All posts by manage-system-user

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One of the most significant dates of every year has always been January 1st – well, it is to most of us. To those of you that don’t see it this way, I am sorry for you. There are not many greater gifts that God has given us than a new year. I do mean this in so many ways! One year comes to a close, history is written and the game is over. Hopefully, you have thought ahead and cleaned up all your messes from the years. There is little worse than starting the new year with a bunch of unfinished business! So why do most people think of January 1st as a special day. Also, a new year has begun full of hope, dreams, and possibilities.

I hear the curmudgeon now – “But nothing has really changed – life is just one big continuum of time form the day you are born to the day you die.” Or “I don’t do New Year’s resolutions!” The latter is usually followed by some self-pious nonsense about keeping your word or something similar. I say what Piggy says in Lord of the Flies – sucks to your Puddleglum attitude. Get over yourself and live a little. Don’t be so cynical! Life is too short to live like that. Okay, rant over.

The New Year is a new beginning. The great gift of God is that he gives us an endless string of opportunities to say something like “This is a new day, I will begin again.” We have new days once a day, a new week every week, a new month every month, a new quarter every quarter, and a new year every year. I don’t think it is any coincidence that God, our merciful creator, is constantly urging us to get up and begin again. So, will you take this opportunity to be thankful for new beginnings. Will you wake up on January 1st and recommit yourself to living this life for every drop it has to offer. I know I will. Join me, not literally, but do join me in making your new years resolutions this year – to be a better dad, a better boss, a better churchman, a better husband, a better brother, a better son . . . I think we were “created for more” (Grace College’s motto). Do you?

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Do Scuff-Resistant Paints Really Work in Commercial Spaces?

Yes. Scuff-resistant paint can help walls resist visible marks from everyday contact, making it useful in commercial hallways, offices, retail stores and other busy spaces. Its value depends on the selected product, surface preparation, cleaning practices and type of wear. Scuff-resistant does not mean scuff-proof, and it does not eliminate maintenance.

For a facility manager or business owner, the practical question is where that extra resistance will help most. A busy corridor may benefit from a different coating than a quiet conference room or a ceiling that rarely gets touched.

Here is how to decide whether scuff-resistant paint belongs in your next commercial painting project.

What Is Scuff-Resistant Paint?

Scuff-resistant paint is an interior coating formulated to resist visible marks caused by objects rubbing against the painted surface. You may also see it described as anti-scuff paint.

In commercial buildings, that contact might come from bags, shoes, chair backs or equipment brushing against walls. A coating designed for scuff resistance can help limit the appearance of everyday wear.

It cannot prevent every kind of damage. A cart striking a corner can dent drywall, and a sharp object can cut through a coating. Those problems may require repairs, corner guards, or changes to how equipment moves through the building.

Is Scuff-Resistant Paint the Same as Washable Paint?

No. Scuff resistance concerns how readily contact leaves a mark. Washability concerns how well marks and dirt can be removed. Scrubbability concerns the coating’s ability to withstand repeated cleaning.

A paint may provide several of these qualities, but the terms are not interchangeable.

This distinction matters when choosing paint for high-traffic commercial spaces. If walls collect ordinary dirt but rarely experience rubbing, washability may be the main priority. If furniture, bags or equipment regularly brush against them, scuff resistance deserves closer attention.

Rather than selecting paint by sheen alone, review the specific product’s performance information and care instructions.

What Causes Scuffs in Commercial Buildings?

Doorways deserve close inspection when identifying wear, damaged finishes and preparation needs.

Scuffs often develop where people, furnishings and equipment repeatedly contact the same surfaces.

Common sources include:

• • Chair backs rubbing walls in meeting rooms and waiting areas
  • Bags and clothing brushing against narrow corridors
  • Deliveries and restocking activity near entrances and storage areas
  • Shoes contacting walls beneath counters or seating
  • Furniture being moved during events or room changes

Before repainting, identify what is causing the marks. Better paint may help with routine rubbing, but repeated impacts need a broader solution.

