knife.

The weight of the handle portion of the tool is heavier but perfectly balanced. The heavier handle makes it much more difficult for a bush to drag it out of your pocket without you knowing. The weight makes it fall easily into your side pocket without getting hung up and falling out. Rubber handled 5-in-1 tools make it more difficult to get in and out of painters pants side pockets. The 2-Edge knife has a belt clip that is pretty cool if you want to keep it in a front pocket or clip to the outside. Not a feature I have ever used but I am sure some would love it.

The 2-Edge Knife is made with precision and made of high quality materials that should last your entire career. If you have never tried this tool it is one of my top 5 painters tools I would highly recommend. We at Paint Life Supply Co. love supporting fellow painters who have created tools to make our job faster and more efficient so you can now buy Steve's creation right in the Paint Life Store. I love a quality tool and you are going to love the 2-Edge Knife. ��

You can view more information about the 2-Edge tool here: https://paintlifesupply.com/products/2-edge-tool?_pos=1&_sid=0729ed303&_ss=r

The 2-Edge Knife is made with precision and made of high quality materials that should last your entire career.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Happy Birthday To My Father, The Idaho Painter (A.K.A.- The Best Dad Ever!)

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 22:05:25 GMT

Happy Birthday To My Dad, The Idaho Painter

Hello to all you, our Paint Life family. How is your week and even your month been like?

The Paint Life Crew has had a very busy month that has been packed with many exciting announcements and some very stressful announcements as well. We have all been very excited to share with you what we have been working on for the last three years and the response from you all has been very overjoying.

Today is The Idaho Painter, (A.K.A) Chris Berry, (A.K.A) my father’s birthday. Birthdays have always been a big deal in our family as early as I can remember and today I am sitting at work reflecting on my life being and having the privilege of being the daughter of “The Idaho Painter”.

The day the palette arrived at our store with the “Brooke Brushes” I was sitting at my desk, which faces Chris’ desk with both our monitors hiding our faces. I remember seeing our delivery driver pull up and we were guessing what was on the palette. Chris and I walk out to start to unload these palettes with over 360 brushes loaded on it, unsure where we would fit all these brushes in our 2,500 sq ft store. (With no more room to fit anything). We are up to our nose in products at our store right now.

I was scratching my head, contemplating… so stressed about this delivery. I did not know how we would fit all these boxes into our back room while I watched Chris, just start unpacking 60 boxes all at once. At that moment I thought, “how do you just work so hard when you're overwhelmed with so much on your plate?”

I said, “So how does this feel?” as I watched him unboxing the 3” Brooke Brush packages. He then holds it up to me and explains how he would've never thought this would be him with his eyes welling up.

Today, many people know Chris’ story of being a business owner and just one day starting to post videos on YouTube? And then all the sudden he arrived here… to become the biggest YouTube painting channel in the world and become the CEO of a successful retail painting online and brick & mortar store. Not many people know or even realize what it took for him to get here? But I do, his daughter, the youngest of three and now his Procurement Specialist/Content Creator. I am here to tell my story of Christopher Troy Berry as I have lived it.

My dad has had many jobs but the only job I can remember is being a painter. I remember in preschool there was a Thanksgiving party and parents were allowed to come. My dad stopped work to make it to my kindergarten party. I remember all the other parents had suits and business casual dress on while my dad was dressed in his painting clothes with paint scattering his clothes, I didn’t care. I was proud that he was there. Flash forward to my dance days. I had so many dance recitals, performances, competitions and every single one my dad was there, in all white cheering me on. No matter what dance I did that day my dad showed up videoed and cheered me on. He could probably recite the dances because he watched every single one, hundreds of times over. Through traveling to my state and national competitions my dad came. We didn’t have much growing up, but my dad always made sure we sure felt like we did. Through three girls, all being involved in multiple sports, through high school into college, he showed up and was there to provide and support us.

Not many people saw the days of Chris working 14 hour+ hour days, but I did and still do. It all started with this tiny little camera, my dad would take pictures and film us all on until one day he stood in front of the camera and started talking to the camera. My mom and I would watch from our living room window of my dad in the backyard speaking to this little camera and we would giggle and try not to mess him up. We didn’t understand what he was doing but we never doubted him.

Chris is a night owl. In the days of owning his painting company he would be up until 3am-4am working on editing and creating his social media platforms. The next day he would wake up around 6am-8am and go to work with his painting crew. I would ask him why he is working so much and he would always answer with he just has a feeling this is what he needs to do. Being young I never fully understood, but I did comprehend what it meant to work hard. I witnessed first-hand the hard work, commitment and sacrifice right in front of my own eyes and daily.

It has close to 12 years since “The Idaho Painter” was created and the what I witnessed in the beginning days of this journey has stuck with me. I recall how my friends and I would always play with my dad's lighting and filming equipment not understanding how much money goes into all this equipment (the child brain). My friends would always laugh and not understand why my dad was calling himself “The Idaho Painter” and it would be a joke (good friends huh?). Even through the confusion and doubt he felt by his family and crew he still persisted. When he felt uncomfortable and awkward filming with people around, he never quit. The natural and easy going guy you see today was not who he once was, he worked to get there.

Through every trial and error, I never saw my dad give up or lose faith. Every time someone asks him for the best piece of advice for their own business he answers, “never give up if something goes wrong,” or “the only difference between a journeyman and apprentice is a journeyman can fix anything.” These were always just words to me with no meaning. I didn’t understand what it meant to ‘never give up on your goals’ until I became an adult. With 21 years of my dad teaching me the same lesson I am finally understanding what that truly means. I now understand the amount of frustrations as well as the mountains he had to climb and still climbs to make a name for himself and provide for his family. It has never been easy and it was never given to him, every ounce of it was worked for and earned.

So, to tell you a little bit more about who The Idaho Painter is, the man that you see on your phones is the most selfless, honest, and genuine man you’ll ever meet. His mission and entire goal with starting his business is to “Educate, Empower and Equip”. May sound cheesy, I know I had to throw this in there, but it is true. Chris has always wanted to help others and give back to his community. He has walked in everyone elses shoes, he has lived 100 different lives and from that experience his goal is to not let anyone have to go through what he did. He wants to help you avoid mistakes or if you need help he wants to help you succeed.

You never see the hustle, you always see the end result. I feel extremely blessed to have been able to see ALL of the hustle and ALL of the hard work that my dad has invested. Simple and plainly, the long strenuous hours that kept him up at night and overworking is how he got to where he is today. Through all of his the trials and errors in life, my dad never gave up on his dreams. His dreams to not only own the most successful painting company in Idaho, but to be able to provide his family with jobs that could turn into careers for others. My relationship with my dad has gone through many different seasons. From dad to hero, to friend, and now to boss. I have seen every side of my father and I could not be more amazed with the man that taught me and raised me.

If you have made it this far. I hope you see a glimpse of who my dad is a little bit more and understand who he is. Finally, to my dad, thank you for providing for our family. Thank you for never giving up on me and believing in me. Thank you for always working hard and becoming who you are today. It is extremely rewarding seeing your successes and working alongside you.

You are my hero, you are my sidekick, you are my best friend and through it all you I am honored to call you my dad.

I love you, Happy birthday.

It all started with this tiny little camera, my dad would take pictures and film us all on, until one day he stood in front of the camera and started talking to you with the camera at himself.

Afton Berry - The Idaho Painters Daughter

Wagner Smart Roller Review

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 20:50:32 GMT

Innovation in painting tools will probably never end in the commercial painting industry;

Anything from brushes, to rollers, to sprayers and onward. Any product that can be used to save time and/or increase quality is a worthwhile addition to a painter’s toolkit. Unfortunately, with the Wagner Smart Roller, these traits are lacking.

For this review I am using the base model of the Wagner Smart roller that I purchased from my local hardware store for $25.99. The roller itself works as advertised, but it not clear whether its a professional or DIY tool. It has a long tube that can be manually filled with paint and then pushed out through the perforated roller cover so you don’t have to keep visiting your paint tray to reload. That being said, this model does still have a few practical issues in its use.

To start, it has a much longer preparation time than the standard paint roller. It must be assembled before use, which is pretty simple if you follow the directions, although still much longer than your standard paint roller. I also found that to get the roller cover fully loaded you have to use nearly the full capacity of the paint tube, meaning you will undoubtedly have a delayed start when using the smart roller. Similarly, when you are finished with your job there is an added cleanup time to ensure that your Smart Roller doesn’t get clogged before the next time you go to use it. The recommend lube, a nasty petroleum jelly, to keep the roller running properly is extremely messy and very difficult to remove from your hands. This was the worst part of the entire experience

I used the Smart Roller to paint a hallway and found that it was very tricky to hit the entire surface of the wall due to the long plunger coming out of the back of the tube. The length of the roller means that unless you have a large open space, you will likely be hitting the floor and ceiling if you are trying to roll and lay out your paint vertically. I was able to get around this by rolling horizontally in the portions I couldn’t reach but there is no way to decrease the length of the roller as it is a symptom of its core function. Another issue that this design leads to is the product is much heavier than a normal paint roller as you are literally carrying a loaded tube of paint through your project. For any larger project, you will have to end up taking more breaks and the product will take a larger physical toll on you than a standard roller. Hopefully you are fit enough to use this device.

These problems on their own aren’t terrible, but the real issues start when the issues combine. The added preparation and cleanup that this product adds means it will be less efficient for smaller projects where you won’t cut down as much painting time. And the added weight of the roller makes it harder to endure large projects that make the preparation and cleanup time worthwhile. The device simply does not work in hallways or closets. I would not generally recommend this product to any professionals nor many Do-it-yourselfers, however if you have a mid-sized project with a lot of open space, or if you want to combine your workouts with your projects, then this product could save you some time.

if you are looking for a professional version of an inner feed roller that truly saves time and makes a professional painter money, I would recommend the Titan Inner Feed Roller Kit ( https://paintlifesupply.com/products/inner-feed-roller-kit?_pos=4&_sid=7cfc36727&_ss=r ) available on PaintLifeSupply.com.

I used the Smart Roller to paint a hallway and found that it was very tricky to hit the entire surface of the wall due to the long plunger coming out of the back of the tube.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

What Is A 2K Poly?

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 02:53:40 GMT

2K Polys Are Changing...

Cabinet refinishing is still a rapidly growing segment in the repaint industry. The repaint industry is in need of coatings for cabinets that look like factory finishes, are easy to apply, are cost effective, and in the end help painters make money.

In order to make money repainting cabinets many resort to solvent based coatings because they dry extremely fast, sand easy, have short recoat times, have factory like finishes, and all this equates to making money for the professional painter. The drawbacks are two major factors including very strong odors and the serious risk of explosion. I had been using these coatings for 15 years with these risks. This is no longer the case since I was introduced to waterborne 2K polyurethanes.

Besides solvent based coatings, there are many coatings in the wood finish industry that have a wide range of results from time consuming to use, difficult to sand and, long cure times to name a few. This makes repainting cabinets frustrating, inefficient, and not very profitable. One type of coating that is gaining popularity as it resolves many, if not all, of the frustrations when painting cabinets. You may have heard the term 2K poly and wondered what the heck is that. The term 2K poly references a product that is a 2 component polyurethane. We will be talking about a waterborne 2K poly.

I have discovered a product that has taken my cabinet refinishing to the next level. Renner makes a product line called 851 which is a waterborne 2K poly. The beauty of this product is that you can add additives that greatly increase the coatings bonding capability, hardness, chemical resistance, and make it look and feel superior to other products. You can add a crosslinker or a catalyst which then makes the coating a 2K coating short for two component coating cause you are adding something to the paint. What this product is capable of is being used straight out of the can which is referred to in the finishing world as 1K or short for single component. This is because nothing is being added to this paint other than tint if you want a color other than clear or white.

One additive is a crosslinker which adds more chemical resistance to the coating. Another additive you can add is a catalyst also known as a hardener. This makes it not only more chemical resistant, but it also gives it superior bonding capability, makes the coating significantly harder, and it gives the coating a soft buttery look and feel.

Renner has a primer that can be paired with 851. The primer is 2 component primer because you add a catalyst to it. It gives superior bonding capabilities and it also stops die migration and tannin bleed and I have found there is no spray on primer better for filling wood grain. I have coupled it with one coat of Aqua Coat and 2 coats of the primer, and I got 100% fill of oak wood grain along with a perfectly flat finish.

One reason I switched over from lacquers to Renner 851 2K poly was because I was terrified of the inherent explosion risks. I felt like painting cabinets was just a ticking time bomb. What I quickly realized is that the 851 Series coatings dried almost as fast as lacquer, sands just as easy, has shorter cure times, has quick stack times, (ability to flip and set on drying racks if spraying lying down or transporting doors), have a low odor, and had a look and feel no other coating can match.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM USING A 2K POLY

I have learned from my experience that 851 dries in 45 minutes to 1 hour and it can be sanded with ease using a 3x4 Ekasand Sander with 320 grit FilmTek (sander found at Paint Life Supply Co.). You can literally spray 3-4 coats and sand in between coats in one day. The product cures in 8 hours when 2K (catalyzed) 12 hours 1K. I have been able to transport or handle with ease without scratching, scuffing, or maring the doors.

I catalyze 851 and the primer using 15% hardener or crosslinker. I determined this amount by simply using a calculator and multiplying the number of ounces of paint by 15%. A gallon of paint is 128 ounces. So 128 x 15 % = 19.2. So I add 19 ounces of hardener to the paint. A quart of paint is 128 ounces / 4. Paint stores including Paint Life Supply Co. carry convenient measuring cups with ounce marks. Simply measure out 19 ounces and slowly pour it into the paint while stirring with a wood stir stick and that is how the paint becomes catalyzed.

One thing that is extremely important to know is when a product is catalyzed it now has a pot life. A pot life means the product can no longer be used after that pot life, because it rapidly begins to harden. The pot life is 5 hours for 851 and 3 hours for the primer; therefore, your sprayer needs to be cleaned out before the pot life expires. You must pay close attention to the time you catalyzed and the time you need to clean. I write down the time I catalyzed and the time I need to start cleaning my pump out. Environmental factors do change pot life slightly so be aware. Heat shortens the pot life sometimes by 30 minutes. If catalyzed paint hardens in your pump it is ruined forever.

A crosslinker has a pot life, but it does not have a hardener that makes the product unusable or ruin your pump. A crosslinker is not a hardener. Crosslinkers added to paint do not harden and will not make the paint unusable when expired, but the crosslinker in the paint is no longer effective at adding chemical resistance after expiration. The beauty of a crosslinker is that you can re-crosslink the paint after expiration.

