Painting Contractor Tips

Interior trim and crown molding are used to add a unique aesthetic to rooms around your home. These features are merely decorative and don’t serve a functional purpose. If you decide on repainting a room with trim and moldings, you don’t want to ignore freshening them up. These features really bring your room together and must be handled differently than a regular surface wall. Our teams of painters in Collingswood provide tips on tackling painting trim and crown moldings. 

Pick A Trim Or Molding Color

The first step in sprucing up your trim and moldings is picking the color. Trim and molding are frequently used to add contrast to the room. Whether it makes the décor, walls, or floors pop, the color of your trim or molding can do a lot for a room. Many people opt to go with a wood finish to achieve a more natural effect. Another common play is to use neutral colors that blend in with the rest of the room. You can add contrast by painting the trim a darker shade of the wall color as well. If you prefer more vibrancy and overall color, you can choose colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. For contrast, you want to choose colors that are opposite to each other on the color wheel. 

Pick A Paint Type

There are many different types of paint that bring out certain characteristics. The paint type will determine how durable and aesthetically pleasing the surface will be. Common paint types are flat, enamel, satin, and gloss. For trim and molding, a gloss paint type works the best. The two types of gloss paint are semi-gloss and high gloss. Our Collingswood painters recommend using high gloss if you want a shiny look. If you want a more dull look, use semi-gloss. If you clean wash your trim often, use a high gloss paint type. 

Pick Your Paintbrush  

Trim and molding can be tedious to paint. The surface area you are covering is really small in comparison to the surrounding walls. Rainer Painting recommends using a high-quality enamel or varnish brush. These high-quality brushes help put on a lot of paint despite their overall size. They are useful to utilize when painting hard-to-reach or intricate areas. If the paint you are using is water-based, make sure the bristles are synthetic so the shape of the brush doesn’t diminish as you paint. 

Prepare The Room 

The luxury of hiring a Collingswood painting team is that they take care of the hassles before and after the room is painted. Preparation is everything. First, you want to clear out the room of any furniture that could receive splash damage from painting. Second, you want to properly clean the trim or molding that you are painting. If you choose not to clean the molding, it can lead to poor adhesion as you paint, which results in cracking. Lastly, use painter’s tape to avoid getting any paint on the surrounding floor and walls. 

If you have any questions about painting trim or crown moldings, reach out to Rainer Painting at 856-786-8121!

The start of a quality commercial paint job begins way before a single brush stroke is made. A lot of the time, the prep work that occurs before any painting determines the quality of the finished project. Poor prep work can ruin a lot of projects before they even get off the ground. Before you dive headfirst into a project, understand the importance of preparing your workspace. From the walls to your tools, our painters in South Jersey provide some tips and insight. 

Surface preparation is extremely important and time-consuming work. However, it must be done to ensure the paint adheres to the surface properly. You cannot rush the preparation process because it will end poorly and result in more money being spent trying to correct the result. When working as a commercial painter, this can be a disaster and ruin your reputation in the area very quickly.

Protecting Items And Surfaces

When beginning your preparation, all items and surfaces that are not being painted should be protected. You can protect these items by simply removing them from the area or covering them with tarps. If you are painting a surface that has intricate trim work, you should utilize painter’s tape so the paint doesn’t drip on the wrong spots. The toughest spots to protect are doorways, outlets, and windows. 

Power Washing 

Surface preparation comes to play with outside surfaces as well. The most popular way to prepare an outside surface is by cleaning it with a power washer. Outside surfaces can have many contaminants such as dirt, rust, algae, mud, and much more. The pressure and temperature of the water will easily remove these contaminants from any surface. If contaminants are not removed, it can jeopardize the durability of the paint job. 

Scraping & Drying

After cleaning a surface, you want to let it completely dry before you start moving on to the next step. If a surface is still damp, primer or paint will not adhere properly. For power washing, the surface may remain damp for a few days. Be mindful of this when time is of the essence for a project. After cleaning a surface, loose paint might still be present. Paint leftovers need to be scraped off to make sure a bare surface is available for your new paint. Again, failure to do this may create problems with the new paint adhering properly. 

If you have any questions or concerns about your painting project, reach out to Rainer Painting at 856-786-8121! 

There are two common types of paint that are used for interior and exterior paint jobs. Both types of paint have unique characteristics that make one preferable over the other. The kind of project you are working on will influence and determine what type of paint you should use. The two main types of paint are latex and oil-based. How do you know when to use which? Our professional painters in South Jersey outlined the differences and similarities.

Ease Of Use

Both types of paint have difficulties when applied. Generally, oil-based paints require more energy and effort to apply to a surface. Oil-based paints are more difficult to spread on a surface due to their composition. Oil paints are a lot more viscous and thicker, which require multiple brushes to be used. Oil paints take longer to dry as well. On the other hand, latex paints are a lot thinner, which results in an easier spread and less equipment use. Oil-based paints require a good primer as well. Latex paints don’t require a primer, but it is still strongly recommended to prevent a failure to adhere to the surface.