For example, a hallway with light contact from bags presents a different problem from a service corridor where carts regularly hit corners.

Where Is Scuff-Resistant Paint Worth Using?

Commercial corridors are useful places to assess wall contact and coating durability.

Scuff-resistant paint is most worth considering on surfaces that receive frequent contact and where visible wear creates recurring cleaning or touch-up work.

Offices and Shared Workspaces

Office corridors, reception areas, break rooms and walls behind movable seating are useful places to assess. A private office with little wall contact may not need the same coating.

When planning an office painting project, identify the areas where marks return most often. That helps make coating selection part of the scope rather than an assumption applied to every room.

Retail Stores

Retail walls may experience contact from shopping bags, merchandise, fixtures and restocking activity. Checkout areas, fitting-room approaches and routes between sales floors and storage rooms deserve particular attention.

For a retail store painting project, consider customer movement and staff activity alongside the appearance of the finish.

Schools, Healthcare Facilities and Other Busy Buildings

School corridors, waiting rooms, hospitality corridors and event spaces may also benefit from coatings selected for repeated contact.

In healthcare environments, cleaning requirements need separate consideration. Scuff resistance alone does not establish that a paint is compatible with a facility’s disinfectants or cleaning procedures. Review those requirements against the proposed coating’s technical information.

Corridors, Stairwells and Lobbies

These spaces connect much of a building’s daily activity. Door approaches, narrow passages and walls beside seating can receive more contact than nearby surfaces.

Look at actual wear patterns. Heavy foot traffic does not necessarily mean every wall is being touched.

Does the Entire Building Need Scuff-Resistant Paint?

Usually, the decision can be made by area rather than applied to the whole building. Prioritize walls that experience repeated contact, frequent cleaning or highly visible wear.

A practical assessment might separate the property into:

• • Frequent-contact areas: Busy corridors, waiting areas and walls beside movable furniture
  • Occasional-contact areas: Conference rooms, private offices and quieter customer spaces
  • Low-contact surfaces: Ceilings and walls largely protected from daily activity

A suitable standard interior paint may be sufficient in low-contact areas. If branding changes or remodeling will require repainting soon, an upgrade may also offer less value.

Discuss these differences when planning commercial interior painting. The goal is to match the coating to the surface and its use.

Which Scuff-Resistant Paint Is Best?

There is no single best paint for every commercial facility. Compare the exact product and sheen against the building’s contact patterns, cleaning needs, appearance requirements and budget.

Several product lines illustrate why those details matter:

• • Benjamin Moore Scuff-X: Marketed for high-traffic commercial areas with a scuff-resistant formula and multiple sheen options.
  • Sherwin-Williams Scuff Tuff: Offers scuff resistance, washability and resistance to burnishing.
  • BEHR ULTRA Scuff Defense: Includes finishes designed to provide scuff resistance, including an extra-durable flat option.
  • UltraLast, previously discussed here as PPG UltraLast: Current Pittsburgh Paints product information emphasizes washability, stain repellency, and burnish and mar resistance.

These are useful starting points for comparison. Their product names do not establish that every finish performs identically or is appropriate for every surface.

Before specifying a coating, confirm the current product information, available finish and suitability for the project. A product selected for frequently cleaned walls may address a different priority from one selected primarily to resist contact marks.

Can Scuff-Resistant Paint Reduce Touch-Ups?

Scuff-resistant paint may reduce touch-ups needed solely because of superficial contact marks. It cannot guarantee a longer repainting cycle or a specific maintenance saving.

Walls can still need attention because of scratches, impact damage, leaks, failed adhesion or changes in the building’s appearance.

Cleaning practices also affect results. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions, including when the coating can first be cleaned and which cleaning methods are appropriate.

Scuff resistance should support your maintenance approach. It should not replace inspections, cleaning or repairs. For ongoing attention to worn areas, explore Indiana Painting Company’s Maintenance Paint Plan.