Crosslinking and catalyzing paint is simple and the fears are quickly overcome after the first use. I highly encourage you to make your cabinet painting process faster, more efficient, and more profitable, by using Renner 2K poly 851 Series coatings. These coatings will give you confidence in your product and you will be giving your customer the very best the industry has to offer.

I have discovered a product that has taken my cabinet refinishing to the next level. Renner USA makes a product line called 851 series which is a waterborne 2K poly.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Mineral Spirits vs Paint Thinner

Sat, 02 Oct 2021 00:49:30 GMT

Mineral Spirits vs Paint Thinner

To clarify, paint thinner is simply an overall term for any solvent that is used to thin paint or to remove paint from brushes, rollers, and other painting tools. Examples of paint thinners include turpentine, acetone, naphtha, toluene, and, of course, mineral
spirits. Mineral spirits stand apart from many other paint thinners in terms of its toxicity and ease of handling.

Know the Difference

Mineral spirits are simply a type of paint thinner, mineral spirits paint thinner has characteristics that distinguish it from other products such as turpentine or acetone. Unfortunately paint thinner is used on labels that are referring to mineral spirits in a less refined form.

What is Mineral Spirits?

Mineral spirits is a heavily refined distillation of petroleum that is used to thin oil-based paints and to clean brushes and rollers.

The Pros: Mineral spirits are less toxic than other paint thinners. In general, mineral spirits are less smelly than alternative products, and an odorless version is available, as well. Paint thinned with mineral spirits dries to a smoother, more even finish.

The Cons: Mineral spirits is often more expensive than alternative paint thinners. Mineral spirits are not suitable for use with latex paint. While not as abrasive as some cleaners, mineral spirits are a mild irritant.

What is Paint Thinner?

Paint thinners are solvents used to thin oil-based paint and to clean brushes and other painting tools. Turpentine is distilled from the resin of trees, mainly pine. Acetone is an organic chemical, while naphtha is a hydrocarbon mixture. So what is a can labeled “Paint Thinner”. This is where we are being confused by the vendors. “Paint Thinner” is mineral spirits, but in a less refined form. It contains other types of solvents, which makes it a lot smellier and more volatile. Mineral spirits are not as stinky.

The Pros: Non-mineral spirits paint thinners tend to be cheaper than mineral spirits. Paint thinners such as turpentine have stronger solvency than mineral spirits Turpentine will remove dried paint, whereas mineral spirits removes only wet paint

The Cons: Paint thinners have very strong fumes and should be used in well-ventilated areas. Many paint thinners are highly flammable. It can be a hassle to properly dispose of paint thinners.

Mineral spirits are less toxic

Mineral spirits are heavily refined during production to reduce toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sulfur. In the case of odor-free mineral spirits, which are readily available in home centers, these toxic compounds have been completely eliminated! These solvents allow homeowners with kids or pets to rest easy, knowing they aren’t introducing as many harmful pollutants into the home during paint projects. Many other paint thinners, on the other hand, are minimally refined during production, resulting in a solvent that retains most of its original toxic VOCs like toluene and benzene.

Mineral spirits are less smelly

While mineral spirits and other paint thinners all emit an unpleasant kerosene-like odor due to the VOCs they contain, the lower VOC content in mineral spirits means its odor is less potent (or nonexistent in the case of odor-free mineral spirits). Meanwhile, other paint thinners come with a more noxious odor that takes a while to air out. Smelly or not, do-it-yourselfers should wear a respirator and work in a well-ventilated area when handling any solvent since fumes can negatively affect respiratory health if inhaled in high enough concentrations.

Paint thinner is cheaper.

A gallon of mineral spirits goes for $10 on average, and odor-free mineral spirits costs on the order of $15 per gallon—nearly double the cost of many paint thinners at $8 per gallon. Mineral spirits require extra energy to purify and achieve a more refined content, accounting for its higher average cost. Meanwhile, the less labor-intensive production process for other paint thinners turns out a less-refined composition at a lower cost. Now that cost differential may seem significant at first blush, but it’s minimal in the scheme of things.

Any type of paint thinner can be used to dissolve paint from brushes or rollers or too thin overly viscous paint. But here, too, mineral spirits is more desirable. It boasts a slower rate of evaporation, and paint thinned with mineral spirits dries into a slightly smoother, more level coat on surfaces than paint thinned with faster-evaporating paint thinner.

Mineral spirits is a heavily refined distillation of petroleum that is used to thin oil-based paints and to clean brushes and rollers.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Fireplace Makeover

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 17:01:56 GMT

How to Make a Fireplace Look New Again

Re-decorating your fireplace doesn’t have to be a costly affair. Lots of times, painters can create a professional finish on a fireplace for less than half of the cost and effort that it would take to tear out and put in a new one. I’d like to share my tips and tricks that I’ve learned from my years of knowledge in the painting business to help you create that fireplace of your dreams. For this project I have a outdated 12’X12” tile fireplace with 2” decorative tile. I am going to do a venetian plaster over the tiles and metallic finish over the 2” tile.

Firstly, you’re going to need a few different pieces of equipment. You need the Venetian Plaster of your choice, Metallic paint finish, FrogTape, drop cloths, a ladder if your fireplace has hard to reach areas on top, a putty knife, and a few troughs of varying sizes. I use a venetian plaster compression trowel and a flex trowel.

Place your drop cloths on the ground next to the fireplace to prevent any spilling from the paint or the plaster. Tape up any cords from that can’t be taken down against the wall so that no paint or plaster gets on them. Using FrogTape is ideal because FrogTape won’t take the paint off of walls but is still strong enough to hold the cables in place.

You want to make sure that if you have any grout lines that you don’t want to get any plaster into them. We want our grout lines to look natural. Start with the top of the fireplace, if it has an area up top, make sure to use a ladder if need be so that you can reach all the hard to reach places. We are going to start troweling on our plaster with our flex trowel. You can watch our video on Paint Life TV for the exact technique and process.

After that, you want to move onto the large areas of tile that your fireplace has. Make sure that you don’t fill any of the lines with plaster, you want to make sure that you don’t push any of the plaster into the lines or else you’ll end up ruining the texture of the lines. I use a water-based vinyl Venetian Plaster, not lime based, and I recommend these to you as well.

Once your first coat of the plaster is dry you can work on the second layer. This layer will give you more depth and color out of it. For the next coats, you just want to skim what you’ve already done, no need to do anything fancy. Make sure to clean your putty knives and troughs as you go along so that buildup doesn’t accumulate on them. The plaster will often stick to them and it can be hard to get them off if left on for too long.

A big part of making big projects go by faster is utilizing your time correctly. While a coat of the plaster is drying, you can paint any of the small areas with a metallic finish of your choice. I like using metallic finishes because it gives a more professional looking finish. You want to do brush strokes in random directions so that it gives you the metallic look, otherwise it won’t look textured if you just brush in one direction.

Once everything is dry, the final stage of polishing can begin. I have an industrial sander Ekasand I’ll use for the big areas and a block sander to get the small areas that the big sander can’t get to. After that, compress it all with a finishing compressing trough.

Finally, the project is complete. This is a simple and cheaper way to completely redo a fireplace in half the time and cost that it would to put in new tile. Tile stores often have a limited selection of what you can purchase, but using these types of materials and techniques, you can replicate anything there and more! The Plaster and Metallic coatings are very forgiving materials and easy to use, so it’s hard to make a mistake that’s permanent. If you have any interest in the materials and tools that I use, check out my store at paintlifesupply.com . You can watch my video on the project also here .

I use a water-based vinyl Venetian Plaster, not lime based, and I recommend these to you as well.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Cabinet Bidding - The "Ins & Outs" Of Estimating

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 21:36:43 GMT

How to Bid Cabinets

Throughout my career one of the questions that I get asked the most by professional painters and those trying to make their way into the trade is how do I bid? This is an incredibly important part of the process as it’s the first step in any paying paint job and it’s how you can distinguish yourself from your competition. Today I will be sharing my own process for bidding cabinets that I have crafted and revised over my 20-year painting career. I also have my own bid packets and painting business documents available for purchase on my store, to give you another step up over your competition during the bidding process with a professional looking bid packet you can hand your bids over in.

The very first step in the process of bidding cabinets is count up the doors and drawers that are in the project. I have a fixed price for doors and drawers that I use as the baseline for my bidding process. The base price that I use for my cabinet bids is $105 per drawer and $135 for door (USD). Usually a lot of kitchens cabinets will have side panels as well that need painted so I will also have that in my base price and will just break up the side panels size with relative how many door fronts it is. I will add up my doors, drawers, and side panels find out my base price off of that, but the process rarely stops there.

Most jobs will also have additional add-ons that will increase the overall price of the bid and I’ll go over a few common ones that I run into later, but I want to talk about how to talk to the customer about these add-ons. When going out to bid any cabinet job I prefer to do it in person so I can have an in-depth conversation with the customer about their expectations of the finished project. I cannot stress enough how important this part of the process is because it will translate into customer satisfaction if those expectations are properly met; and customer satisfaction is the key to more recommendations.

The number one requested add-on that I will get when talking to the customer is grain filling. A lot of the older cabinets we see, like oak, are grainy and meant to be lacquered or stained keeping their natural wood grain, but if you’re planning on painting them it really looks best if you grain fill them first. This is an incredibly time-consuming process however, so I make sure to charge accordingly. This is an add-on that also follows the per drawer or door pricing that is an addition $20 per door/drawer which includes doing the face framing as well.

Another common add-on I see is knotty-alder cabinets, which are alder cabinets that have large knots in them that tend to not look great if they are painted while not filled as they will cast dark shadows making your cabinets look unfinished. This process is really similar to grain filling but doesn’t require as much labor since you’re only filling the knots and not the whole face of the cabinet. I will typically charge an additional $10 per door or drawer for knot elimination. Of course, if I’m working on a set of cabinets where only some drawers had knots and some didn’t, I would only charge for the drawers that do have knots. Sometimes a customer will want to eliminate or relocate the holes where the knobs or handles used to be, which will require you to fill the old holes and is quite a bit of extra work. I have a flat fee of $250 for a set of kitchen cabinets for this.

Something I haven’t run into very often, but still comes up on occasion is customers asking for multiple colors in a single project. Some customers will want their island different than their cabinets, or their top and bottom cabinets different colors. While at first this doesn’t sound like a lot of extra work; it is still reloading paint, cleaning rollers, and ordering more paint which is costing your company more time and labor. For this I have a flat fee of $200 per additional color.

Working with recess panel doors you will occasionally run into a situation where the customer will ask you to caulk the door. While the debate of should you caulk or not caulk cabinet doors is a whole entire discussion in itself that I have a video on that I suggest you watch before considering doing it; I do have an additional price I charge for it which is $10 per door or drawer. Doors with inserted glass panels do often show up in my bids and they are a huge extra liability and I will charge $30 extra for each door that has insert glass in it.

Another rare case that I will run into is customers actually wanting the insides of the “box” sprayed, as in the actual inside of where the doors and drawers come from. This is an incredibly difficult thing to do as it’s a tight space and difficult to work in and get 100% coverage. Due to this extra hassle I like to charge $30 per door or drawer to paint the insides of the cabinets.

A quick tip: a lot of the time they are white melamine and I would highly suggest not painting it but if the customer is adamant that you paint them you need to use a heavy duty primer like X-I-M UMA to help your paint stick.

In summation my bidding process is as follows:

Base Price:

# of Doors x $115

# of Drawers x $95

Grain Filling:

$20 x Number of Doors/Drawer

Filling Knotty Alder:

$10 x Number of Doors/Drawers

Caulking Recess Panels:

$10 x Number of Doors/Drawers

Glass Inserted Panels:

$30 x Number of Doors/Drawers

Painting Insides of Cabinets:

$30 x Number of Doors/Drawers

Filling Knob or Handle Holes:

$250 Flat Rate

My final piece of advice is again to remember the human element of the process, while my process has worked for me in my situation and my area it might not work for everybody everywhere. While in all of my bidding processes I have fixed prices that I use as a starting point for my bids I always like to leave some room for the human element. Sometimes you will get to a job and realize it is going to be a lot more work than what you would normally do, and you need to adjust your price accordingly for those special circumstances. This can work inversely as well where a job can be a lot easier than your typical cabinet job and you can bring your estimate down to be more competitive knowing that it's going to take less labor to finish. I would use what I have presented in this article as a baseline for you to figure out your own rates and remember nothing has to be concrete. If you are without of a lot of jobs that month and need extra money you can lower your bids to ensure more work, and the opposite if you’re too busy to do all the jobs you have coming in. And don’t forget that location is another huge part of things, so try and get a sense of the going rates in your area and prepare to adjust according to what those around you are doing. Hopefully this information you will find helpful in furthering your painting business and help you win more bids. Keep on rolling.

While in all of my bidding processes I have fixed prices that I use as a starting point for my bids I always like to leave some room for the human element.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Painting Chalky Surfaces

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 18:57:41 GMT

Painting Chalky Surfaces

Chalky surfaces can be a painters worst enemy, making paint adhere to it could become incredibly difficult without the proper preparation before paint even hits the surface. Today I am gonna talk about the couple of options you have to correctly painting a chalky surface and making your paint adhere to it for years to come. And how do you tell if you have a chalky surface? Simply rub your hand across the face of the surface and if you have a chalk like substance stuck to your hand you have a chalky surface you need to take care of.

The first step that I will take in any chalky situation, or really any paint job I do for that matter, is to pressure wash the surface a day or two before I paint. Paint will always adhere better to a clean surface than a dirty one. I will always pressure wash with a rotating nozzle which will agitate what’s on the surface of your project and clean it more effetely that a straight for flat shot nozzle alone. I personally don’t like using any chemicals when I pressure wash and I find water alone works well to get me the results I’m looking for 90% of the time.

However my past couple of jobs that I’ve had to do this summer have had some chalky surfaces that wouldn’t clean off with just pressure washing alone or I wasn’t able to get a pressure washer to the location. If this is the case with your project you have a couple different options. If the surface is rather small like a metal door or a set of metal doors I would suggest cleaning the surface with Krud Kutter and a wet rag, you’d be surprised with how much substance you will get off of the door with just that alone. Once you’ve gone over it with the Krud Kutter you want to make sure you rinse the surface off of contaminants just with water, then dry it off with a dry rag.

The final and most effective thing you can use is a product called Emulsa Bond . I’ve been using Emulsa Bond for 20 years now and it is a product specifically designed to help paint adhere to difficult surfaces. It works on metal, wood, aluminum, plywood, hardwood, and concrete so it can be used in nearly every painting situation where you’d run into chalky surfaces. It goes into the paint at a ratio of 1 quart per gallon of paint, just dump it in stir it and it's good to go, it's an incredibly fast and easy process. It can be rolled, brushed, or sprayed without changing the final product of the paint. Of course the quality of paint you use is always going to be a factor and the better the paint the better it will penetrate and adhere to any surfaces its applied too.

