Spring is almost here.  It’s time to start thinking about spring cleanup, indoors and outdoors, in order to wash away the winter buildup of mud, grime, salt and any other wear and tear that comes from the winter months.  In fact, fall debris may still be present making clean up all the more important; rotting leaves, peeling paint, aging shingles, these are just a few of the things to look for.  Our previous blog talks about the right conditions for residential exterior painting, but here we want to widen that to include decks and gazebos or other structures around the property.

When you rub your hand over the surface of an exterior wall and powder from paint comes off on your hand, it is probably time to paint. This is called oxidization and as paint ages, it will be a victim of the natural process. After all, with nothing but fresh air outside, it's inevitable.  Home owners and property owners always ask ‘when is it time to paint my exterior surfaces’?  So, now that we know the paint’s oxidization conditions are sending a message to paint, when is it a good time to paint?

​Painters need to be more than a painter when it comes to planning certain aspects of a painting project with their client and what the finished job objective is, what it will look like. Is there an overall vision that the customer is aiming to achieve?  In the first place, we have seen so many homes that decorating in general, has become second nature to us. We talk to people from all walks of life to try to get a sense of what works for them; how these different folks see colors coming together; the textures that work best, and so on. We take that information and we try and balance these different points of view and make a consensus, albeit, flexible. Secondly, in order to be the best, generally speaking, painters need to understand all of the basics of paint quality, color mixtures, reflective finishes, and above all, delivering customer satisfaction. 

​​Paint Shield® is the only EPA-registered paint that kills greater than 99.9 percent of Staph (Staphylococcus aureus), MRSA, E. coli, VRE, and Enterobacter aerogenes within two hours of exposure on a painted surface, according to Sherwin Williams Paint.