What Should a Facility Manager Consider Before Choosing a Coating?

Walls, baseboards and doors may need different coatings based on contact, cleaning and surface material.

Start with the building’s actual wear rather than a product label.

1. 1. Identify the problem. Are you dealing with superficial scuffs, dirt, scratches or damaged drywall?
   2. Map the contact areas. Note walls beside chairs, narrow passages, delivery routes and places where marks repeatedly return.
   3. Review cleaning practices. Specify the cleaners, cleaning frequency and methods the coating must tolerate.
   4. Inspect the surface. Existing paint, repairs, contamination and adhesion problems affect preparation requirements.
   5. Choose the finish in context. Consider lighting, appearance, cleaning performance and touch-up expectations.
   6. Plan for curing and maintenance. Dry-to-touch time is not necessarily the same as readiness for washing or demanding use.

For an especially busy area, ask whether a sample application would help evaluate the proposed color and finish before completing the full space.

Choosing Paint for Your Commercial Space

Scuff-resistant paint makes the most sense where everyday contact repeatedly affects the appearance of walls. It may be unnecessary on surfaces that receive little contact, and it cannot solve damage caused by repeated impacts.

If you are planning a commercial painting project in Central Indiana, tell Indiana Painting Company where marks occur, how the walls are cleaned and which areas need the most attention.

Request a commercial painting quote to discuss the surfaces, preparation and coating options for your facility.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can scuff-resistant paint be applied over existing paint?

Often, but compatibility and preparation must be assessed first. Loose paint, glossy finishes, grease and damaged areas may require cleaning, sanding, repairs or priming before the selected coating is applied.

Can I clean scuff-resistant paint as soon as it feels dry?

Do not assume that you can. Follow the product’s specified waiting period before washing. For example, BEHR’s instructions for its Scuff Defense flat finish allow cleaning with a mild, non-abrasive liquid detergent after two weeks.

Should I use wall paint on doors, trim or floors?

Only if the specific product is approved for that surface and use. Doors and trim have different demands from walls, and an interior wall coating should not be assumed suitable for floors.

Today’s post is a little off topic for a painting blog, but every winter we begin that long season of shorter days and longer nights. It all begins with the world around us getting more stark – the grass goes brown, the leaves begin to fall off the trees, and the birds start heading out. It can be foreboding to many as the signs of winter creep into our everyday lives. But if you have the eyes to see it, you have been given hope too. So many fall festival begin to spring up with people having fun and enjoying hot chocolate and food truck fare. Then Thanksgiving, that high holiday where we reflect on all the gifts that God has given to us as we gather at the table for a feast. But it is not over yet . . .

The Advent season then begins as the excitement of Christmas start to build. Displays start showing up in stores as the anticipation builds. The kids start making paper chains to the countdown to Christmas day! Towns begin to put up decorations and the days begin to get shorter faster. Our neighbors around town begin to string lights on their homes and the world, just as the darkness begins to overtake the days, we light up the nights with our lights. We overcome the darkness with our lights and celebrations and this brings a lot of happiness to those who will accept it. The grinches start showing up too. They can be heard complaining about all the shops putting up Christmas stuff up so early and how December is always way too busy. To some, it seems, God’s goodness to us always comes with a price tag that is almost too big for the measly return of one little day. Just one short day – it is, in fact, one of the shortest days of daylight of the entire year. And should I mention how these grinches feel about family and the get together?

But to many, if not most, that one day is the best day of the year. It is the most anticipated day of the year. To these people, the light of Christmas makes the darkness of winter more meaningful. I don’t think it is a mistake that our Christian forbearers put Christmas in the middle of the winter. Of all the reasons we celebrate Christmas when we do, none of them can be as significant as the idea that, when all seems so dark, cold, and lonely, God gives us the gift of Christmas. Is this not the entire meaning of Christ. Christ enters the world as a light in the darkness making us alive when all we knew was death a separation from God? In our darkest of nights and our lostness, God sends us a light not merely to show us the way, but to light up our lives. He send Christ to make us alive in the middle of being dead. He brings meaning to our lives and, in His grace, He slowly begins to make everything new. There are some who know what I mean and this will bring great joy to your hearts.