In conclusion, painting chalky surfaces is a challenge, there’s no doubt about that, but it’s something that a well equip painter can handle, you just need to plan for the extra prep and product you’ll need to conquer it. Hopefully the tips and tricks I shared with you can help you next time you run into a difficult situation. Stay educated and stay equipped!

I personally don’t like using any chemicals when I pressure wash and I find water alone works well to get me the results I’m looking for 90% of the time.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Airless Pump Maintenance

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 02:17:16 GMT

Lube Your Pumps

Maintaining your airless pump is important to keep them running and save you money from premature repairs and failures. One form of maintenance is lubing the piston (displacement rod) on airless pumps with piston style fluid sections. Diaphragm style pumps are significantly different than the piston counterparts. When you buy an airless sprayer, that is a piston pump, it will come with a lubricant that is in a bottle. It is important that you use this lubricant regularly. The pump is one of the most important components of a sprayer and lubricants extend the life or the pump and assure it will be ready to use when you need it.

The purpose of this lubricant is to prevent paint from drying on the pump displacement rod for some products and lubricating for others. I refer to it as a lubricant but in reality some products do more than lubricating the piston and packings, they also keep paint from drying on the piston and packings which can damage the packings.

The lubricants are formulated to blend with the paint and prevent it from drying. There are two lubricants I will talk about and those are TSL (throat seal liquid) from Graco and Piston Lube from Titan. TSL, is a lubricant developed by Graco for their pumps that is unique in that it will not cause blemishes in your finish if applied to latex or solvent-based paint. Piston Lube was developed by Titan to do essentially the same but it is slightly different than Graco’s TSL.

These lubricants should not be replaced by such common lubricants as motor oil or mineral oil because they can cause fish eyes, runs, and can discolor the finish if dripped into the paint or used in place of piston lube.

Different brands of airless sprayers generally require their own specific fluids, so make sure you always use the fluid recommended by the manufacturer. TSL and Piston Lube prevent solvent and latex based paint and coatings from drying onto the displacement rod and packings, extending the life of the pump.

TSL is a mild acid based liquid whose purpose is not to keep packings lubricated, but to prevent debris, paint and dust from drying on the piston. The TSL formulation is a proprietary blend including phthalic acid esters (phthalate ester, phthalic acid esters, tricresyl phosphate, white mineral oil)

TSL keeps the paint soft and forms a lubricating film on the displacement rod. TSL is specifically formulated to protect the piston and packing from corrosion and drying out keeping your sprayer functioning as designed.

Premature throat seal leakage and packing wear can occur when TSL is not used in the pump wet cup. A thin film of paint can accumulate on the pump displacement rod while the pump is running. When the pump is not being used and the displacement rod is exposed to air the film of paint on the rod can dry and harden. When paint has dried on the displacement rod and the pump is restarted, the throat packings are damaged and will begin to leak.

Titan piston lube is a highly refined petroleum oil 99.5%. Titan piston lube is specifically designed to lube the pistons and prevent wear on all of the piston parts, packings and throat housing.

I have been asked in the past if Graco TSL will damage Titan packings. I did some research on this subject and actually spoke to a Graco engineer. I was told that some of the ingredients in TSL can actually damage packings of low grade airless sprayers as the packings are made with cheap seals that will deteriorate when they come in contact with TSL. However, the Graco engineer stated that Titan packings will not be affected by TSL because the seals are made with high grade materials.

I have in the past received some real cheap airless sprayers to test and they had no form of lubrication. Pumps like Dino Q6 simply do not last for more than a handful of hours due to the lack of lubrication. So if you are searching for a pump that will last you may want to stay away from DIY sprayers requiring no lubrication.

To prevent premature throat packing wear, fill the pump wet cup full with TSL for Graco and Piston Lube for Titan. All pumps have some location where the lubricant is squirted or added that fills the upper reservoir where the piston goes through the upper packing. This is referred to as the wet cup. Periodically wipe out the wet cup and put in fresh TSL or Piston Lube. There you have a few tips to keep your investment up and running making you money. To watch my up close videos on pump maintenance and repair visit my YouTube channel Paint Life TV HERE

Visit us on YouTube Paint Life TV for my tips, tricks, and painting hacks. Visit our Paint Life store for game changing tools, Paint Life apparel, and gifts for your favorite painter HERE .

The pump is one of the most important components of a sprayer and lubricants extend the life or the pump and assure it will be ready to use when you need it.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

My Man Card

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 15:32:34 GMT

Decorative Finishes Are Back!

I recently posted a video on Instagram applying a metallic coating from Boero, who is a supplier of decorative coatings from Italy. Probably not shocking but interestingly enough one comment from a follower insinuated that I should be stripped of my man card. That’s funny but unfortunately there are those who actually believe that. Why is the decorative coatings industry predominantly women? Why is the organization IDLA 90% women? My question to the individual who wrote that comment, or anyone who believes that is “do you like making money?”

Well I owned my own business painting residential homes for 18 years and one of my main goals was to make money. Unfortunately I had the opportunity to teach and apply the faux finishes of the old days by Ralph Lauren and it left a negative taste in my mouth. These finishes were hard to install, burnished easy, did not touch up well, and were over priced to name a few. Because of my experiences with Ralph Lauren coatings I decided to pass on any faux finish work that came my way. Little did I know I was passing on very profitable work. I was also turning down work that was satisfying to do.

One of my passions is making things look new and beautiful again. I was recently introduced to Boero coatings which completely changed my perception of faux finishes. Watch my video applying metallic suede HERE . Ed Mattingly, of Boero , properly informed me that these finishes are now referred to as decorative coatings and no longer faux finishes. I definitely like this term better but I am fine with either one. I have now gotten excited about these finishes and the opportunity that they bring. What I am most excited about is how I can now create amazing wall finishes that bring joy to my customers but also allow me to be creative and artistic.

What I also realized is that there are few decorative artists out there creating a demand and of course highly profitable margins to go along with that demand. Have I turned in my man card now since I have laid down my spray gun and traded it for a sea sponge roller? Some may think so but I am perfectly content with doing so. What I quickly realized is that applying Boero decorative coatings are far less labor intensive and demanding on my body. What this translates to is a longer career in painting and decorating and less pain in my knees, back, and neck. I can now roll up to the jobsite in a polo shirt, carrying in my suit case of tools, and go to work creating amazing finishes.

I no longer need to roll up in three vans full of sprayers and everything that goes with that to complete a paint job. Don’t get me wrong, I still love painting and will still take on painting jobs but it is nice to know I have a skill, craft, and trade that is added to my companies services making me a more well rounded painter. Check out my video on how simple it is to apply Boero metallic grit HERE . One very important part that so many fail to see is that this is a service that can be offered in the winter when so many painters find it challenging to source or get work. Glitz, glamour, metallics, and grains can be fun to apply.

Just sitting in my Academy and making sample boards using metallic grit , metallic suede , venetian plaster, and combinations of all of them is relaxing and enjoyable. You can simply let your mind wander or look at a picture in a magazine of some substrate and try to replicate it with Boero SRT, WRGP, venetian plaster, glazes, paints and more.

If you have not taken a class on applying decorative coatings I encourage you to do so. No one is going to ask you to wear a kilt and no one is going to ask for your man card at the entrance. Decorative coatings will put a smile on your face and of course you can make lots of money applying them. I’m going to bring sexy back to painting and bring back decorator to the title of painter. I am now a Painter and Decorator in the great USA. Visit our website for our next Paint Life Decorative Coatings Course .

You can visit our Paint Life store for cool gifts for your favorite painters, Paint Life apparel, and get game changing tools for all your painting jobs. Enter store HERE .

One of my passions is making

things look new and beautiful again.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Painting While Pregnant

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 17:26:40 GMT

Is Painting Harmful to Unborn Children?

Pregnant and still trying to paint? I have some professional advice and concerns you should read before doing so. The saying better safe then sorry really applies here. We need to protect and take care of the unborn, this is our inherent responsibility. “There are basically three categories of paint which pregnant women could be exposed to latex, oil, and enamel. The degree of toxicity during pregnancy is challenging to predict because there are currently no methods of measuring actual exposure. The likelihood of paint toxicity depends on the chemicals and solvents found in the paint along with the amount of exposure.” (American Pregnancy Association). With the constant changing of paint formulations due to EPA regulations how do we know?

According to the CDC, latex or water based paints pose no reproductive risks. Additionally, the short term exposure to paint fumes during pregnancy is generally considered safe. The key here is short term exposure. The greatest risk of any harm to your growing baby seems to be in the first trimester. Beyond that, most experts don’t see a problem with pregnant women painting. What concerns me here is the statement “generally considered safe”. So if your baby is born with any health issues do to paint fumes and someone said “it was generally considered safe”? How would you feel?

During pregnancy it's best to avoid unnecessary exposure to any chemicals whether it is paint, a medication, cleaning agent or any harmful chemicals. When it comes to some of these simple ingredients just use common sense of what you think will be okay to spray and what may not be okay. You cannot undo exposure nor undo something you breathed in so avoid the toxins as much as possible. For more information on the specific toxins or chemicals that you may be handling check out sources like the FDA and CDC websites listed below.

It is your body and your choice on what you expose yourself and your baby to but remember, think risk versus benefit. According to the CDC, “latex or water based paints pose no reproductive risks. Additionally, the short term exposure to paint fumes during pregnancy is generally considered safe. The key here is short term exposure. The greatest risk of any harm to your growing baby seems to be in the first trimester. Beyond that, most experts don’t see a problem with pregnant women painting."

How important is it that you paint that room? If there is no risk the answer is easy. If you feel there is any risk, you'll will need to ask yourself if its worth it. Remember, you can't undo exposure so if you're having uneasy thoughts and second guessing yourself just take the safe road and wait until you are comfortable. Here is some more information and sources you can look into about the safety and precautions you should know when doing this line of work pregnant.

What about lead? Lead can be found in: Paint and dust in older homes, especially dust from renovation or repairs. I have videos on how to quickly and easily test for lead based paint Click Here . If you are pregnant do not do any sanding or disturbing of lead based paints. Some may be curious what effects lead has on our newborn babies? Here are a few: can damage your baby’s brain, kidneys, and nervous system as well as cause your child to have learning or behavior problems.

Visit the Paint Life Store to purchase our apparel, gifts for painters and game changing tools approved by the Paint Life Crew Click Here to enter the store.

Clearer, Cleaner, Safer, Greener: A Blueprint for Detoxifying Your Environment. Written by Gary Null PH.D. Get The Book

http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/paint-and-pregnancy/

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/tools/are_you_pregnant.pdf

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/epoxiesresins.html

http://www.health-and-parenting.com/can-paint-nursery-pregnant/

During pregnancy it's best to avoid unnecessary exposure to any chemicals whether it is paint, a medication, cleaning agent or any harmful chemicals.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Cut In Like A Pro

Thu, 29 Jul 2021 17:06:37 GMT

The Art of Cutting In

The art of cutting in ceiling lines is a skill that takes years to master but with a little guidance you will master this in a shorter period of time. Now you might ask if you truly can cut in like a pro, and I am here to tell you can. Time and repetition is the key to mastering cut ins and I have a few tricks to share with you.

There is no shortcut to mastering this skill however, ones speed and accuracy can increase if these few pro tips that I am going to share are applied. It is similar to an NFL quarterback who went to training camps when he was a child and was coached along the way to the pros. Those tips and tricks gathered, aided in the process of the journey to the top. With that I am going to share my experience of cutting in and what helped me achieve excellent quality, speed, and results.

The first thing to know is that you are only as good as your tools. To be able to cut in like a pro you have to have the tools that are higher quality and will perform as well as you. Not all brushes are created equal and only a few were made for cutting in. Watch my brush recommendation video CLICK HERE . When you walk into the paint store the choices can be a little overwhelming in the brush section but in reality there are only a few you should actually purchase. A couple brush manufactures I highly recommend are Wooster, Corona, and Premier.

The shape of the filaments make a difference when cutting in. I prefer an angled sash or filament brush for cutting in. The angled filament shape allows you to get into corners quicker and easier. I use a 3” angled filament brush to be exact. This brush allows me to hold more paint and therefore draw a longer cut in with each dip of paint.

Filaments or bristles are all different. There are some that are natural hairs that come from ox or horses, then there are manufactured bristles that are called filaments that are made out of polyester and nylon. Dupont has now created these super filaments that they call Tynex and Orel. I highly suggest brushes made with Dupont filaments because the performance is excellent and they hold their shape, stiffness, and clean faster than any other filaments on the market. Dupont’s version of polyester and nylon, Tynex and Orel, absorb less water, resist humidity therefore hold their stiffness longer

Cutting in perfect lines is harder with a brush that is softer. Lesser quality filaments will have a certain stiffness and after about thirty minutes the filaments absorb water from the paint and become softer. Finding the right stiffness for the paint you are using is key to any job. Cutting in usually requires a stiff filament brush but if the filaments are too stiff you can get what we call roping or brush strokes. Today paint comes in many different consistencies so you could actually have a brush for every paint, this would cost a fortune but after trial and error I narrowed it down to just a couple brushes for interiors. CLICK HERE to get details on one brush I recommend. This brush is a blend of Tynex and Orel and is a 3” angled filament brush. Handle style is a personal preference but I use the Dale style handles. You also have beaver tail and rat tail handles. If you are curious about exterior brushes, I highly recommend a Chinex bristle brush for todays paints that dry extremely fast. My go to exterior brush can be seen HERE . Enough on brushes and lets get to painting.

Now that I have my brush and bucket of paint in hand, we are going to load the brush up with paint and get started. Loading the brush is a method by which you dip your brush into the paint bucket submerging the filaments half way into the paint then remove it and pat it on the the side of the bucket to get the excess paint off. The patting process also helps load the filaments with paint. Do not scrape the filaments on the bucket because this removes the paint from the brush and defeats the purpose of the dip.

I am going to take my brush to the cut in surface and slowly rotate the brush to stop the drips that may occur. As I travel to and from the surface I want to keep that rotation so I do not drip paint. Once loaded I set brush about 4-5” away from the cut in. Now take a deep breath and relax. When I begin a cut in I start by holding my breath, this simple step may improve the stroke because you will be still and calm. I still practice this step after 18 years because I find my shakes on occasion show up. I begin moving my brush in an arching motion traveling up to the cut in line, I am leading with the heal of the brush and the tip follows drawing the line. I am working my way to the ceiling cut in line and this method gets my hand in a rhythm as I move forward.

