Painting Preparation for Interior & Exterior Painting

Quality craftsmen, the best available products & prepwork are our main ingredients in creating
a beautiful & long lasting paint job. Preparation is the most important ingredient in any interior or exterior painting project.

The 4 biggest mistakes made by Orlando Painting Contractors is not using quality well trained insured painters, not knowing the correct patching materials and correct repair process to use on stucco cracks, not using the best available paints for the particular project at hand and using the wrong primers on various substrates.

We provide thorough prep-work on every Orlando interior and exterior painting project. No excuses! No exceptions!

Pressure washing:

An Eco-friendly Cleaner should always be used in any cleaning situation where landscaping is present. Household bleaches and chlorine are extremely harmful to your plants and ecosystem. Eco-friendly cleaners clean just as effective without the harmful effects.

The reason most painting contractors use household bleaches and chlorine is because it is alot cheaper than Eco-friendly cleaners. Any painter stating in his contract that he will be using bleach or chlorine, please avoid. This is a tell-tale sign that this is not a reputable contractor with your best interest at heart. He is obviously more concerned about how much money he can put into his pocket by shaving overhead at your expense.

When having your sidewalks, driveways or any other horizontal surface cleaned, floor scrubbers should be used. Floor scrubbers clean deeper and leave no unsightly pass marks.

The use of drop cloths and plastic sheeting  for protecting against over-spray or paint sprinkles:

Whether we are working inside or outside, everything that is not supposed to be painted is properly protected at all times. We cover all flooring, bushes and plants, fencing, light fixtures, screening, glass, etc. during the entire painting process. We always use lightweight plastic when covering delicate flowers. Using heavy drop cloths will smash down flowers and destroy them.

Caulking:

We caulk around every window, every trim band, under all window ledges no ensure no future water intrusion. We also caulk all gaps in fascia boards, where all trim meets wall and all ceiling and walls meet. A lifetime warranty, shrink free, crack-proof and mildew resistant elastomeric caulking is always used.

Patching Cracks:

Remember, never allow a contractor to repair a stucco crack using caulk. Caulk’s intended purpose is not to fill stucco cracks. It truly depends on the width of the crack what patching material should be used. If a crack is relatively narrow (1/16″), an elasomeric patching compound can be used. If the crack is an 1/8″ or wider, a cementitious patching material must be used.

Patching cracks the proper way is possibly this most important part of a great paint job. All commercial buildings and houses aquire cracks over time. The 2 main reasons why cracks must be repaired correctly is because you do not want them opening back up and leaving an invitation for water intrusion and/or termites. The 2nd reason is, you do not want to change the existing texture so dramatically that you can see exactly where you patched the crack after you have applied the finish paint. This is a very common mistake made by painters.

We have an amazing technique for patching cracks in which it is virtully impossible to tell where the repair area was. Once we have applied the finish paint to your home or commercial building, there is a flawless finish.

Priming:

I cannot stress enough how important it is to use the correct primer on a particular substrate. Whatever you are told,  latex primers are worthless on rusted metal, water stains & raw wood.  There is absolutely no substitute for an old fashioned oil based primer in these situations.

When you are priming raw wood, an oil-based wood primer must be used. A great product in this case would be Sherwin Williams Oil-Based Wood Primer.

When priming over interior water stains, try Sherwin Williams Multipurpose Oil-Based Primer or Oil-Based Kilz Primer

When priming over rusted metal, you really have to step it up on the quality of primer if you do not want the rust to reappear in a very short period of time. A great product for this type of situation is Sherwin Williams Universal Metal Primer. This product is a very easy to use single component primer with outstanding rust inhibitive properties.

In cases of severe corrosion, you would have to move up to a specialty coatings line of primer. These type of primers are generally 2 part epoxy primers which take experience using.

Sealing:

This sealer penetrates deep into the pores of concrete, binding sand and cement particles to form a tough, flexible yet breathable film. It’s excellent for binding chalky surfaces to improve paint adhesion on either painted or unpainted substrates. It strengthens mortar joints, reduces efflorescence on brick and acts as a color rejuvenation on older painted or colored surfaces.

The correct application process for applying sealer is by spraying a thin uniform layer to the paintable surfaces of the house prior to applying finish paint.   CAUTION!!!!  Do not over-saturate surfaces with sealer. Avoid  any contractor using the term “flood coats of sealer” or “Drenching”. When it comes to applying sealer as an undercoat, less is more.

Due to our vast experience, knowledge, quality of our painting staff & project management, we provide the longest Written Labor Warranty in the Central Florida Painting Industry!