Instead of complaining about stores putting up decorations so early, we should be excited and asking why did they put them up so late! And yes, family can be a complicated mess sometimes – most of the time for many. But even in that we should be thankful that we have family, even if it is complicated. My prayer this season is that God will show you His grace and that your heart of mourning can become a heart of thanksgiving and joy. If you thought Christ would fix everything around you, you’ve gotten it wrong! But He can and He will fix you if you will just ask Him to. After all, it is likely you and I are the most broken things around and it all begins with how we are looking at the world.

In the last few years, two competing worldviews have surfaced in our culture.  One worldview is steeped in gratitude and the other is steeped in the language of victimhood.  One worldview tells you to take stock, see your faults and situation, and then work to improve yourself.  The other worldview tells you that you are more a product of your circumstance and that you will need the help of others to improve your situation for you.  One is the view of the world in which you are master of your own destiny and the other requires everyone around you to commit to giving you the proper resources to succeed.  Of course I am talking about the traditional western and Christian worldview.  The other is a newer Marxian view of life.  So, this Thanksgiving, what direction will you go?  Will you see the founders of our county, our way of life as a gift from God that paved the way for this incredible way of life?  Will you see your parents as a gift from God who either gave you the tools to succeed or, if your childhood was difficult, will you see them as giving you the tools to navigate hard circumstances?  Or will you choose to think that they all failed you?

So often our temptation is to focus on the troubles, problems, and difficulties. To scream “foul” at our circumstances when they don’t go our way.  As I think back on all my years, the one constant refrain is that very little actually went according to my plan – and I am so thankful that it didn’t.  I don’t think my life would be the same.  How anemic would life be if I accomplished all I thought I would.  Instead, I was given nine mild mannered children who are delightful to spend time with and a loving wife who is there to help me work through tough problems and cheer me on.  Would it have been like this if I had gotten my way.  Only God could know the answer to that one, but I am happy things have worked out this way.  Maybe your circumstance isn’t so good.  Maybe, if you change how you think about your life and pray for God’s help to improve it, you will slowly begin to see your life change and your will grow in stature with every passing day.  On this Thanksgiving Day, will you reflect on all those undeserved and hard fought for accomplishments in your life?  If you are like me, your thoughts will turn towards family, friends, God, and all those business acquaintances who have added to the fullness of my life over the past 20 years and your heart will be made glad.  Will you be thankful this Thanksgiving?  I hope so, the joy in your heart will be hard to contain!

In this post, I am talking to general contractors about what makes a good painting subcontractor.  It takes a lot of tools and skillsets to perform well in the commercial painting market.  Our twenty years in business has been spent in the direct to owner and subcontractor world, so we know a thing or two about working for general contractors and how to be a good subcontractor for them.  You won’t catch us talking down the gig as a subcontractor, we have a lot of respect for good general contractors!  So, let’s talk about what makes a good general contractor first.

In the Bible, Jesus tells us you will know them by their fruit.  This saying can be applied more broadly than just telling who is a Christian or not.  Well, you will know a good general contractor by their fruit.  Here are a few tests we use when determining who to work for and who to stay away from.  First, do they care to make the customer happy.  If you don’t care to make your primary customer happy, you are either very bad a vetting your clients or you have fostered a culture of love-hate with them.  Any contracting firm that has grown hard and brittle with their clients is to be avoided.  Second, we look for happy subcontractors and employees.  If a contractor is operating with the grain, they treat those that work for them fairly and like they are on the same team.  Contractors that are heavy handed should be avoided.  That is not to say they can’t have high expectations.  In fact, high expectations are one of the things we look for in a good general contractor relationship.  High, but reasonable expectations is one of the best metrics in finding a contractor who will deliver good, consistent, and profitable results for everyone on the team – including the project owner!  The final thing, believe it or not, is contract length.  Whenever a 50+ page contract crosses my desk, I know there is a 50% chance the relationship is based on distrust and an expectation that everyone is trying to finger point in that relationship.  So that is what we look for in a general contractor, but what makes a good subcontractor?