Speed matters, if you try to go to slow it is very difficult to get a straight line and too fast holds true also, a nice steady pace matters. A properly loaded brush should travel approximately 12” before all the paint is released. Once the paint is released from the filament I end the cut in and travel back in the opposite direction. I am right handed and cutting in for me feels so much more natural if I cut in from left to right. After the brush is unloaded going left to right I brush the opposite direction going right to left. This helps fill any peaks or valleys that did not get filled on the first pass. The more filaments you get near your ceiling the more success you will have getting it straight. If you have a bumpy surface painting the opposite direction with the tip of the brush leading the cut does wonders.

After I made my two passes it is time to reload the brush and make another cut. Reloading the brush often is essential, keep the surface nice and wet with paint so the brush does not get dry. A wet paint brush becomes easier to work with. On my second cut in I do the same process but I enter my last cut about 3” from its end and I merge into a wet edge. I make as many cut ins as I can reach while on the ladder then I’ll back roll the cut ins with a 4” roller. Back rolling creates the same pattern on the wall when the paint dries. If I cut in and do not back roll my wall you will see what we call picture framing caused by the different dried patterns of paint. The thicker the paint the more prominent this will be. For best results, back roll 1” or to the ceiling or to your comfort level because the last thing you want to do is hit the ceiling causing touchups.

One trick I teach is to always side on making your cut 1/16” onto to ceiling verses 1/16” down from the ceiling. Perfection in the ninety degree angle is best but most ceilings are imperfect and it is impractical to achieve. If you side by painting onto the ceiling and step back the illusion is that you are right in the corner. You can only tell if it is on the ceiling if you get right up to the wall and look up. Most people will be in the center of the room when evaluating your work. If you side by painting 1/16” down from the ninety degree angle when you step back you will see every wave of imperfection in your cuts. It is a simple phenomenon that always holds true and a trick I have been using for over fifteen years.

Thank you for reading my simple tips and tricks on cutting in. If you need any more tips you can watch some videos on my YouTube channel Paint Life TV where I will visually show you my hacks to perfecting your cut ins. CLICK HERE

Our Paint Life store is now full of Branded and co-branded tools that I trust and use daily. To get a glimpse of these tools or see our latest in Paint Life apparel visit our STORE You can purchase our Paint Life game changing tools, cool painters apparel, and gifts every painter would love.

The shape of the filaments make a difference when cutting in.

I prefer an angled sash or filament brush for cutting in.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

To Back Roll or Not To Back Roll?

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 20:16:59 GMT

Why Back Roll?

What is back rolling anyways? Back rolling is rolling with a paint roller or brushing over the paint applied by an airless sprayer to cause better penetration and adhesion. When back brushing fences, decks, or log homes we use a Deck Boss stain brush . Back rolling stucco or exterior siding we use a Koda Wool roller . If I am back rolling interiors I use a Premier White Woven roller .

To understand why we back roll you need to understand airless spraying and how it applies paint. Airless spraying applies paint in a nice even finish that creates a layer or film of paint on the substrate you are painting. Airless spraying applies paint faster than any other form of painting. The sprayer essentially acts as the paint applicator.

Airless spraying itself does not cause penetration or enhance adhesion. In many cases it lays a layer of paint over the surface spanning gaps, cracks, pin holes and does not actually penetrate those troubled areas. This spanning or bridging will soon crack and separate as temperatures rise or fall causing the paint to expose those troubled areas again. This will be a paint failure in the future.

In order to get proper adhesion and penetration you need to force the paint into the voids or troubled areas described. To do this we use a paint brush , a Deck Boss , or paint roller which is very effective in forcing the paint into these areas. You can see the Paint Life Crew in action back rolling paint in this video HERE . This forced penetration is achieving the desired effect of a completely covered and penetrated substrate with the adhesion that will last for many years.

Does every surface need to be back rolled after spraying? No. You can actually damage or create an unwanted finish if you back roll certain surfaces. I will bring up one surface that I get questioned about occasionally. When spraying a door that appears to be wood but is actually smooth metal, you can really create a horrible finish if you back roll the door after spraying. Stippling created by a paint roller or roping caused by a paint brush in most cases is not the desired finish.

Metal or any non-porous surface does not need to be back rolled. What you are trying to achieve in many cases with an airless sprayer is the glassy automobile like finish. Back rolling will destroy this ideal finish. Back rolling has two purposes, to enhance penetration and adhesion. Spraying on a metal door or any non-porous surface and back rolling over it will not give you the desired result unless you are after a stippled effect.

There is a time and place for many painting tasks and back rolling is one of them. Back roll when necessary and allow the sprayer to do its jobs when back rolling is not necessary. Watch my back rolling video for a more detailed explanation HERE .

You can visit our Paint Life store for cool gifts for your favorite painters, Paint Life apparel, and get game changing tools for all your painting jobs. Enter store HERE .

Does every surface need to be back rolled after spraying?

No. You can actually damage or create an unwanted finish if you back roll certain surfaces.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Tips For Growing Your Paint Business

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 20:27:05 GMT

How to Better Market Yourself & Your Business (Creating A Brand)

I receive a lot of questions through my social media outlets about people starting or running their own painting businesses which leads me to reflect on my nearly 2 decades of owning my own painting business and what made it successful. Therefore I may be able to share some insight that may help you here. I wish I could just tell people that if you just do quality work and are professional while you do that’s all you need to make your business successful, but unfortunately that’s only one part of the recipe. A large part of every business, whether it be painting or selling socks on the side of a highway, is how you market yourself. It’s important to think of your company as not only yourself and your work but a brand as well that you are trying to sell. Here are a few tips that I think every business should keep in mind when trying to expand their market and increase brand awareness.

Having an online presence, and one that looks professional is absolutely key. In today’s age of social media it’s recommended that you have a website when starting out it but have a simple as having a Facebook page could be a quick start. You just want to have a place that people can go to see your company when they search your name, you want them to be able to find you easily which gives them peace you have an established business. A lot of people ask me what should you have on your website or Facebook page besides an “about me” and contact information, and really there’s a lot more you can add. I think having pictures of previous jobs that you’ve done that exemplify your work is incredibly important, and lets people see your work in the same way they would if they passed one of the houses you painted with your sign in their yard but on a much larger scale. But I understand that at the end of the day most of us are simply painters and making and maintaining a website can have a steep learning curve. Some people make entire careers out of just building websites after all, but it’s not as hard as it seems to at least get something started.

It can be hard to get high quality photos of everything that you do, and if you’re like most people you don’t have a professional grade camera on every job site to take crystal clear photos of your results. I always have my cell phone on me though, and I am always snapping pictures of things I’m working on, its quick and easy to get into the habit of doing, and generating new content at least every couple of weeks shows that you are actively trying to better your brand to potential customers. Sometimes my phone is the only thing around to capture the things I’m doing. An issue that me and I’m sure others run into with these photos is they start to get pixelated when blown up for use on websites or Facebook pages. When it’s a photo I really want to share with people I wanna make sure it looks as good as possible.

Sticker Mule’s Upscale service is the simple and easy to use application for this and it is free to use. I can send them the picture that I am planning on using and they can actually enhance it and make it bigger and show more detail. Normally when you are stretching an image on your website larger you are stretching the size of every individual pixel in that photo meaning they become easier to see and give you that pixelated look, but with Upscale they actually can take a photo and add 4x as many pixels making all your images look like they are professional quality. This is perfect for when you’re trying get a photo the right size for your Facebook banner or your website header, or even for pictures included in a blog. But this isn’t just for business use you can also use it for old personal photos too or whatever photos you’re looking to enlarge.

Running a business there’s so many times when you need the background of a photo removed as well so you can just have the subject with a transparent background to place on things like signs, business cards, and even stickers or apparel. Now removing the background of an image is something that you can learn to do in photoshop with a good several hours of learning which is what I did years ago, but now you can simply have StickerMule do it for you for free with their Trace feature. It’s really never been easier to create and maintain a strong and professional looking online presence.

While having a digital presence is important in marketing yourself online, there’s still a lot you can do to market yourself “the old fashion way” and I think it’s just as important. I talked a bit earlier about how your business is not just your work but a brand that you should market, how to make this separation is by marketing yourself like a brand would. One of the simplest and easiest ways to start doing this is to have stickers made for your business. You can give them to all of your customers upon completion of a job, or to your employees and it's all advertising to you. It’s kind of like leaving a business card but with the potential to be seen by more than just the person you are giving it too. Having stickers made in bulk is really not that expensive if you shop around online and most places will lower the cost as you order more stickers. You can even take it one step further and have shirts made for you and your crew so they are always advertising your brand when they are on the job site and sometimes even when they are not. Just make sure that you brief them that when they are wearing that shirt everything they do and say will reflect on the company, even when off the clock, so to stay profession while the shirt is on.

Of course this is easier said than done, and not all painters are skilled in graphic design enough to make their own logos and freelancing out to people can give you mixed results. If contracted out, sometimes a logo will come to you in only one size. And this could have been because you requested just a tiny logo for your website that was designed specifically for that purpose. Down the road however now you may decide you like it so much that you want to make them into a t-shirt or sticker but when you go to blow it up to the size you need it now it’ll be pixelated beyond belief since no matter how big you make it the pixel count stays the same just like photos. With Sticker Mule’s Redraw service they can turn any image into a vector image, which essentially means a completely new copy of the image that you can make any size and pixel count without sacrificing the quality of it at all. This means you can use the logo, graphic, or whatever it is you need redrawn for an infinite amount of uses in all different sizes and mediums.

Use This LINK for $10 Credit

Making your business into a professional brand has really never been easier with all of the services out there to help you do what you used to have to hire others to do or learn yourself. If you are reading this post and have a business that doesn’t have a website or a Facebook page I insist that you go do that immediately. Facebook offers a free and simple way to market yourself that can be done in a matter of hours. Just make sure that all of your logos and photos are high quality and properly sized because even though you aren’t in the business of website making or online marketing everything with your businesses name on it reflects on your level professionalism and commitment.

Making your business into a professional brand has really never been easier with all of the services out there to help you do what you used to have to hire others to do or learn yourself.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Estimating and Writing Paint Bids

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 20:26:57 GMT

How to win bids like a professional

Running a successful painting business is not just about brushes and techniques or even the final products, it’s also about how you market yourself as a painter. Very early on in my career I knew that I wanted to find a way to separate my business from the several other painters in my area, and not just be another name in the phonebook. Now I don’t believe that there's one thing alone you can do that can help do this, its a combination of several things, but today we are going to be talking about one of the things I feel like gave me fast aggressive changes in the success of my bids, a bid packet.

What I think a lot of painters do not understand is that your bids and estimates are a reflection of the work you are going to do in the clients eyes, maybe even more so than your personal interactions with them will. In most situations when a client calls you out to make an estimate you are not the only person they are calling, there will probably be three to four other companies that will come out and make a bid as well. After 4 or 5 bids the clients are going to start forgetting about who gave them the bid and will just end up relying on the bids that each painter left for them to make a judgement. You want to leave them a bid that’s not just gonna give them your “estimate” but help sell you as a painter and as a professional.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a stickler about professionalism, and there’s a few simple things you can do during your estimate that can add to your professional image. First I suggest that when you are out looking at a client’s space that you make sure to talk only about yourself and your company, and not try and mention other companies, especially if you’re wanting to talk about them in a bad light, that just doesn’t look good for either party. Another thing that I like to do to help my bid stand out is that I will hand deliver them the bid packet the same day that I talk to them; it’s just these little subtle touches of being personable and professional that will make you stick out.

So what does a standout professional bid packet consist of? Well what I like to hand over is a clean folder with my logo on the outside and my business card displayed on the inside. The content of your packet is going to consist of two separate documents, the estimate document (one page in length) and the bid document (20 pages in length). Now while I say that the estimate document should only be one page, there are situations where you have to itemize so many little things that it can reach two pages so that’s not something you should worry about. As for the bid document I realize that 20 pages sounds incredibly daunting and hard to come up with on scratch, but something I want to mention is that my bid packet wasn’t just that size overnight.

My packet started out as only 4-5 pages but as I ran into more jobs and more situations that required me to add or amend things in my bid packet until it slowly grew into the professional looking 20 page behemoth I have today. How I grew and amended mine was just trying to imagine every single question that a customer might have when I am not there and try to address those in the bid packet so they have convenient and organized answers from my estimate. Just remember that like most things, creating a bid packet is a process and might take a while to flesh out the best version of one for your business, but Rome wasn’t painted in a day, just keep improving it with time and use every job as an opportunity to learn more about what your clients want from a painter.

Of course painting is an incredibly competitive market and you can’t always be the lowest bidder and run a business that way, but in my experience even if you are 10-20% higher on your bid than the next guy, clients will look at your packet and say “yeah he had a higher bid, but it looks like we are going to pay for a higher quality of work” just based on the bid packet alone. It’s not just about who is the best painter for the job or who’s the cheapest painter for the job, every client will be different and looking for different things, but nearly everyone will gain peace of mind from a professional packet detailing exactly what they can expect. If you are looking to grow your business or become more competitive in the bidding process of jobs it’s my high recommendation that you need a bid packet to help separate you from the rest of the competition and it doesn’t take much effort to make at all. In fact I sell my bid packet now as a word document that you can copy and paste your logos and information into on my store .

Many painting contractors are concerned about estimating, and rightly so. You don’t want to overcharge your customers and estimate the cost of the paint job too high, but you also don’t want to underestimate the job and not make any money… or even worse, lose money.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Should You Color Consult?

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 05:44:20 GMT

Mastering Colors To Increase Profits

Master Your Colors

One question that I have got in the past is will I do color consulting for my customers. This is a good question as there are several schools of thought on this subject. Yes color consulting is something you should offer your clients and no it should not cause you to think of it as liability if the customer does not like the color. While both have their valid points, let me explain why I choose to do color consulting for my painting company, B&K Painting, for the past 18 years.

Here is a phenomenon that I discovered very early on in my career. You can do an amazing paint job and choose bad colors and everyone that drives by will say it is a crappy paint job. On the other hand you can do a crappy paint job and choose great colors and everyone that drives by will say it is an amazing paint job. You need to understand how this can greatly affect your business. It is amazing how many calls for bids you will get from a yard sign if you just painted a house an amazing color scheme. What you have to realize is the majority of drive by lookers probably do not have a talking relationship with the homeowner and probably will not stop to ask how the painter performed their job. With this knowledge, your colors choices become very important.

Another interesting phenomenon I discovered early in my career is that if you do a lot of prep that is visible the neighbors driving by will think you are an amazing painter cause of the prep you do. What I realized is it is not necessarily the quality but the visual perception. White caulking shows up so do a lot of caulking for esthetic purposes of the final product. We use PeelBond primer which dries clear so we tinted it white so everyone knew how much priming we do. Prep for a quality paint job but also prep to gather the attention of those driving by. Now added with a paint job in a great color scheme and you just convinced most people you are the painter for their next project. Of course choosing colors for your customer comes with some liability.

