There are some 46,800 people employed in the painting and decorating industry in Australia according to data from an IBISWorld industry report. While those tens of thousands of painters, at all levels of their careers, are spread around the country working on all types of projects, there are five things they all have in common – what they should never do while on the job.
This is one of the staple rules of tradies everywhere – never use poor quality tools. While purchasing tools from the more affordable end of the scale might save you cash in the short term, this can lead to bristles falling out in the paint and sticking to the walls, rollers that don't roll smoothly and messes that take precious time to clean up. Plus, lower quality tools tend to fall apart far more quickly, which means you'll be buying a whole new set again soon.
Using a paint calculator will help you determine how much paint you will likely need, with these figures providing a good estimate rather than an exact figure. It helps to round up rather than down when estimating how many litres a project will take, as running out mid-job can cause major delays and frustration. There's no harm in having a little left over for patch-ups and side-projects later on, anyway.
Primers are often the unsung heroes of a great paint job, as they help the top coats roll on smoothly, offer an improved finish and work as an adhesive to the original surface. Skipping the primer certainly saves time, but the final product won't be anywhere near as good.
Another tempting time-saver is to start on the second coat of paint before you know for sure that the first coat is entirely dry. The paint, the temperature and the levels of humidity can all have an effect on the time it takes for proper drying, so sticking to a standard time for every job won't always guarantee a dry first layer.
Paint too soon and you may end up with a finish that's streaky, uneven or peeling.
A painter should, before leaving each worksite, make a record of the basics of the job. For example, keep note of when you were there, how long the job took and importantly, the exact paint you used. All of these details may be needed in future (such as if the client would like a refresher coat of paint), so it pays to keep a simple database of past work.
May 15, 2016
The Resene Trade Blog
Information of interest for professional painters
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