Colorful Insights

The thought of having to tackle the task of painting the exterior of your home or business can be a mix of excitement and, for many people, dread.  Those who seek to do it themselves have to first commit the time and the energy, and whether or not you are planning to do your own work or hire professional help such as our experts at Custom Coatings, you want to be sure you get the best performance for your dollar.
 
In our last blog we talked about how spending a little more money on a better quality paint up front can actually save you time and money in the long run because it will last longer, meaning you have to repaint less times over the life of the house.
 
Let’s take a look at another way to increase the performance of your exterior paint job and make it look better as well.  The product is called Peel Bond, and we use it on every exterior peeling paint job we do at Custom Coatings.
 
Peel Bond is a fast-drying, penetrating water-based filling primer that is used in exterior applications on everything from rough surfaces to stucco, plywood, brick, and T111 siding.
 
Peel Bond literally saves hours of prep work and because it primes and fills at the same time, and because it dries fast painting can begin much sooner than with other, less effective oil-based primers.  And the result is simply spectacular.  Not only will your exterior paint job look smoother, it will also last 7 to 10 years or more without repainting.
 
“Peel Bond is just another tool that helps us ensure that our customers get a premium painting experience every time,” said Custom Coatings Business Development Manager Patrick Stillwell.  “It helps us to be more efficient in the prep stage, and it most certainly increases the performance of a good latex paint exponentially.  Our painters love it, and so do our customers.”
 
For more information about Peel Bond, visit their website.

Are you looking to freshen up the exterior of your home or business this spring?  Are you thinking of using a cheaper paint in order to keep the cost down? 

We have all become more conscious of every dollar we spend these days.  In tough economic times, this is normal human behavior.  Often times, we can do just as well with buying less expensive or “private label” products instead of the name brands that are usually higher priced.

When it comes to painting the outside of your building, however, we’d like to caution you against making price your first consideration, particularly if you are hiring your paint job out to qualified professionals like us at Custom Coatings. 

According to field tests done by the Paint Quality Institute, ordinary exterior paint lasts about four years, while top quality 100 percent acrylic latex paint can last ten years or more when an experienced professional prepares the surface correctly before applying the paint.

Let’s look at this in terms of simple math.   If the ordinary paint lasts four years and the total cost to paint your house is $3,000, you would spend at least $6,000 to paint your house at least twice in ten years. 

If you chose to go with the top quality paint and that increased the total cost of the job to $4,000, you would save at least $2,000 over the life of that paint job because it will last over twice as long (ten years versus four).    

We’ve all heard the old cliché that you get what you pay for, and it is true that there are a lot of situations where we can save a few dollars and still be quite happy with what we ended up with for our investment. 

When we start talking about the various grades of exterior paint, however, over two decades of experience has taught us that this cliché most definitely has merit. 

Learn more at www.paintquality.com.

Custom Coatings has a simple mission - to educate you and empower you to become an informed consumer. Here are some industry terms to help:

Sodablasting - a process where sodium bicarbonate is applied against a surface using compressed air. It's the process that was used to restore the Statue of Liberty. This non-destructive method is useful in cleaning, paint stripping, rust and oil removal, masonry cleaning and industrial equipment maintenance. It also is popular for use in food processing facilities and boat hull cleaning.

Cool roof technology - a roofing system that can deliver high solar reflectance - the ability to reflect infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths of the sun, reducing heat transfer to a building. Most cool roofs are white and are an alternative to bulk attic insulation. Sometimes, bulk insulation can be entirely replaced by roofing systems that reflect this solar radiation and provide emission to the sky. Learn more at ersystems.com.

Dryfall - a quick drying paint used primarily in commercial applications that dries as it falls to the floor, making cleanup easier and reducing harm to machines in commercial and industrial settings. This product is typically used on ceilings in tall areas, such as metal decking in a warehouse or shopping center.

LEED certification - an internationally recognized green building certification process which provides third-party verification that a product or method is designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance in these areas: water and energy efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions and improving indoor environmental quality. Visit usgbc.org/LEED/ for more information.

Nansulate - a coating application with outstanding insulation properties. Nansulate is a water-based treatment that contains no potential harmful additives. It actually improves air quality while eliminating heat loss/gain from thermal bridging through studs. It can be used as wall, ceiling or attic insulation and is cost effective. Visit nansulate.com to learn more.

Self-leveling floor coatings - Also known as high-build, this industrial coating offers a way to add durability, safety and cleanability to your industrial or commercial flooring. Available in a variety of colors, the coatings can be built up to resist corrosive chemicals and high impacts. Learn more at nationalpolymers.com.

Thin Mil floor coatings - this type of coating is used primarily in retail and commercial locations because of its aesthetic appeal. These systems are used in covering smooth floor surfaces to increase light reflectivity and decrease housekeeping by reducing dust and ruts in the concrete. Read more at nationalpolymers.com.