I will discuss to things to consider that will significantly decrease your liability. In 18 years of painting, my choice of colors only caused me to have to repaint an exterior one time and I probably did the color consulting on 70% of the homes I painted. Most home owners are not confident with choosing colors and if they think they are they quickly realize their choice can be slightly off. When you explain how color changes from inside to outside and how a small swatch can be a bad representation of the color they are wanting a customer will lean to you for advice. Now one tip and this is a very important tip to understand. The lone house I had to repaint because of my color choice was due to me convincing the customer to change her mind on colors she was sure she wanted. The colors she chose were not going to get me any jobs and were not a wise choice for exterior so I presented a different color scheme that she chose.

By me convincing this customer to change her mind I took on the responsibility that if she did not like it that I would have to repaint the house. I was convinced she would but she did not. So what I learned is that if a customer conveys to you that they have chosen their colors and not asked for your help you probably should just go with it. If the color scheme is terrible you can ask if they are sure on their choices and if they say yes leave it. What I do if the color scheme is bad is just do my job quickly and efficiently and then I do not leave a sign in front of the house. That has happened about 5 times in my career. Color consulting is an option explained in my bid package , which is about 20 pages long. If you need help creating a quality bid visit my website for details on my bid pack . A large majority of customers will call the office and ask for help and we are eager to help them.

Color choices can make or break your business so if you are not good at it then find a local interior exterior designer to help you. In the beginning of my business I found two local designers who I subcontracted to. It would usually cost me around $75 for the designer to meet with the customer and present them with 3 color schemes for their houses. There is one paint retailer, a Benjamin Moore dealer, in my city that offers the service for free. Speak to the manager of your local paint store to see if they offer the service. It took about 2 years of painting and using a designer for me to grasp colors and design and how to make a house look amazing with multiple colors. The majority of color schemes I designed over the years included 4-5 colors. I cannot go into how to color design in this article but will in a future article. Offering help choosing colors is another part of a great customer service package that will get customers referring your business over and over.

As a painter you are seeing colors every day and you should be studying what looks good and what looks bad and why. You become the expert on colors because you are painting with good colors and bad colors throughout your career. This experience makes you the expert and not your customer. Eventually you need to come off confident in your choices just like you should be confident in the work you will do. Yes there are risk but the rewards are far greater. It is very rewarding when a customer comes homes and absolutely loves their house and the colors you choose. Embrace it.

So when approaching my customers with color consulting I always make it clear I am making suggestions and that they ultimately has to live in the home not me. If they have no idea where to start I simply ask basic questions that goes like this. Do you want a brown house, blue house, green house, grey house, or do you not have any idea? Most clients will say one or the other then you have a great starting point. Now of course they could say I like the colors the house is now. The makes life easy for you. Some painters may think.

In my 18 year career painting I always felt it was harder painting a house the same colors because it was difficult trying to figure out where you had painted already. Of course this is easier if the house is faded significantly. But here is another consideration to take. When painting it the same colors most people driving by will not even notice the house was painted or they will drive by and say that the paint job simply looks nice. If you change the color scheme drastically just the opposite will happen. The paint job will be an eye catcher and most people driving by will say the paint job is amazing if you choose good colors.

Now if a client says they want a green house then I simply begin working with greens in the color deck. I use only one deck to keep things simple and the deck is always from the painting manufacture that I buy my paint from. There is too much liability in color matching colors and the customer saying that is not the color I chose. If the color match is not an exact perfect color match, it can ultimately be your responsibly. Well that is unless you get your clients to sign off on colors prior to painting. My bid package includes a color form to be filled out and signed by the customer which can eliminate some liability if the customer does not like the colors when the job is done.

During the process of helping them I am making suggestions and looking for reactions from them. When they see something they like I focus on colors in that area. Now some things to take into consideration when narrowing it down to a color. Roof color, landscaping colors, neighbors house colors, brick or stone colors are things to consider in your design. Your choices should be influenced by these things. Eventually we will narrow it down to one base color then I will work with all the other colors from there. Remember to just make suggestions and never try hard to change the clients mind. I always look for clues from the client if they are unsure of their choices. If I get this feeling I suggest that they paint samples on the house. This is something you can suggest they do or offer it as a paid service as we did. $25 per color is what we charged to paint swatches on the house.

Make sure you explain to the customer that they need to paint them in serval locations and the colors will look totally different from location to location. Lighting has a significant effect on colors and how they appear to your eyes. Get the colors narrowed down and make sure the customer is confident in their choice then have them sign a color form. Of course there are liabilities with this service so why would you not offer it? There is really no great argument as far as I am concerned but some may be that you are not confident choosing colors. Then hire a designer. It will cost me too much money and my margins are not good. Well, fix your margins and add the cost of the designer to the bid. There is too much liability in choosing the wrong colors. Well, there is liability in simply painting someone’s house.

If they do not like the colors all the prep work has been done and you have done a great first coat so the painting will go faster the second time. I do not have the time to meet with the customers. Well, hire a designer. Colors are not my problem! Customer service should be extremely importance to your company philosophy and offering color consulting is great customer service. Be different from your competition and this is one way you can. If you need help with the business side of painting you can visit my YouTube channel Paint Life TV and watch my series on The Business of Painting HERE .

You can visit our Paint Life store for cool gifts for your favorite painters, Paint Life apparel, and get game changing tools for all your painting jobs. Enter store HERE .

How Much Paint Do I Need?

Fri, 21 May 2021 18:27:17 GMT

Paint Calculating Tips

When I first started my painting company I had the challenge of figuring out how much paint I need and I had no idea where to start. I am a self taught painter and estimating paint was no exception. Back in those days there was no YouTube or Paint Life TV and there was little information and education on the painting trade. So I began with the paint can like so many have done.

I read the paint can instructions and it gave me how many square feet the gallon would cover. What I quickly found out is the number on the can is very rough at best. Reading and following the instructions only lasted a few jobs when I noticed I was running out of paint way too early or I had way too much paint left over. Running out of paint was not good as it cost time driving to the paint store to get more. I had lost labor not working, spent more or gas going to pick up the paint, and was putting wear and tear on my company vehicle. I also had to wait for my paint to be mixed and that is lost time also.

The opposite of having too much also had it drawbacks. Probably not as costly but having a couple gallons of leftover paint could be $100 in over head that I could have saved if my calculations were right. Another thing that happened was my storage of paint kept growing and growing at one point I had to pay a recycle center over $2000 to take my leftover paint I had. Now there are free or more cost effective recycling options and you can watch my video HERE on what options are available.

In the beginning of my career my margins were tight and $100 could be winning or losing on a job. Being profitable is what we all want right? I quickly developed my method that I used for 18 years. I would paint a room and make a mental note of how many gallons it took the paint the room. I began filing away mental notes of what it took in gallons to paint a particular job. Today you can use an app on your iPhone or log notes on your MacBook. 18 years ago we did not have cell phones. Our work, as painters, has some variations but it is surprising how similar jobs become. An average size bedroom took 2 gallons to paint. I simply ordered 2 gallons of paint for a bedroom and it took about 2 seconds to pull that out of my mental file. If I would have measured the walls in the room I could have easily spent 15 minutes of my time do the calculations. This is time I would rather spend painting and making money. Of course every job is not that simple.

Calculating How Much Paint:

1. Measure each wall length and height.
2. If wall is vaulted measure to the highest point
3. Add up your total height (H) and total length (L)
4. Multiply HxL = Total Wall sq. ft
5. Minus Each Window (21 sq ft per door, 15 sq ft per window, these are averages)
6. =Total sq ft paintable are (T)
7. Divide (T) by how many aq ft the gallon will cover (Most paints cover around 400 sq ft)

Let’s look at a 2500 sq. ft exterior of a house. After painting only 3 houses I noticed it took about 14 gallons for the body, 1 gallon for the front door, 1 gallon for the accent color, and 2 gallons for the trim. Now that is 18 gallons. So the next 2500 sqft house I simply ordered 2 gallons less to make sure I would not have any paint left over. I would rely on myself to make mental notes along the way on how much paint I have as we are working along. This is another thing I teach in my Academy , painting is a skill, craft, trade, and art. You have the opportunity to study your craft daily and not just show up to work with headphones in your ears and mindlessly work. If you study and treat your job like a classroom you will learn and become a skilled craftsman. For most of my career if I needed paint the paint stores would deliver it to our jobsite and rather quickly.

With this convenience we were always able to order under what we thought we would need. We would order short and when I determined I would run out in an hour or so I would call in an order of exactly how much it would take to complete the job. It was a lot easier to estimate exactly what I needed to finish then what the entire job would take. That worked incredibly well. I rarely had left over paint and I did not have to drive to the paint store. Unfortunately paint stores have become so cheap and are unwilling to deliver or deliver in a timely manner that I had to adopt a new method. I eventually turned to estimating time and paint as the day progressed. I would send the new guy to the paint store who was the least effective painter on the team. Using your employees wisely. An hour before we would run out an order was called in. We let 45 minutes go by so the paint store would have the paint ready. Having a painter sit at the paint counter waiting for paint to be mixed is overhead you should not be paying. I cannot tell you have many times I have been in a paint store and a painter walks in and orders paint then sits at the counter waiting for it to me mixed.

My employees were trained to walk into the paint store and ask for our paint and we never signed the receipts. This may not happen in the beginning but if you speak to your manager and let him know the importance of you not waiting for paint they will understand and make it work for you. Every paint store did this for us. That way we would not have to wait for the paint to be rung up and signed for. Now of course I was very detailed and went over every invoice at the end of the month to make sure all the charges were correct. This method worked well for us. Making metal notes along the way in your career is very important to the success of your company.

Just to give you an idea how some painters really never pay attention and make these notes mentally to use later on in their career I will talk about a former employee who went out on his own as a painter. After a few month on his own I subcontracted a job to him. This employee worked for me for many years, maybe 4 years or more. At one point he was my only employee and we handled the day to day activates together. He sprayed, rolled, brushed, prepped, and did pretty much everything I did. On the job I subcontracted to him he now had the responsibility to order his own paint for the job. The building had 4 doors that were one color, a body color, and a trim color. The building was probably around 3000 sqft. I would have ordered 1 gallon for the doors, 3 gallons for the trim, and 15 gallons for the body. I would have been fairly close with my numbers.

After the job was complete he said he had a lot of extra paint and I need to pay for the paint or he would not make any money. Subcontracting where I come from, the sub is responsible for all supplies and labor. You merely pay them an agreed upon sqft price. He quickly realized he was going to lose money because he ordered 5 gallons for the 4 doors, 40 gallons for the body, and 10 gallons for the trim. At $50 a gallon that is a big mistake. Especially as a sub who is not getting the full price of the paint job. If this employee had been making metal notes along the way of what he was doing this would have never happened. Especially as he knew he was going to leave my company and start his own. Lesson learned. Treat every job site as your classroom. Begin making mental or written notes and calculating paint will not be a chore that takes time away from what makes you money.

Here are a few tips when it comes to ordering paint that I followed over the years. It takes less than a quart to paint a door but we always spray our doors and it takes a less than a gallon to load and spray a door. We could typically spray 3-4 exterior doors with a gallon. The extra paint was filed in our paint storage and could be used to spray another door on a later date. A garage roll up door takes a gallon of paint. Tips Painting a door HERE .

Painting a bathroom or powder bath would take one gallon. If the ceiling was a different color then one gallon for the walls and one for the ceiling. Bathrooms take less paint because you have a door, window, shower, mirror that all take space that do not require paint. A kitchen is more or less the same as cabinets take up the bulk of the wall space. An average sized master bedroom walls only would take 3 gallons. An average closet would take 2 gallons. Amazing to think but closets have a lot of surface area.

An average size 2-3 car garage would take 7 gallons to spray walls and ceilings one color. Garages are usually bare drywall and are all open wall space that eat up paint very fast. A trim pack in a 2500 sqft house would typically be around 7 gallons of trim paint. We always spray are trim. Spraying your walls or trim always takes more paint as you lose a small percentage in overspray and load and clean up.

On a 1500 sqft foot exterior we would always start with 9-10 gallons on the body, 1 gallon for the front door, 1 gallon for the garage door which is usually an accent color, and 2 gallons for the trim. Here is something to always take into consideration, your gallon price is always more expensive than the 5 gallon price. Sometimes if you are 9 gallons but maybe 10 you may want to go with 10 as your price is cheaper.

A fence panel, 8’ long by 6’ high would take about a half gallon. Fences eat up a lot of paint as more where we live are rough sawn cedar and you have to spray tons of product on and back brush it while it is soaking wet. To do a fence properly you will use twice as much as a homeowner will. Hence why you will not get very many fence jobs if you are bidding and coating them like a professional painter.

A two car garage epoxy floor as always 8 gallons. We used 2 part industrial epoxies and I would by 4 kits. 2 kits were used for the first coat that was cut with Reducer 54 to get it to absorb and bond better the the concrete. The final coat was another 2 kits part A and part B.

Well, hopefully I have given you a few helpful hints when it comes to estimating paint. If you want more tips on the business side of painting you can watch my business playlist on YouTube HERE . To purchase our Paint Life apparel, game changing tools, or gift a Paint Life gift for your favorite painter visit your store HERE .

How I Paint Stucco

Wed, 19 May 2021 20:22:27 GMT

Should You Back Roll Every Time?

I have painted several hundred stucco structures in my career and along the way I have learned some do’s and don’t for painting this substrate. I am going to share some things I have learned over the years that have helped me make painting stucco faster, more efficient, and effective.

First off, not all stucco is the same. Stucco comes in many forms and some stucco is easier then others to paint and some takes more prep work. Stucco in Idaho is very different then stucco in California and therefore prepping can look different. The first step is to inspect the stucco. As you inspect the stucco you need to determine if the surface is previously painted, does it have cracks, is it crumbling and deteriorating, is it a heavy texture or a light texture. After I have gathered this information I can begin determining what prep I will do and the methods I will be using to painting it.

The next step is to educate your customer to the process and product you will be using and why. I do get customers that are surprised that you can paint stucco or that there is even a need to paint it. “I thought stucco last a lifetime?” some say. It is true that stucco does have a significantly longer life span than the composite wood sided structure or even true wood sided homes. However, most clients don’t realize that the stucco has pigment added to color it and just like paint and it fades. So their beautiful stucco home will look worn and tired out in 15 years just like a painted house would.

Prior to any repairs or prep work we always give the substrate a through washing using a pressure washer and a rotating nozzle. Washing stucco takes more time and you really have to flood the surface with a lot of water to clean it. The rotating nozzle also agitates the dirt and debris to clean faster and more throughly.