Over the years, we have tried to think of how we can best serve our general contractor clients.  First, a subcontractor needs to be fiscally responsible and able to financially perform the projects on their boards.  A hungry subcontractor is a problem subcontractor who will always be looking for an easy payday.  I made this mistake early on and didn’t even know it until an older gentleman told me that one of my problems was that I didn’t realize that I was a bank.  He was right.  Since then, we done our best to make sure we could finance every project that we took on with cash in hand.  This motivated us to save up and be able to cover every project on the board with cash in hand.  What a game changer this was for our outlook of the world and for our relationships with each GC customer.  Second, a good subcontractor will be self-disciplined in their work.  Does your sub call you to get your schedule for their trade or do they just wait to be told what to do.  Are they asking scope questions early so there are no surprises?  If you can’t manage your own scope and schedule, you are nothing more than a slave – and a slave with many masters is a bad slave!  As a subcontractor, you need to guard your schedule and scope with tenacity.  This might irritate some superintendents with many phone calls and too many questions, but better this than to be chronically underperforming and unable to meet the demands of the schedule!  Finally, a good subcontractor needs to be honest and transparent.  If you cannot meet a demand, you need to fess up to it early and often so the GC can have the time to come up with their choses solution.  A good subcontractor won’t play games and won’t hold their cards TOO closely to the chest.  You are on THEIR team after all and you should be a grown up and act like it.

So, if you are a general contractor who does work in the Indy area and are looking for a reliable subcontractor, I would like to speak with you.  Indiana Painting is usually competitive, but not the cheapest.  If you are low bid specialist, we probably won’t be a great fit.  But if you are looking for a good partner in getting your projects finished on time and with a quality you can be proud to show your customer on punch day, we’d love to be on YOUR team!

Many property owners ask us why there last paint job didn’t last as long as they had expected. The answer to this question is not a simple one and not because the causes aren’t know, but because there are quite a few factors that involve paint longevity. In the following post, we will explore the various reasons for fading paint and how we, the painting contractor, can help extend the life of your paint job.

Preparation

All good paint jobs begin with preparing the substrate. In the industry we use the initials CDDS – Clean, Dry, Dull, and Stable. When we have these four conditions, our paint has a good chance of adhering and functioning as it should for many years to come. I will cover why each one is important below:

Clean – this one is obvious. If the surface is dirty, the paint will adhere to the dirt and the bond is only as strong as the weakest bond in the system and dirt doesn’t typically bond too well! Any professional painter will always clean the surface before painting it. If your painter isn’t cleaning with pressure washing or similar method, they are doing you a disservice.

Dry – that a surface needs to dry might seem obvious, but some paints actually recommend that you dampen the surface first. These paints are usually masonry paints and the moisture helps extend the dry time so the paint has time to correctly bond and crosslink. A painter must always be mindful of the limitations of paint and how it was designed to be used. This information is found in the PDS (Product Data Sheet) or TDS (Technical Data Sheet) on file with the manufacturer. Wood is by far the most absorbent exterior building product. Our team carries moisture meters with them so they can ensure the wood is dry enough to paint. Painting surfaces that are too wet will cause the paint to have poor adhesion and may even damage the paint film as the moisture dilutes the paint.

Dull – it is difficult to get paint to stick to many shinny surfaces. Tile, glass, high sheen plastics, etc. are the most difficult surfaces to paint. Shinny is often achieved by creating a surface with densely packed molecules. Shinny surfaces resist absorption while dull surfaces usually readily accept water. One of the main methods of getting paint to bond to a surface is by forming a mechanical bond. The resin in paint is absorbed into the substrate and gets “keyed” into the surface. If you were to look at a surface in a very high powered microscope, you would see a very rough surface (kind of like the surface of the moon). The resin in paint fills all the voids and dries in them creating a strong bond. The second method of creating a bond is called the chemical bond. This happens when the bonding chemical either etches the surface to create a mechanical bond or softens the substrate just enough for the them to meld together. Bonding primers are a specialty product and must only be used on substrates they are designed to be use on.

