The Commercial Painter’s Blog

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...

When it comes to exterior paint, we get a lot of questions about paint failure.  Most of these failures are on concrete block or CMU (CMU=concrete masonry unit) buildings. Large CMU commercial buildings must be painted and repainted correctly in order to get a long lasting, protective paint job.  First, I’ll go over how to correctly paint and repaint these types of buildings. New CMU Prep Most painters who are experienced will tell you that it takes 7 to 30 days for the masonry...

Sitting at one of my favorite Downton Indy work spots, I couldn’t help but notice same really poor panting had recently taken place.  I started to ask myself, what if this was our team that did this?  How would I want my customer to respond?  Unfortunately, we see too much of this and most building owners and facility managers probably just chalk it up to “well, it’s bad, but most people won’t notice” or “we’ll fix it next year during our repaint.”  This is problematic on a few levels. First,...

Perhaps the most helpful article on why deck coating failure is so common is one found at this link https://thepaintpeople.com/painting-101/why-is-my-deck-stain-failing/. We get a lot of calls to stain decks and, honestly, it used to be one of our least favorite surfaces to paint. The ugly truth is that decks are one of the most difficult things to paint or stain. Combine that with the fact that most customers want the deck coating to last for five to ten years, every painting contractor...

Nothing is more disheartening than finding extreme damage to your concrete block walls. If you own a CMU building, you probably know what I am talking about. Loose paint, stair steps, water bags, missing mortar joints, and efflorescence are just a few of the problem building owner face and the maintenance of these buildings can be a painful lesson in vigilance. Some problems are caused by movement as the wall heats up and cools down. On a winter day it isn’t uncommon for the walls to reach...