Are there cracks in the stucco? How large are the cracks you will be dealing with? Do you have to do any scraping and patching? Most of the patch and prep work are straight forward but dealing with cracks can be confusing and even your worst enemy if you deal with them the wrong way. Elastomeric coatings are widely used to paint stucco and fill cracks and repair stucco.

Upon researching this coating extensively I learned that elastomeric coatings were not designed for stucco and were not created to fill cracks in stucco. The properties of the coating gives it the ability to fill hairline cracks only, and I mean hairline! The coating is very flexible and if there is any expansion and contraction in the structure any crack bigger then a hairline will re-crack. You also should not paint over an elastomeric coating, because other coatings can crack when painted over the top. You can put an elastomeric over an elastomeric but these coatings do not have nearly the color retention as high end paints so they will fade faster.

However, I like to use a additive from Rustoleum that makes paint more water resistant. The product is called Okon Paint Booster. I would choose to add paint booster to a high end flat paint, so I could get the color retention from the paint and the water resistance from the paint booster. Since I am not using a coating to fix or repair cracks I use caulking to fill them.

Caulking is a art and craft that if done improperly your cracks will look more unsightly then if you left them alone. When filling cracks I use sponges and paint brushes to blend in the caulking. I use a sanded stucco and concrete elastomeric caulking to fill the cracks. You will need to take your time and make sure you are filling the entire crack and are not skimming over it, or it will re-crack soon. As I am caulking I dab with a wet sponge and old paint brush to blend it in. If you do not do this you will have a smooth flat line across the surface, and this is usually not fixable and it will look very unsightly!

If the stucco is in good sound condition I like using a product like Duration from Sherwin Willams to paint stucco. I always use a flat paint, because I want the stucco to continue to have a stucco look after it is painted. Painting with a satin or semi-gloss sheen will add protection and this could be an option if you are in a wet climate and need moisture protection. I rarely use anything other than a high end flat paint, but there are times when using an elastomeric coating or even specialty products like Loxon would be beneficial.

What method am I going to use to paint this structure? Spray, roll, brush, spray and roll, power roll, are some options to consider. How I go about painting it is partly determined by stucco style and texture, but another major factor is if it has been previously painted.

The last stucco building I painted was previously sprayed and back rolled with paint. The back rolling of the stucco for the first time is very important as it enhance adhesion and penetration but it also helps fill pin holes and aides in getting the painting in all the crevices of the stucco. There is an infinite number of angles that need to get painted. After the first coat it is not necessary to continue to back roll.

After adhesion and penetration have been achieved on the first coat of paint then it is a matter of getting the new color in all the ins and outs. On light textured stucco spraying can achieve this. On heavy textured stucco you can spray at multiple angles or spray and back roll to achieve this. If you are woking alone spraying is more efficient to me. Stucco sucks the moisture out of the paint very fast so it is essential to load on the paint quick and having someone back roll right behind you works well. If working alone the paint usually dries too fast before you can effectively back roll it. One option if working alone is by using a Titan Inner Feed roller to apply your coating. This device, that attaches to an airless sprayer, is very effective for interior painting and for coating stucco.

Can you brush stucco? Probably an impossible task. I would not even try and you will probably go through several boxes of brushes to complete the project. Getting back to the last project I painted, the stucco was previously painted and I was going to use an Inner Feed roller. The texture was very heavy and I was working alone so I quickly learned it would be faster and more effective spraying it. On a lighter textured stucco the Inner Feed roller would have been perfect. It would also been the best option if I had a partner working with me.

If you are spraying heavy textured stucco spraying slightly up, face on, angled to the right, angled to the left, and top down will have to be achieved if full coverage and total color change is going to happen. Painting stucco is going to take significantly longer than a typical composite or wood sided house and it will take at least double the paint for coverage, so bid it properly, so you do not lose your shorts!

Stucco by nature needs to be back rolled on the first coat in all texture styles. If you are spraying an elastomeric coating to help resolve damaged or cracked stucco I spray and back roll two very heavy coats of product. Using paint I like spraying the stucco with a 517 tip. If I am spraying an elastomeric coating I like using a 619 tip. Another draw back to elastomeric is that you need to spray and back roll several heavy coats therefore eliminating some of the texture of the stucco making it look smoother. When back rolling you need to use a roller with 3/4 or 1” nap.

Most importantly, be patient when painting stucco and keep your rollers and sprayers loaded up and ready to go all day. This will not be one and done. You will notice as the sun moves and the lighting changes missed crevices will be revealed. You have to work around the structure up and down in different lighting. Eventually you will find what works for you painting stucco. Every situation posses different challenges.

You can visit our Paint Life store for cool gifts for your favorite painters, Paint Life apparel, and get game changing tools for all your painting jobs. Enter store HERE .

Get The Perfect Spray Pattern

Thu, 13 May 2021 13:35:19 GMT

No More Tailing

Feathered Edges

Let's talk about feathered edges, that light airy and fluffy edge we all dream about, yeah that one. The one you get with an airless spray gun that is spraying just right. A nice feathered edge with no tailing. With a few tips and tricks I am going to teach you how to get the perfect and consistent feathered airless sprayed edge.

Now the first tip I have to share is patience, this takes time to learn and mess around with before you start understanding your pump and guns PSI levels and what to gauge it at for the perfect finish. It took me many years to understand what PSI I had to be at and what that even meant, with patience and consistency I picked it up and so will you.

Getting the proper spray pattern is typically related to pressure. Demonstrated in THIS VIDEO I will be running multiple pressures with a couple different tips to show you that every tip is different as well as what it looks like with too low of pressure and too high of pressure. I will also be spraying with one product because when switching products the pressure will be different since the consistencies of the product are all unique. I am using a Titan 440 which does not have a digital pressure readout but I do have a Titan HEA gage set up so that I can read what the levels are at. You can use what ever sprayer you have available. It is essential to know the pressure so having a gauge at your gun is useful to get a feel and understanding of what the PSI should be at. Once you get dialed in the gauge will not be necessary but in the beginning I highly recommend having one. More expensive sprayers have a digital read out on them showing you what the PSI is at the pump.

I will be starting off using a regular high production tip with 700 PSI and I see fingering immediately. Fingering is caused when there is not enough pressure and it looks as if there is a split in the spray pattern on both sides that didn’t get any product. Tailing is related to lack of pressure at the run the majority of the time. I’ve bumped it up to 1000 PSI now and the fingering is starting to go away because more pressure is coming from the gun. I bumped it up to 1500 PSI to try and completely eliminate the fingering and it is looking good. Now do not get frustrated because you may have to try this a few times before you are happy with the results and there is a nice feathering on the edges. The edge can have a more pronounced edge or a gradual feather depending on the tip. Titan HEA tips are designed to give you a more pronounced feather whereas the Titan high production tips are designed for a sharper edge. More on Titan HEA tips CLICK HERE .

If the pressure is too high you will see a lot of kick back, fall out and over spray from the gun. If fingering occurs and your pressure is not too high, another reason behind that could be a clogged filter. Clogged filters restrict the flow of paint and therefore pressure at the gun. A clogged filter could possibly split the gun filter and ruin it. A gun filter could last a lifetime if you clean them after every use. Adjusting pressure to get the proper spray pattern takes effort and time to understand.

One step I never forget and make sure my fellow coworkers do not miss is straining the paint before we use it. Straining the paint will eliminate clogged filters because todays paints and the lack of quality control by some paint manufactures causes manifold and gun filters to clog fast. The majority of airless guns have a filter and the airless pump has a filter and finally there is a rock filter on the end of the intake tube. Check and clean all these filters and any restrictions can cause bad spray patterns.

If you are still having issues with pressure at the gun and you have clean filters, it could be related to your packings and I would suggest seeking professional advice. The packings are what seal the piston as it pumps paint through the system. After every job I clean any debris off the rock guard, gun filter, and manifold filter because paint will dry and wrap around it cause restrictions.

Rare but I have had a bad tip that was new right out of the package. Test using another tip and even various sizes if tailing persists. I have run into a few paints in my career that simply are not designed to spray and tail and spit bad. Sherwin Williams SuperPaint in ultra deep base being one. Sherwin Williams fast dry oil primer with any tint added causes severe spitting. This is always my last thought, if the paint is not coming out of the gun and is spitting. If you are getting spits here is my video on eliminating spits CLICK HERE . I go through everything starting with looking at my pressures to checking the filters and then looking at the paints. Some products may make the spray patterns easier or harder, you should always try out a few strokes before starting any job.

In the United States the majority of paints are designed to spray and and spray without thinning as approximately 80% of painters spray here. I have had the opportunity to travel to many countries and train a lot of professional painters and it is quite different the here. Europe, for example, is quite different as only approximately 20% of professional painters spray and very few paints are designed to do so. It is very common outside the USA for painters to thin the paints to get them to an airless consistencey that sprays right. What I noticed in my travels is significant thinning which can severely degrade the quality of the paint. Whenever possible do not thin your paints. Only a handful of times in my entire professional painting career have I thinned paints going through an airless sprayer.

With these few simple tips and tricks you are going to notice your spray patterns being more consistent. I hope these few tips helped you out today, you can CLICK HERE for the full video and a link to my channel. If you have never operated an airless sprayer here is a video that will get you on your way CLICK HERE .

Visit the Paint Life Store to purchase our apparel, gifts for painters and game changing tools approved by the Paint Life Crew CLICK HERE to enter the store.

Tips for Stairwell Painting

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 19:47:24 GMT

How to paint in tight and high areas
Stairwell Painting Tips and Tools

If you’ve done a decent amount of painting you have more then likely come to a point where you have to paint a tight space like a stairwell, and it can some times be a real pain in the rear. And if you are new to painting maybe stairwells are intimidating you from making it your next project, but it’s not as hard as it may seem I promise. Today I am going to be giving you some tips and tools that make painting in tight tall spaces a lot easier and hopefully save you some headaches a long the way.

The first tip that I have for you takes place before the actual painting process even starts and that’s picking the paint you want to use for the stairwell. When you are working in these kinds of spaces sometimes it can be challenging to properly layout your paint on the wall and get the proper finish you want. I would suggest using a lighter color high quality paint in these kinds of spaces as they are less likely to show any flashing. Darker and low quality paints are less forgiving when it comes to not getting a proper layout making flashing more likely to occur.

Now we can’t talk about painting stairwells without talking about ladders. In a lot of stairwells you aren’t able maneuver your typical ladder through tight quarters. What I like to use is an Xtend+ Climb Ladder ; a collapsable ladder making it easy to fit around corners and into difficult spaces. This ladder collapses down to under 3 feet for easy movement and storage, but can extend to heights of over 15 feet, it's an amazing tool for spaces where most ladders won’t fit. On top of this I have carried my PiVit Ladder Tool with me for the past 15+ years when I know I am going to be working around stairs . This tool allows me a safe leveled surface for my ladder on staircases. As of recently however I have started bringing the Ladder-Aide Pro with me when I know I’m gonna be working on stairs, I feel like this is a little bit sturdier and is height adjustable for any sized step. Of course I still suggest that you have someone spotting you on a ladder, there’s always a chance for your ladder to slip or side so I feel more comfortable with or being a spotter. When you are painting a project where you are going to be using a ladder to reach the tops of the walls it’s best practice to start painting from top to bottom, otherwise you’ll run into the problem of having to lean your ladder against a wet wall.

Any time you are painting a surface that requires a lot of vertical reach extension poles are going to be your best friend, and you are gonna want a couple of these friends around. I like to keep a 1-2 foot and a 4-8 foot on the site to handle most situations, but I always keep a 8-12 foot extension in my truck for those particularly high walls. And speaking of friends, like most projects, it’s going to be a lot easier to do it with 2 people. If you have the luxury of someone who’s willing to help you out then I would suggest that one of you hops up on the ladder and starts the cut-ins while the other starts rolling walls. The cut in brush I like the best for interiors is the Premier Montauk . If you are working on the cut-ins up on the ladder I always find it helpful to bring your cut-ins down a little more than normal so that when you come back with the extension pole later you are not having to worry about getting nearly as high up the wall with your roller. Which brings me to another quick tip: try not to roller too close to the ceiling, you don’t want to end up hitting the ceiling and leaving a little touch up spot up there.

Finally when you have finished painting from top to bottom try and make sure that you don’t start leaning your ladder back against the wall to put back up your vents and what have you until the paint is fully dry. And there you have it with just a little help from specialized tools and maybe a friend or two hopefully your next stairwell project will be a lot less intimidating. You can watch my YouTube video on Paint Life TV that goes over these tools and gives you more handy tips painting in these tight spaces. You can watch the video HERE

Visit the Paint Life Store to purchase our painters every day apparel, cool gifts for painters and game changing painting tools approved by the Paint Life Crew and The Idaho Painter.

Metallic Suede Walls

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 23:45:30 GMT

Amazing Wall Finishes

Are you looking for tips on how to step up your painting portfolio and give your customer something they’ve only dreamed of? From concrete to Liquid Suede to Metallic Glass decorative coatings options are endless. Today I am going to show you a new decorative coating that I am applying on a customers bay window designed to be an accent wall. However, this is not just an ordinary accent wall. This accent wall is getting Paint Life Pro Metallic Suede with a randomized brushed effect. This coating will brighten up the room and leave the window looking luxurious and more expensive than it would with any standard paint finish. Keep reading for more information on this awesome decorative finish from Boero Coatings and the Paint Life Team.

The first step to any finish is to undercoat with an eggshell finish the same color as your Liquid Suede and let that completely dry. Once the under-coat is dry the fun begins. I will be using Boero’s Paint Life Pro Metallic Suede color MS Pearl 6220 to complete this project. The tools needed for this DIY project is a 4” or 6” mini microfiber roller, a couple different sized paint brushes, a pan for the paint, 1½” Frogtape for outer edges, a 2-Edge 5-In-1 tool for the cuts-in and the taping, and a Boero flex trowel . For a small project like this you will only need two quarts, this product goes a long way. To see this project in action watch our video Metallic Suede .

For the prep I like to take a microfiber roller and pre-wet the mini roller so I get any and all lose fibers off of it. With my FrogTape, I tape off my edges I don’t want to be painted. Once I have this done I’ll take my damp roller and start rolling it in my pan filled with Metallic Suede and start rolling it on in a random pattern. I start in the corners by jamming the roller up into the tape. I always like to work my way down so I start high and roll low. Once I have enough space covered I will take my soft brush and start using random 3” brush strokes throughout so all the stippling from the roller goes away. You’ll want to start off in small sections, this coating dries fast so brushing it before it dries is crucial.