Stable – this simply means that the substrate is sound. If the substrate is weak and disbonding from itself of the sub substrate, the new bond will only be as strong as the previous bond. A good example of this is paint that might look like it is adhering well, but is letting go underneath it all. New paint can sometimes stress out this bad bond and cause a more rapid disbonding. A painter must remove all unstable coatings and materials before applying the new paint or primer. We see this often on precast and CMU (concrete masonry units) buildings where water has penetrated the surface and is causing the paint to disbond from the surface. This must be removed before you paint.

Application

Application affects fading too. If paint is applied in weather that is too wet or too hot, the paint cannot properly cure. If the substate is too wet from dew, recent rain or even ambient humidity in the right circumstances, it can dilute the paint and cause uneven curing. If it is too hot and sunny, you risk the paint drying too quickly, not giving the resins the appropriate time to properly set up in the initial cure. Professional painters will follow the technical specs and will know from experience the circumstances that cause failure. One should never be too flippant about the ambient conditions when applying exterior paint!

Some substrates have special considerations too. Painting over cementitious substrates takes knowledge of the building material. Many painters skip priming on pre primed fiber cement siding and trim. This “shortcut” is almost always a mistake. The priming process at the factory often locks in high PH cement and doesn’t allow it to dissipate normally. You must pressure wash and prime fiber cement siding and trim before you paint it – even if it has been pre primed! Precast is best when you let it set for 6 months and, even then, you must prime it with a PH resistant primer. CMU needs to sit for at least 7 days (we prefer 30 days for the best results) and, even after that time frame, a good painter will use a modern block surfacer that handles high PH levels better. Even with all these precautions, we recommend waiting 48 hours before top coating to allow a good barrier to from between the substrate and the top coats. Taking shortcuts here will result in premature fade and, sometimes, early paint failure!

Finally, film build is important in exterior paint performance! Too thin and the paint will not be able to perform as it was design – too thin and the UV rays will penetrate the film too deeply and cause the paint to degrade too quickly. A good painter will take great care to control the application of paint so that the it reached the appropriate film thickness so it can perform as it was designed.

Environment

The environment the building is in matters for paint longevity. High sun and industrial environments are among the hardest on the paint film. The sun’s UV rays will break down the resins and pigments causing faster film breakdown. Industrial environments can also cause faster breakdown by speeding up the oxidation of the film if there are a lot of contaminants in the air that cause oxidation.

Quality

The quality of paint will also make a difference. Cheaper paints will have more fillers and will have a lower DFT (dry film thickness) because they are lower in solids. This is one reason you don’t want your painting contractor to water down the paint! A good quality, higher solids paint will be worth the extra cost. The resin technology in cheaper paints is also weaker and less UV or chemical resistant. Premium products will have the best resins in them and will have to prove their worth in publications like consumer reports. 

We recommend AcriShield or Permanizer from PPG, Behr e600 for commercial work and any of the upper line Behr products for a more durable finish. Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore also sell great product lines too.

This is a great question, but a better question might be what is involved in painting the service center of my auto dealership.  We work with quite a few general managers who need to maintain their service centers while keeping them open.  With an experience paint crew, this is not a problem.  Our team can work with you to establish your priorities and come up with a plan to get the work done in the least painful way possible for your team.

Now, what is involved in the work highly depends on your scope.  Are we painting walls only?  Are we painting the open deck ceilings?  Do you have any other contractors involved including new equipment installers, floor coating contractors, electricians, or plumbers?  We will need to understand the entire scope of work, not just ours.  This will help determine sequencing and how you can build out a schedule that will save you time, hassle, and money.  

