Painting Contractor Shares Info and Advise on Gimmick Painting Tools

A painting contractor would agree that some of the paint applicator gimmicks advertised as the all in one silver bullet can actually increase your labor time and deliver poorer quality work. I'm sure you have seen them advertised. Most of these paint applicators try to advance the average person past just good old experience with the brush and roller. Most gimmick tools fail miserably, and are for the most part, are a waste of money and time.

As an example, below are a few products to avoid

1. Avoid foam painting pads. Foam painting pads with the edge guide leave about a 1/64 to a 1/32 of an inch gap of unpainted area beneath the guide. You will need to cut in this area with a brush anyway, so it is a waste of time. Since the foam pad spreads paint poorly, you get less coverage. You most likely will need 2 coasts of paint to properly cover. In addition, some of the foam applicators require you to purchase a special pan.

2. Avoid any products that have multiple parts and pieces. Fumbling around with all these loose parts will waste your time. Additionally, they increase your cleanup time.

Below I have listed some things you can do to decrease your painting time. These include equipment know by professionals to increase productivity.

1. When rolling your walls use a ¾ to 1 inch nap for your roller frame. Thicker naps hold more paint providing more roll time per dip.

2. Andropolis sells a roller nap that holds 100 percent more paint and works with a standard size roller frame. This will significantly cut down on time to roll paint on your walls.

3. Purchase a good quality brush.
a. Quality brushes pick up paint more easily.
b. They hold more paint.
c. They allow you to cut in more accurately.
d. They spread paint more evenly.
e. Top quality brushes save on brush time.

Our painters use Purdy brushes for all the above reasons. The Bottom line is they save us money because they cut down on labor cost.

4. You can save a lot of time and create straight lines by taping off your trim and walls with blue tape. If you're not professional, you can lose a lot of time creating straight lines. Blue tape works wonders for taping off trim or walls to create clean looking lines.

5. Cover up cost a lot less time than clean up Be sure to protect floor areas and furnishings by covering with tarps.

6. Use adjustable extension polls for your roller frame. The adjustable poles will allow you to reach much of the room without have to climb or adjust a ladder. Ladder use can be time consuming and the less time on one the more efficient you will become.

Occasionally a new product comes along that truly can save time. It is best to ask a experienced painting contractor what he thinks about the product. If he has used the product for very long he will be able to give you valuable feedback . Packaging can be ambiguous . They are designed to sell. The above recommendations will give you the best results for the money.