Common Painting Questions
Q. What’s the difference between yourself and a licensed decorator/interior designer?
A. I’m cheaper and easier to work with. If you need to buy your rugs, window coverings, furniture accessories, art, and so forth, then you really need to hire a decorator/designer to help coordinate all of these purchases. However if you ALREADY HAVE your furnishings, etc and just need to change or enhance the paint colors, or you have recently moved, then hiring me is a practical option! Especially if you WANT to be involved in the decision making process rather than just being told what to do/use.
Q. Who makes the best paint?
A. That depends on the application. I’ll make a car analogy: Who makes the best car? Depends on your relationship with your mechanic/dealer, and your intended use of the vehicle.
For ceilings and frequently painted rental property it is safe to go with a cheaper "lumber yard" paint or "commercial grade", but otherwise as long as you’re buying THE MOST expensive grade available you CAN’T go wrong. Just like hurrying always takes longer, a cheaper paint just means more coats and less coverage.
You can get a good impression of paint quality by just picking up and shaking a gallon of paint and "feeling" how much solids, as opposed to how much water, is sloshing around in there. More solids is better.
For color samples I like Sherwin-Williams — they recently started selling $4 sample-quarts. But My FAV is Benjamin Moore, (plus they have a great color selection). They also sell $4 samples, but theirs are only about 2 oz.
I generally recommend using the brand that your contractor is experienced/familiar/comfortable with — as long as it is a high-quality product. Pratt & Lambert are the most expensive and have some bright exotic colors. Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams are recommended for their consistent quality and convenience. Kelly Moore can be good for exterior "cheaper" paints.
The major manufactures are also reliable for getting the same exact color years down the road, when touch-up often suffices. For rental properties using the same color year-in and year-out, color consistency can also mean partial repaints or touch up between tenants instead of complete repainting. Paint manufactures change their formulas depending on the region and the weather, which is why I’d rather trust a local contractor's experience, over what your trusted friend/relative successfully used in another climate or state. Q. My stained deck/fence looks terrible — what can I do?
A. These surfaces need to be washed and refinished almost every year — PERIOD (or at least 3 times every five years) to maintain "perfect looking", especially when newly installed. If they’re really looking bleak you should apply a stripper designed for deck use, power washers can easily damage the wood, they work great on fences with rough textured wood.
The hot Texas sun is the biggest obstacle to proper application. Refinishing needs to be done on a cool dry day, preferably in the shade. Good luck getting your contractor to work these "limited" and restricted hours. I’ve found Sherwin-William’s products to be better than others for decks and fences. You might also consider a non-pigmented (clear) staining "oil".
Q. What’s the deal with oil based paints these days?
A. The manufacturers started phasing them out because of liability concerns over children ingesting lead paint. Breathing the dust from sanding paint with lead in it necessitates the use of extreme caution. A "bonding" primer before applying a latex topcoat is the most often used approach short of total removal (known as "abatement") This is called "encapsulation" and is generally legal in most states. Kilz 2 works great for this (bonding/encapsulation) application. I’ve found the currently available oil-based enamel paints "yellow" terribly, especially on cabinet interiors.
Q. I’m nervous about paint fumes around my kids. How do you handle that?
A. Opening a window and ceiling fans are almost useless. Paint continues to gas, or off-vent for sometimes up to two weeks or more after "drying". You have got to get a cross-vent circulation going, meaning an opening at one end of the house to let in fresh air AND a fan exhausting air outwards. It is essential that your exhaust fan be sealed (masking taped) to the opening and that air is NOT allowed to go around the fan's edges. Even with the new "no odor" and organic paints, I still recommend ensuring a "fresh air flush" after repainting.
Q. What do you charge?
A. As much as possible. There are elements of simularity, but every job is different. Client participation varies. See services offered.
Q. What is your service area?
A. See services area map. Q. Where can I find a good painter?
A. Ask your neighbors, friends and co-workers, then ask any repairmen that have been to your house recently. The paint stores often have a list. The Yellow Pages will be the most expensive (i.e. — fully insured) and Greensheet / Craig's List, the cheapest. Try to get at least 3 estimates.
Q. Why not just get my own painter to select the colors as he's completing the painting?
A. TIME. As in time is money. Generally this process isn’t included or accommodated by most house painters. Bringing the crew to a complete halt while the customer, her friends, plus the neighbors all evaluate the colors’ pros & cons translates into money. I’m completely unfazed by discriminating clients who want to see 40–60+ samples.
Q. How can I tell if my existing trim finish is oil-based or latex (water-based)?
A. Apply some denatured alcohol to the finish — if it softens, it's shellac. Apply lacquer thinner, toluene or xylene to the finish — if it softens, it's latex, lacquer or shellac. If none of these solvents quickly soften the finish, its oil based. Q. Why does paint peel?
A. 2 words = Moisture & osmosis
Assuming adhesion (*) isn’t an issue, water is almost always ‘why paint fails’. The two most common areas + reasons for failure are the kitchen baseboard where a wet mop has regular contact & the outside of a house by the bathroom. Simplest explanation:
Water penetrating poorly sealed wood. You can usually notice this in the bathroom by the shower, or at a well mopped kitchen baseboard. Or outside where rainwater runoff hits the drip edge/siding where the overhang/gutters aren’t enough to keep water off the building.
Bottom line, unless you’re using swimming pool paint, it's not expected to be completely waterproof.
Simple solution, use high quality oil-based sealers b/4 topcoating.
Keep moisture to an absolute minimum. Add gutters, trim shrubs, etc. to allow fresh air circulation to dry your house after it rains. Complex explanation:
Moisture traveling THRU the paint causes peeling. This is easiest to observe on older homes built without a vapor barrier that’s had air-conditioning added later. You’ll see it especially where the setting sun repeatedly heats & cools the siding, especially if there’s a non-vented shower.
Solution: Allow the moisture a place to vent besides through the paint film. Never completely caulk 100% of the siding together, leave a few cracks for the house to BREATH.
Add small round vents in the siding.
Add a ‘fart fan’, vented thru the roof and/or apply a vapor barrier. Either 2 coats of water proof sealer or vinyl wallpaper works well. (*) Adhesion problems:
This is usually seen when a cheap latex is applied over an older high gloss enamel surface. Not much can be done when there’s already extensive peeling; remove as much as practical & apply a high quality bonding primer before topcoats. The right type of primer or sealer is essential! For more info see this article excerpted from Finishes for Exterior Wood, by Williams, Knaebe & Feist (Forest Products Society, Madison WI 1996)
[Note that this is a PDF file]
Q. The dangers of improper paint maintenance. Can I survive a nuclear attack with a fresh coat of paint?
A. A message from the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association (albeit, in 1954). This link is provided for your education and amusement. (Note that this link will open up another tab or window in your browser.)
Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have. I’ll respond ASAP and also post them in the FAQ section. Make yourselves @ home, browse the site and if you decide you want to hire me visit the CONTACT page.
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