Typically, on projects with a walls only scope, we will clear one area each night to clean and paint. This is the least intrusive work to your service team.  We will meet with you to develop a job timeline and job plan.  Each afternoon at the end of the shift, your crew will move their tools 10’ away from the wall.  We will cover the tools, wash the walls, and paint the new color scheme or freshen up your existing one overnight. Your team will need to put their tools back in place in the morning, but that is it.  We find that the smoothest jobs are those that communicate early with their team and get involved in making sure there is followthrough.

It is important to remove all grease and grime from the surfaces to be painted to ensure good adhesion.  In most shops, this is mostly on the lower 8’ of the wall or so.  During the quote phase, we will determine the best prep for your surfaces and those methods will be built into and detailed in the quote.  For most automotive shops, we will need to use scissor lifts to access the upper walls.  These will be stored in a location convenient for you so they won’t interfere with your work.

Most 50×100 service shops will cost around $10,000 for a budget paint job on the walls only and close to $20,000 for a three tone and epoxy paint job.  Our project consulting team is here to help – just give us a call for your personalized quote today!   Call 317-528-9500 to reach our sales team today!

The point of this post is not to tell you how much it costs to paint your exterior, but to give you a good idea of what goes into painting the exterior of a home and how much it costs.  First, we would discuss our process.  Our team begins with pressure washing your home’s exterior.  All the painted and unpainted surfaces should be cleaned thoroughly so the your home looks freshly painted and clean at the end of the job!  Plus, we want to make sure all the faded paint and dirt doesn’t end up on your brick or patio!

Second, we inspect and repair all damaged siding, wood, and trim.  If we find more than was visually inspected at the time of quote, we will let you know about it, show you, and provide an additional quote that includes all the additional work.  It is important to know that sometimes damage is unknown until we reveal weak wood with our cleaning process.  This additional work occurs in about 10% of our quotes and it usually isn’t more than an addition 5% to 10% of our quoted price.  Damage can hide pretty well under more modern acrylic paints.  Part of our prep is replacing all damaged caulk and making sure your eaves and siding are sealed well to keep all the wether out.  This is the most important step in preserving your home as an investment.  Water intrusion is the number one cause of major expense in non-cosmetic home repairs and it doesn’t take very much time for wood rot to impact your home.

Next, we cover all your shrubs and landscaping with sheets to protect them from paint overspray and damage.  We also mask off all areas not recieving paint.  This step is important in keeping your windows and brick looking great after the paint job.  Once we are all cleaned up, sealed up, and covered up, the painting begins.  We will spot prime if you have bare wood.  Now we are ready to apply two full coats or premium paint.  Our team uses PPG AcriShield, Behr Premium Plus, or Sherwin SuperPaint Exterior as our entry level paints for your homes exterior.  We stand behind our exterior work for 7 full years from the date of completion.  Our team uses the best methods and paints for your project.

A smaller ranch about 1,500 sqft costs around $5,000 to paint whereas a larger house twice that size will often cost in the $11,000 range.  We’d be happy to discuss your project with you if you would like.  Just give our team a call at 317-528-9500 or pick a time that is convenient for you!  We look forward to seeing your project!

We get quite a few clients ask why painting prices vary so much?  This is always a question I am happy to field because the answer is pretty simple and revealing of a company’s core commitments.  Our two main expenses are labor and materials so let’s talk about those to categories first. 

First, let’s examine a company’s materials costs.  What is their baseline materials?  Many companies with lower cost quotes use an entry level material.  We often call these top line commercial products.  For us, these would be Sherwin Williams ProMar 200, Behr i300, and PPG SpeedHide.  We like all these products – for commercial new work.  They don’t belong in your home or even in your business repaint work.  What makes these good products for the new build market is that they are competitive and they are serviceable for a shorter period of time.  They lack the ability to clean them and  are really difficult to touch up a year after the install.  They are great at giving you that initial canvas at a lower cost.  We always try to get our customers to spring for the next step up.  It usually doesn’t affect the price very much – typically only 5% or so, but new work is very competitive.  In your business or home, our entry level product is Sherwin Williams SuperPaint, Behr Premium, or PPG Pure Performance.  Yes, thy are more costly, but they will be very serviceable.  