Working with Metallic Suede coatings is nice because I can start today and come back to finish another day without any issues since it doesn’t leave harsh lines. Metallic Suede is easy to blend into each consecutive pass. It is important that if the desired look is random brush strokes, the rolling is random as well. I like to roll in a sweeping or looping motion so that there is no pattern in my finish. Once I have my first coat done I will let it dry and start on a second coat. The cool thing about this product is that one coat is typically enough to achieve the desired effect. But sometimes I use a second coat to perfect the metallic suede effect.

If you are struggling with the Metallic Suede drying faster than you can brush it, you can always add a Boero Long Open Time Glaze to the product to help slow that dry time. You will only need half a quart of this for each gallon of metallic suede you use. Once you finish the wall and it is dry, peel off that tape and admire the amazing finished product. The accent wall I did only took about an hour and a half to do. Creating a metallic suede finish does not take long and the results look phenomenal.

I have many videos on how to install and apply these different kinds of coatings from Boero including Metallic Suede , Metallic Grit and Metallic Paint , and Venetian Plaster on my YouTube channel Paint Life TV. If you enjoyed this article and want to see my finished results the video link is above.

Thanks for reading, you can find more of my articles on my Pinterest page IdahoPainter. To purchase our Paint Life Gear visit, gifts for painters, and game changing painting tools, visit our store CLICK HERE

5 Cabinet Painting Hacks

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 08:43:42 GMT

Painting cabinets is not always the easiest process. There are a lot of factors that can go wrong, quickly. But if you can nail down an efficient system for painting them fast, there can be immense profit in them. We will make the same amount of money just painting cabinets as we would painting almost an entire exterior. And it will take us less time.

W ith the system we have developed we are usually in and out in about a day and a half. These, again, are one of our favorite kinds of jobs because there is a ton of profit in them, if you know how to do them well.

So here you go. 5 simple and easy cabinet hacks to ensure you can make the most out of your time and energy and elevate your company to that next level.

1.Clean with Dawn Dish Soap

An important part of painting cabinets, just like any other job, is the prep. If they have residue built up on them, chances are that the lacquer isn’t going to adhere correctly and you will run into several different problems. Because of this, we always make sure to clean them thoroughly with a residue free cleaner. What we have found works best for us is actually just your average blue Dawn dish soap, a Scotchbright heavy duty sponge, and some warm water. In a pinch you can also use denatured alcohol if you need something that dries quickly. But Dawn dish soap will take care of most contaminants, and this is the process we like to use about 95% of the time.

Start by filling either a rubbermaid container or an 18” roller pan with warm water and Dawn dish soap, just as if you were about to wash a load of dishes. If you have never washed dishes… then now might be a good time to learn. I am sure someone in your life will thank you for it. To wash the cabinet doors, you do not want to submerge them in the water. This will make the drying time last longer. Not to mention that you could possibly damage the wood. Just set them on top of the bucket and scrub thoroughly with your sponge. The bucket will catch any access water that runs off. Next you will rinse them over a separate bucket of clean warm water without soap.

Now all you need to do is set them out to dry. You can either hang them (if you are using our spray rack method this is the best way to go) or set them where air can flow easily between both sides. One of many perks of using the spray rack system is that during this, and really any step of the cabinet painting process, they will dry faster. Not only that, but they will store in a safe place where you don’t have to worry about them getting knocked over or recontaminated with another residue. But we will talk more about this system later on. For now just focus on getting those cabinet doors and drawers fronts as clean as a whistle.

2.Caulk with Bolt Caulking for Same Day Painting

Idaho is a fairly dry climate. Who am I kidding… it’s the freaking desert! Well, the high desert anyways. Yes, we do get every season. And Idaho terrain varies greatly across the state. But for the majority of Idaho, and especially for where we live, it is dry and dusty most of the year. Because of this, we can get away with caulking the front panel on our cabinets, without worrying about it cracking down the road. Now, if you live somewhere more humid, I might not recommend doing this. Please always keep in mind that your climate is a huge factor in which methods will and will not work well for you.

We here at The Idaho Painter do love this method, though, because it produces a more seamless finish. However, it can be timely if you do not use the right products. Most caulking requires a 12 hour cure time before you are able to paint over it. This eats into our bragging rights about finishing the job up in a day and a half… and the pocket book… both are important, I suppose. To speed up this process we use Bolt Caulking by White Lightning. This caulking is paintable within 20 minutes… 20 MINUTES! How incredible is that?! Remember that in this industry, time IS money. Don’t ever compromise the quality of your work, but the quicker you can get a job wrapped up, the more money you will bring home from it. Save yourself some time and make your cabinet job more efficient by trying this caulking out. We do not think it will disappoint.

3.Spray with the PSDR Spray Rack

Over the years we have developed what we consider to be the top of the line, most innovative way to paint cabinets efficiently. We have tried many different systems and we find that the spray rack systems gives us the best finish and completes the job at a quicker rate. Specifically, we use the ProDrying Rack by Paint Line . This system allows you to spray your doors vertically, from hangers, and hang them up to dry. What is so great about this is that you can spray both sides at once AND multiple coats in one day. No more worrying about giving doors enough time to cure before flipping them over and spraying the other side. We also use Sherwood Hi-bild Pre-cat Lacquer. This makes the cabinets dry quickly, and also creates a hard surface for longer lasting, more durable cabinet repaints. With this technique of using lacquer and the spray racks, we have been able to paint a large kitchen in about a day and a half. Saves time, which makes me more money. The PSDR is now available in our Paint Life Store CLICK HERE to view and get pricing.

In this kit you receive 50 hangers, 18 feet of durable drying line (3 drying racks), a spray rack that allows you to spin doors while spraying, and three storage cases. This system is easy to set up and only takes about 10 minutes to assemble. To see this baby up close and in action you can visit: CLICK HERE

People often ask how we hang the doors on the hangers. Well, we screw little hooks into the tops of the upper cabinets, and the bottoms of the lower cabinets. This is an area where no one will ever see the holes. But you can also go back and fill the holes afterwards if you feel better about it. We explain the process to our clients prior to beginning this process, and we have had zero complaints about the holes since they are nearly invisible. I mean unless standing on a ladder above the cabinets… or laying on the floor below…. an unlikely scenario for your customers day to day activities.

We have used this spraying system for years, but just recently started using Paint Line’ s equipment after meeting the creator of the PSDR, Kyle, in the UK. He actually took the idea from the system we were using and perfected it by creating high quality equipment for it. This system really has taken our old system to the next level. We used to use a mix of PVC pipes, cheap wooden hangers, and ladders to achieve what the Pro Drying Rack can achieve with less. This system is compact and comes in just 3 bags. It is much sturdier than our old system, AND it sets up in just a few minutes. It’s also small enough that we can set it up inside of a spray booth. Saving us more time, and money. With this system you will surely be in and out of that job quicker than you, or your customer, expected.

4.Have a Spray Can of Lacquer for Easy Touch Ups

Caution, we now use water based coatings in place of lacquers due to the explosion dangers. Speaking of lacquer, did you know you can get it in aerosol can for easy touch-ups? Upon purchase, you can actually request to have an aerosol made of whatever color of lacquer you will be using. This will run you about $8-$12 per can, but what it will save you is worth the extra fee. We usually get two to three cans per job, just to make sure we have an adequate amount. This will save you from having to reload a machine, just to touch up one or two doors. With these spray cans you can mask off and touch up easily, without having to worry about brush strokes. The only downside to this method is that you will have to use several very light layers in order to get the finish you desire. But it is still more efficient than re-setting everything up, and again, ensures a better finish free of brush strokes. Give it a shot and see how you like it. We find it very useful.

5.Label Hinges

Keeping track of where your doors and drawers go can become a pain really quick. If you guess wrong then you have to spend a bunch of extra time adjusting hinges to make doors fit correctly. And to make money on cabinets… you need to be able to bust out a high quality product, quickly. To save you this pain, our final tip is a no brainer: label your doors, boxes, and hinges. The process is simple, really. We always work from the top left to the top right, then the bottom left to the bottom right. We will place the number on the back of the door where the hinge will be screwed back on, and then cover that number with a piece of Frog Tape to keep it from getting painted over. We will also tape the insides of the box with the door number as well, just to make sure we have the right door for the right box.

For the drawers, we will place the number on the face, behind where it screws back onto the drawer. And again, cover that number with tape, to keep it from being painted over. For the hinges, we will write the number of its coordinating door on the back of the hinge. We will label “a” for the top hinge, and “b” for the bottom. We will then sometimes wrap them in a bit of tape as well to keep them together… and also to make sure they don’t feel left out.

This is going to make the re-installation process go so much smoother. You will spend much less time adjusting hinges and trying to make everything fit correctly if you can follow this easy method and put everything back where it belongs. Who knows, maybe it’ll set you up for success in other areas in your life as well.

So there you have it, 5 simple hacks to make your cabinet painting job more efficient. Again, there is a lot of money to be made in cabinet jobs. IF you know how to do them quickly and well. I believe that as painters there will always be something new to learn. New tools and techniques are coming out every day to help enhance our productivity. Why not utilize these and learn to work smarter, not harder? Especially where time and money are involved. Keeping an open mind is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your painting company. Maybe just in life as well, really. You never know which tools or tricks are going to elevate your work to that next level. But don’t take my word for it. Get out there and do what you do best. Hustle. And make the world a more beautiful place. One paint job at a time.

Visit the Paint Life Store to purchase our apparel, gifts for painters and game changing tools approved by the Paint Life Crew CLICK HERE to enter the store.

Get The Perfect Spray Pattern

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 21:25:04 GMT

Let’s talk about feathered edges, that light airy and fluffy edge we all dream about, yeah that one. The one you get with an airless spray gun that is spraying just right. A nice feathered edge with no tailing. With a few tips and tricks I am going to teach you how to get the perfect and consistent feathered airless sprayed edge.

Getting the proper spray pattern is typically related to pressure. Demonstrated in This Video I will be running multiple pressures with a couple different tips to show you that every tip is different as well as what it looks like with too low of pressure and too high of pressure. I will also be spraying with one product because when switching products the pressure will be different since the consistencies of the product are all unique. I am using a Titan 440 which does not have a digital pressure readout but I do have a Titan HEA gage set up so that I can read what the levels are at. You can use what ever sprayer you have available. It is essential to know the pressure so having a gauge at your gun is useful to get a feel and understanding of what the PSI should be at. Once you get dialed in the gauge will not be necessary but in the beginning I highly recommend having one. More expensive sprayers have a digital read out on them showing you what the PSI is at the pump.

Rare but I have had a bad tip that was new right out of the package. Test using another tip and even various sizes if tailing persists. I have run into a few paints in my career that simply are not designed to spray and tail and spit bad. Sherwin Williams SuperPaint in ultra deep base being one. Sherwin Williams fast dry oil primer with any tint added causes severe spitting. This is always my last thought, if the paint is not coming out of the gun and is spitting. If you are getting spits here is my video on eliminating spits Click Here . I go through everything starting with looking at my pressures to checking the filters and then looking at the paints. Some products may make the spray patterns easier or harder, you should always try out a few strokes before starting any job.

In the United States the majority of paints are designed to spray and and spray without thinning as approximately 80% of painters spray here. I have had the opportunity to travel to many countries and train a lot of professional painters and it is quite different the here. Europe, for example, is quite different as only approximately 20% of professional painters spray and very few paints are designed to do so. It is very common outside the USA for painters to thin the paints to get them to an airless consistence that sprays right. What I noticed in my travels is significant thinning which can severely degrade the quality of the paint. Whenever possible do not thin you paints. Only a handful of times in my entire professional painting career have I thinned paints going through an airless sprayer.

With these few simple tips and tricks you are going to notice your spray patterns being more consistent. I hope these few tips helped you out today, you can Click Here for the full video and a link to my channel. If you have never operated an airless sprayer here is a video that will get you on your way Click Here .

Visit the Paint Life Store to purchase our apparel, gifts for painters and game changing tools approved by the Paint Life Crew CLICK HERE to enter the store.

5 Interior Painting Hacks

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 08:43:42 GMT

When people think of hiring a painter, what kind of project are they most likely to do so for? Exteriors, and those specialty projects that need a professional touch, right? The truth is that a lot of homeowners don’t think painting is that hard of a job, and often will try to tackle interior projects on their own to “save money”.

This is just one reason why it is so important to produce a product far beyond what they expect. To show them that there is skill required in providing a high quality paint job, and that it can be done quickly and with ease. This will prove that there is great value in hiring you again. That is what this booklet is going to provide. 5 interior painting hacks to make your customers keep coming back for more.

Tips To Make Painting Faster & More Efficient

1. Painting Straight Lines with FrogTape and Caulking

To begin, let’s talk cut ins. I know there are a lot of painters out there who refuse to use tape. I get it. There is a time and place for it. And every painter should be well versed in not only how to cut in with just a brush, but how to do so well and efficiently. That being said, why not utilize tape where it makes the job go by quicker, and gives you a sharper line? Because let’s face it, you cannot beat the kind of straight line that a little tape can achieve. The technique, specifically, that I am referring to is painting straight lines with FrogTape and caulking. Practice what I am about to tell you, and soon enough you will be able to do this in the same amount of time that it would take you using just a brush. And I guarantee it’ll be a superior product, as well.

The reason we like FrogTape so much is because it is made with a technology that causes the tape to swell when moisture hits it. This helps minimize the potential for paint bleeding underneath it. We recognize that FrogTape is not cheap, that is why we use ShurTape CP-199 as our production tape and supplement with FrogTape when needed. You CAN use your production tape for these methods, but we have found that combining FrogTape and caulking is what gives us that high quality finish on rough surfaces that our clients desire.

As far as caulking goes, we use two kinds, depending on the surface. We use white, latex caulking for anything in which the trim or wall color is white, or close to it. And we will use clear, latex caulking for stained wood, metals, stripes on walls, or any surface that isn’t white. Clear caulking can be scary because it will be white up until it dries. But rest assured that it WILL dry clear. We do prefer using the white caulking to the clear, and try to use it as often as possible. White caulking is thicker, lasts longer, and does not shrink as much when drying. Meaning that if there is a gap between your wall and trim the caulking will do a better job at filling that in. It will also do a better job at getting under the tape and making sure bleeding doesn’t occur on textured surfaces like orange peel.

Now that you know WHAT we use, let’s get to what you are actually here for… the technique. It’s pretty simple, really. Just lay your tape down. Whether it be across a wall, along the trim, or around a window… lay it down. Then run a thin layer of your latex caulking across the edge of your tape that will be painted, and smooth across it with your finger. This removes the access, and ensures that the caulking is pushed into any gaps in the tape, creating that safety net for bleeding. Now just do what you do best, paint that baby. Before the caulking dries. Don’t be shy, load her up and add a generous coat of paint. Just be sure to use a gentle touch. For this method I like using a Premier Montauk brush . You can see the brush in more detail HERE . You don’t want to use too much pressure and push that caulking and paint under the tape. So just finesse the paint on top of the tape and you will be good to go.