Chemicals Used

Both paint types offer similar colors that can achieve various looks for your home. Each paint type differs based on its chemical makeup. In particular, both paint types use different chemicals to bind to surfaces. Latex paints use an acrylic mixture that acts as a binding agent for the paint. The acrylic binding element is non-toxic and very flexible which makes it a popular choice for areas exposed to intense temperature changes. Oil-based paint uses a form of oil as a binding agent. Oil-based paint is quite thick and more susceptible to issues such as mold. 

Durability

Each type of paint has different degrees of durability. Oil-based paints are harder to work with, but offer a higher degree of durability. Oil-based paints are a lot more resistant to stains but are more prone to cracking over time. Latex paints stain very easily but rarely crack or peel over time if applied correctly. Oil-based paints are the go-to choices for high-traffic areas like bathrooms, trims, and exteriors. Latex paints are used for other interior rooms and are easier to clean if an issue occurs. Oil-based paint requires a lot more effort to clean and heavy-duty solutions.  

If you have any questions or concerns before starting your next project, reach out to Rainer Painting at 856-786-8121!

Exterior paint jobs take a lot of abuse from the elements. It can be very costly to routinely repaint the exterior of your home every time a form of damage or wear occurs. The best way to keep the exterior paint job in the best shape is to not constantly redo it, but preserve it. Our expert painters in Haddon Heights provided tips to help preserve your exterior paint job.

Manage Your Vegetation

A yard that is flourished with plants, trees, flowers, and bushes may provide a much-needed aesthetic and private barrier to the public. Time and time again, many people will face the issue of vegetation damaging the exterior of the home. We are not saying to clear out the lot completely, but it is important to manage it. Branches and vines can quickly grow out of control. Once out of control, they can become hazards to falling on or growing up the side of your property. It is important to maintain this before it happens. On the flipside, trees can be beneficial for your exterior paint job if they are placed properly and keep the elements like sunlight off of your siding.

Cleaning Your Gutters

The gutters of your property function as a way to properly distribute excess water and protect your roof. Unfortunately, certain roofs and gutters can cause debris to be pushed down the siding of your home. This debris can cause staining of the exterior siding of your home. The best way to avoid this is by regularly cleaning your gutters and roof to avoid a buildup of sludge above. This will not only preserve your exterior paint job but your gutters and roof as well.

Clean Your Siding

It is no surprise that exterior parts of your home can become very dirty. It is impossible to prevent particles and dirt from building up on your siding. It can both tint the beauty of the paint job as well as the damage it. You should make a point to powerwash your siding every so often to keep your paint job vibrant as well as clear of nasty particles. Be mindful of any cleaning products you may use. These cleaning products could strip away the protective coating that lines the paint. The best bet is to utilize a power washer and specialized cleaner that was designed for your type of siding and paint.

If you have any questions or concerns about maintaining the exterior of your home, reach out to Rainer Painting at 856-786-8121!

Wood paneling was a popular aesthetic in the mid to late 1900s in housing designs. Wood paneling was seen as a cheap, easy to install way to achieve the trendy style of the times. From the 50s into the early 80s, manmade materials such as laminate, vinyl, linoleum, and paneling dominated the interior design scene. Fast forward to today, it is not as widely popular as it used to be. Wood paneling can add a sense of warmth to a warm or complete turn you off a room. With that being said, painting wood paneling is a popular request for our painters in Mount Holly. Here are some tips to do it the right way.  

Cleaning

Before you start painting your paneling, the paneling and molding need to be cleaned. Over time, dust and dirt can create a film over the paneling which can be a nasty surface to paint over. A dirty surface makes it difficult for the fresh paint to adhere to. If you do happen to get any paint to adhere, the paint will show off a clumpy look that could easily make the paneling look worse than before. 

Filling & Sanding 

After you clean the wood paneling, you want to fill in any blemishes with putty then let dry out. After minor cracks and holes are filled, it is a good idea to lightly sand the paneling to create a dull and gritty surface for the new paint to adhere to. Be sure to not sand too hard because you can start chipping away at the paneling itself, which creates more spots to fill. Once you are finished, remove the dust by using a damp washcloth. 

Caulking

With paneling, there are usually gaps between each individual panel that lines the walls. Caulk should be used to fill in these gaps between each panel as well as the trim, windows, and doors. Once finished, let the caulk fully dry before moving on to priming the wood paneling. 

Priming

Next, an oil-based or water-based primer should be used to prepare the wood paneling for applying coats. A roller and a fine brush should be enough to get the job done. A roller can be used to efficiently cover the surface while the brush is good for when you get into tight areas of the paneling and cracks. Oil-based and water-based primers will prevent any stains from showing through your completed project.  

Painting

Lastly, you want to get started painting and seeing the makeover come to life. For your first coat, apply a thin layer of paint from top to bottom. Ensure that all grooves are covered between each panel as well as remove any drips down the paneling. After the first coat dries, apply the second coat to make sure the paint job is durable and the best coverage possible was achieved. Once the paneling is painted, carefully work on the trim underneath to either match the wall or create a beautiful contrast. 

If you have any questions or concerns about your painting project, reach out to Rainer Painting at 856-786-8121!