Second is labor prices.  Like anything else in life, you get what you pay for.  Lower cost companies will use less skilled and less reliable labor.  Indiana Painting has committed to a more disciplined and skill workforce because we believe that it is worth the extra investment, and most of our customers do too!  If your contractor is sending you unskilled labor, you have a very low probability of getting a good outcome.  We believe our team makes up for the extra cost by being hard working and efficient.

I believe doing the work right is where most of the discrepancy comes from.  Take wood decks and fences for instance.  Quite a few painting companies won’t touch them because they don’t have the knowledge or the discipline in their crew to succeed.  Our team follows a rigorous step by step process that will ensure your outdoor wood surfaces get the longest life possible.  These extra steps include a chemical treatment, sanding or wire brushing, moisture testing, and applying three full coats on all horizontal surface to ensure complete coverage and durability.  If you do it right, your deck coating should last over 5 years with normal use.  The real way companies cut costs is by taking shortcuts.  This is the main way to get quote prices lower.

There are so many examples I could give on price differences, but the best way to determine if the contractor your are negotiating with is right for you, is to ask them to go into detail about their process.  If the salesman cannot go into detail about their process, than their process is not that special and their crews performing the work are most likely not trained in the methods of getting a thorough paint job that will last a long time.

Like a lot of contractors, I never considered using Behr for commercial interior painting jobs.  First, it comes from a box store so it must be a residential or homeowner thing, right!  Boy was I wrong!  During the pandemic of 2020 and the shortages of the last few years, we started looking for ways to augment our supply chain to keep paint flowing so we didn’t have to tell our customers we couldn’t fulfill our commitment to them because we couldn’t get paint.  We tried a lot of avenues, but the two performers that stood out were PPG and Behr.  PPG’s commitment was clear when semi trailers were showing up with drop shipments from Dallas, Texas with 30 gallon of dryfall or a few gallons showing up on a UPS truck.  They really went out of their way to make sure we had what we needed to keep commitments we had made.  I’ve never had such a fierce loyalty to a company in my life than I do for PPG. They cared simply because I cared about taking care of our customers – the commitment flowed through and that was magical in our time! 

Now for Behr.  We didn’t try i300 until earlier this year, but we have used enough of it to know that, for a comparable price point, you won’t find a better commercial paint!  Rarely do you introduce a new product to a paint crew and get a unanimous accolade from them, but this is the exception that proves the rule!  Painters are a very picky lot and they get very attached to products they like to use.  Our team took to i300 and they tell us they don’t want to use anything else – that is pretty high praise.  But it doesn’t stop there!  The Behr crew at Home Depot are a really good support team.  From hassle-free color matching to cheerful order taking and fulfillment, we are hooked!  And the price is pretty good too with their contractor pricing program!  Many paint retailers put unrealistic shelf prices on their paint to “help out the contractors” by making our prices seem very reasonable.  But this is just a scam and we don’t like those tactics.  Most contractors pay around $25 to $30 a gallon for a good, solid commercial paint.  Most of us mark it up about 25% to 50% to cover some of our costs for handling charges.  That includes setup, ordering, pickup, waste, and other costs you never have to think about.  We like the simple strategy of reasonable markups for retail customers who can’t afford or don’t want to hire a contractor for whatever reason.  Painting should be affordable and we should encourage more people to improve their lives with paint!

Let’s talk performance.  The paint just applies easy and looks good with minimal effort. Ask any painter and they will tell you that cheaper paints are difficult to make look good.  This is why our hearts always sink when a customer says they would like to supply the paint – it is usually a lower end product.  Behr i300 is the perfect answer for your commercial spaces that demand economy and performance.  We are happy to recommend it to all the do-it-yourselfers and customers out there looking for a great, low cost product!