Once the deed is done, pull the tape IMMEDIATELY, while the paint and caulking are still wet. This is probably our most asked question when it comes to using this method. The reason we pull the tape immediately is because if we allow it time to dry, we risk the paint bonding to the edge of the tape and peeling up when we go to remove it. A condition called bridging. This is also why we paint before the caulking dries as well. Both need to still be wet and emollient enough to not adhere to the tape when we go to remove it. If you are interested seeing how the method works, watch my YouTube video HERE

2. Rolling Walls with a Power Roller

The next hack or technique, whichever you choose to call these, that we will be going over is the benefits of rolling over walls with a power or inner fed roller. Something that I often tell my guys is “work smarter, not harder”. Meaning, find little ways to save time and make the work you do easier. This will save your body and keep you working longer; earning you a greater profit. However, this rule only applies as long as the quality of the product stays the same or increases. This is exactly why we love utilizing a Power Roller.

This amazing tool gives you the ability to roll a ceiling or wall, without having to continuously reload your nap. It will save you endless time AND energy. Last year one of my employees was skeptical. To make a point, we decided to have a little race. He with his standard roller and bucket. Me with the power roller. You know, because we like to keep it fun here at The Idaho Painter. I made him use a 9” because that is the only size the power roller nap comes in. He tried really hard to keep up with me… and to be honest, did a pretty decent job. However, he was moving EXTREMELY fast. And I was simply walking the length of the ceiling. Because of his speed, he wasn’t able to control quality very well. He was exhausted by the end of this experiment, AND had a lesser looking product. The consensus was that the pressure roller was not only easier to use, but saved time, and gave a high quality end result.

I know that some people would argue “but what about the set up and clean up?”. Honestly, it does not take much time to set up or clean up this tool. You will still be saving time… not to mention your back as well. The power roller does not drip, and is not messy, but it does have a few downsides. The first being that the nap only comes in 9” and 12” sizes. It would be nice to have larger, like and 18”, option for bigger spaces. But it is still more efficient despite this drawback. The second is the quality of the nap itself. This nap sheds like a Labrador in spring. You really have to make sure to de-shed it before that first use or you will end up with lint all over your walls. Once you do though, it is generally good to go. I think if Graco or Titan could get behind making better naps for this roller, and even having more options for it, then this would be an A+ product.

Regardless, this is sure to save you time, money, and back break. Watch my video on the Titan Inner-Fed roller HERE

3. Rolling Ceilings Against the Light

There is more to rolling ceilings than just throwing paint all over it. If you are not careful you can end up with lap marks and flashing. Staring at those every day is enough to drive a good man insane… or maybe that is just because I am a painter and notice these things… Either way, the system we use for laying out ceilings will prevent this from happening.

To begin, we always use flat paint and a high quality roller on ceilings. I prefer the 3/8” Premier White Woven roller . Using a flat paint vs. a satin or semi-gloss will help to hide all of those imperfections and any flashing that could possibly occur from lap marks. We are struggling to find the ultimate ceiling paint, but any high quality, flat paint will do.

Preventing lap marks and flashing is all about the direction in which you roll, and how you lay out your ceiling. You want to look at where the lighting is coming into any given room and where people will predominantly be viewing the ceiling from. This is normally the door. You will want to paint against wherever this is. Meaning that when a person enters a room, the direction of the lap marks are going across them, not towards them. Once we have found what direction we should be painting, we begin to lay out our walls. What we have found that what works best to prevent flashing is to work in small squares all the way down the ceiling, making sure to keep a wet edge and that your roller stays loaded with paint, you do not want any part of your ceiling drying faster than the other. Once we make it all the way down we will load up our roller, once again, and walk the entire length of the ceiling. Making one continuous line. We will do this for the entire ceiling. A gain, this is what we have found works best in preventing lap marks and flashing.

We have a few videos up on Paint Life TV if you would like to see these techniques in person.

Just a little something extra that we also do for our clients; we paint all ceiling vents and lights to match the ceiling. These are usually metal, so we prep them first with a can of bonding primer and then spray them with that same flat paint we used on the ceiling, using an airless handled spray gun. This is one of those little things that we do to put our work over the top, showing our clients that we take pride in adding simple details to give them an amazing finished project.

4. Painting Walls Fast: Skim Coating

There are several factors involved in painting walls. Some will aid you and others will do quite the opposite. As a professional painter I approach painting walls with multiple coats in mind. One coat is very rarely sufficient. Since two coats are necessary in most scenarios, and painting small projects will not be profitable unless you can get the job done in one trip, we will do the necessary steps to paint both coats and finish out the project in one day. Watch our video on painting walls fast on YouTube Paint Life TV HERE

Our first coat applied will be a coat of paint that should dry quickly. At this point, our goal is not full coverage. Our goal is to apply a thin coat that will dry fast yet still be heavy enough that our second coat will give 100% coverage. There are a few secrets that will give you more opportunity of success when skim coating walls.

The first is to turn up the forced air heating. This will make the walls dry faster. One advantage of forced air heating is that it reduces the moisture in the air. As you may well know, moisture, or humidity, slows down the drying process. Because of this, I like to turn the temperature up to around 75 Degrees.

Another tip is to increase air circulation. Do this by opening doors so you are not in a closed room. A closed room will increase in humidity rapidly when you start painting. Paint has a large amount of water in it so when you start painting and the paint begins to dry you are adding a lot of water into the air. When the humidity is higher, it results in a slower dry time.

Now that your temperature and humidity are correct, roll your walls quickly and with a light coat of paint. Get the paint on the wall and lay it out from top to bottom. Be conscious that if you do not lay out your paint correctly, your final coat may come out patchy. Also keep in mind that if you take too long to roll your skim coat, you will not be able to allow time for the paint to dry. Meaning you will not have time to apply the second coat and finish up the job in one day.

5. Use Flat Grey Wall Paint for Undercoat for Accent Colors

When you have an accent wall, especially a dark accent wall, you cannot just paint that color onto the wall. No matter how many coats you put on it, it will still be streaking because of the rich amount of pigment in the paint. Because of this, many painters apply a primer. Now, there are a lot of misconceptions about primers and what they actually do. Some primers are made for sealing. Some for bonding. If you use a primer for color coverage, all you are doing is creating a base, so that pigment does not float around. But what people don’t always understand is that wall primer is basically just a cheap flat wall paint.

And this is what we use and have found works best for us! The paint has to be FLAT. Semi-gloss or satin will not do the same. A great roller to paint interior wall paint with on numerous surface types is the Koda Wool roller. This roller loads up fast and lays out a nice finish every time and is durable enough to last many paint jobs. The flat sheen creates a porous, rough surface to keep the acrylic from sliding around during application. Not only do we use a flat paint in place of wall primer, but we make sure it is a grey flat paint. Using a grey paint, as opposed to a white or black, will ensure that you get full coverage with that first coat of your accent color. If you use a white, the base will be too light and it will show through your accent color. The same goes for a black, that darkness will show through. Grey, however, is a mid tone color. And will meet your accent color half way, making it the star of the show.

This has especially been true for us when painting reds. A lot of the time you will need to paint 2-4 coats of red before the color is consistent across the wall. In one instance it took 12 coats for us to get full opacity. But using a flat grey P4 tinted paint ensures that you will get better coverage, quicker. We have not run into this problem since utilizing this method. And it is something that I wish we had known sooner. This hack truly will save you a lot of heartache on the job. It will also save you coin, as you will need much less product to achieve that beautiful vibrant color your client is looking for.

So there you have it! 5 interior hacks to make your life easier, increase productivity, save time and money, and achieve an amazing product for your client. My hope has always been to help painters world wide. Whether they are self taught and learn from trial and error, like myself. Or they are union trained. Painters helping painters is so important in this community. There is more than enough work for all of us, and doing so is only going to continue to elevate the trade and bring attention to the complexity and importance of what we do. Showcasing technique and professional application, and that just the average Joe cannot achieve it without time and hard earned skill. We should take great pride in what we do, and always be searching for new tips and tricks to elevate our business and keep us on the top. Not only for ourselves, but for quality control for the client as well. Because at the end of the day, that is what we do. We take something old and worn, and make it new again. Putting smiles on peoples faces, and making this world a better place. One paint job at a time.

Visit the Paint Life Store to purchase our apparel, gifts for your favorite painter, and game changing tools approved by the Paint Life Crew CLICK HERE to enter the Paint Life store.

Why Use Blue Painters Tape?

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 15:04:03 GMT

Is Blue Tape Worth the Cost?

With the amount of masking tape a professional painter uses on a single job, it’s essential to evaluate whether the tape you’re using is right for your workflow. Using the right tape for the right job can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the course of your career. Everything depends on where you’re masking and how long you anticipate your project to take.

Tape can generally be placed into three different tiers: production tape at the low end, then blue tape, then FrogTape which is the highest quality. With each of these tapes, you get what you pay for, but that doesn’t mean the more expensive tape is the right one for your job. The biggest differences between these tapes comes down to release time, resistance to uv rays and heat, as well as the quality of the paper itself. For more details on the benefits of blue tape, watch my video CLICK HERE

The release time refers to the amount of time the paper can stay on a surface once it has been applied. After the duration of its release time, its adhesion may fail, it may badly splinter when you attempt to remove it, or it may leave behind residue which will be difficult and time consuming to remove. Production tape has a release time of only three days, blue tape extends that to 14 days, and frog tape reins supreme with 21 days. For most of my jobs, I rely on CP 199 production tape (an inexpensive production tape from Shurtape) because we pull our tape every day. CP-199 is the orange tape you see us using all the time. While this is ideal for my workflow, if you’re planning to leave your masking up across several days, it’s probably worthwhile to invest in a blue tape.

Blue tape is significantly more resistant to both UV rays and heat. This is most important to keep in mind when you’re masking the outside of a home on bright summer days. Roofs especially can get extremely hot depending on your climate. Again, if your tape fails, you’ll be wasting both time and money. When choosing the right tape for the job, consider where you’ll be masking and what conditions it will be exposed to.

I want to keep things simple, but not all blue tapes are created equal. There are plenty of places online to find “amazing deals” on cheap off-brand blue tapes, but again, you get what you pay for. I conducted some tests with various blue tapes and some of these low end products lost their adhesion by day two! One of the recent innovations in the market is FrogTape Blue. This new tape combines the PaintBlock technology of traditional Frogtape with the lower price of blue tape. You can get precise and clean lines unlike any other blue tape available.

So are you using the wrong tape on your projects? Most do-it-yourselfers complete their jobs over the course of several days so I would highly recommend upgrading to blue tape or Frogtape. For professionals, it’s entirely dependent on your workflow and where you’re applying your masking. If like me, you remove your tape within a single day, there’s no reason to be spending the money on anything beyond production tape. Of course there are exceptions to this, but knowing the advantages of each tape will help you make the call for yourself and help you save money over the course of your career.

To purchase our Paint Life Gear, gifts for painters, or game changing painting tools, you can visit our store: STORE If you want more tips and tricks on painting you can visit our YouTube channel Paint Life TV or visit our website www.idahopainter.com

When choosing the right tape for the job, consider where you’ll be masking and what conditions it will be exposed to.

Chris Berry - The Idaho Painter

Paint Life | Ask The Painter

ExitFlex Swiss Technology

ExitFlex TwinFit Explained

How to Use the ExitFlex TwinFit Airless Spray Gun Guard with Speedy-6 and Speedy-7 Tips

Understanding the TwinFit Guard: Two Sides, Two Systems

Seat & Seal: The Most Common Mistake Painters Make

Final Takeaway

No Grind Epoxy Floors

Epoxy Floors with The Idaho Painter

You Don’t Need to Grind Your Garage Floor Before Epoxy (Yes, Really)

The Experiment: No Grinding. No Acid. Real Results.

The Prep Matters (Grinding Isn’t the Only Way)

“That Floor Will Fail in Two Weeks”

One Full Year Later: Still Looks Brand New

Why This Works

The Best Part? Safer, Faster, and More Affordable

Final Thoughts

Grain Filling Primer

Grain Filling Primers

The Idaho Painters Go-To Primer for Grainy Woods: Why We Trust Renner 648 High Build White Primer

The Fan Pivot

Fan Pivot Airless Innovation

The Fan Pivot: A Game-Changing Spray Accessory Every Painter Needs

What Is the Fan Pivot?

Why This Matters on the Jobsite

1. Speed & Efficiency

2. Improved Safety

3. Works With Extensions

4. Magnetic 90° Locking System

Built to Last (and Rebuildable)

Compatibility: Will It Fit My Gun?

Does It Add Weight?

The Best Part? The Price

Final Thoughts

Triade Airless Innovation

Airless Sprayer Innovation

﻿ Triade Quick Release Airless Gun Extensions: A Game Changer on the Jobsite

Why Quick Release Extensions Matter

Multiple Extensions, Swapped in Seconds

Built for Real Jobsite Use

Why I Always Use Gun Extensions

Final Thoughts

Twirly HD Review

This is a subtitle for your new post

PaintLine Spray Twirly HD Review: A Heavy-Duty Upgrade for Serious Painters

1. Rock-Solid Stability

2. Adjustable Height Without Tools

3. Modular Setup for Big or Small Projects

4. Hands-Free Rotation

New Construction Tapes

The Best New Construction Tapes!

Apollo vs Fuji

Apollo vs Fuji HVLP Comparison

Apollo Precision-6 vs FujiSpray D6: Which HVLP Sprayer Is Better for Professional Painters?

FrogTape Tips!

FrogTape Tips For Professional Painters

Who knew a bike ride in Amsterdam could inspire perfect caulking?

A Lesson in Precision Painting from the Streets of Amsterdam

Gather around a table you’re proud of this Thanksgiving

Flip Furniture For A Profit

Behr Dynasty Review

Painting An Exterior With Behr DynastyⓇ

Dangers Of Lacquers

Why I Do Not Use Lacquers!

What Are Low VOC Paints?

What Are Low VOC Paints?

Abrasives 101

More On Sanding Abrasives

Closed Coat

Semi-Open Coat

Open Coat

Who Is Uneeda?

Who Makes Ekasand Sanders?

Why Sandpaper Loads

This is a subtitle for your new post

Dollar Store Tool Review

Premier Tools are Worth the MONEY!

Sanding Basics

Sanding Abrasives 101

What is the Brooke Brush?

Triade Quick Release Airless Gun Extensions: A Game Changer on the Jobsite

things look new and beautiful again.

I prefer an angled sash or filament brush for cutting in.