Healthier Paint in 2008

Technology is helping inspire an excitement about using healthier paint products. Sherwin William's, Benjamin Moore, Pittsburgh and other major paint suppliers are trying to keep ahead of the competition by putting out new products. This is a list of some of the products that I have used.

1. Sherwin William's: Harmony, ProGreen, and Duration Home


2. Benjamin Moore Paints: Aura (has special low voc tints), and EcoSpec


3. Pittsburgh Paints: Pure Performance

I have to try product out for myself. All of these product have worked well for me. Happy Painting!

How to Serve and Lead the Customer?

Customers who are new to your company may want to lead you in a direction that you are uncomfortable going. How do you deal with this? Sometimes giving the customer what they think they want violates what you have learned is best way to serve their interest. Sometimes if you follow the customers lead you will be hurt financially and loose their respect when things go wrong.

First why does the customer come in and try to make all the decisions. Most of the time it has to do with insecurity. They don't know what you know but they do have some knowledge. This insecurity can almost always be overcome. You must establish yourself as professional and knowledgeable. You must also be patient. Find out the specific concerns. When a customer feels that you understand them and answer their concerns satisfactorily then they tend to ease up and give you more trust.

The next issue that I run into is that some friend or family member says that such in such is the only paint to use. This is something that I am running into less and less as we establish ourselves as a respected and professional company. When it does happen I talk through my reasons why and ask the customer to question the expertise of the person with the opinion. If the customer does have valid reasons I gladly use their products. In cases where I am asked to use lacquers in a residential new construction home I will pass on the job if it comes to that. Respect is always central when dealing with your customers.

I used to think that doing what ever the customer asked was the way to serve them best. Now I know from my experience at the school of hard knocks that the best way to serve your customer is in and through the wisdom and expertise that you have accumulated. Relationships and trust will always be as fluid as a dance and in need of constant maintenance.

Keep it simple

Sometime the biggest challenge for me is being overwhelmed by the immensity of a task. When it comes to being "green", I have felt overwhelmed. Instead of giving into this I have made a choice to grow in understanding and to begin to put in place what I know. There is no magic button that we can push to make ourselves "green".
If you compare becoming greener as a painter to a health plan you can see what I mean. As you get into the details of what kind of diet and exercise program to implement you can become disillusioned by all the intricacies and differing opinions. How should we react? Should we just say who cares and give up. I say NO, let's take what we know and start at the foundation. Simple steps like cutting out the obvious things like sugary drinks, and applying moderation. We always have at least one step in the right direction that we can take.
I see cutting out oil paints and stains as the same as not drinking the cola's and sweet tea (if you live in the south). Using moderation in food and drink is like not over buying paint and having a plan for what to do with the extra.
The big tasks are always daunting but if we take steps in the right direction we will get to where we want to go eventually.

Roots- Why not use a Water Based Trim Paint?

The Root reason to not use water based trim paint?

What are our roots and how did we get here? Chances are through much difficulty. Something is always worth what you will give up for it. Even to the point that we are willing to give up our lives. Are the reason I held on to oil based trim paint so long worth my quality of life or someone else (not to mention physical heath). Why not choose a paint that is healthier. What is the real root reason. I think it is that we are comfortable with what we have known. Change is hard for some. When making the decision to use a healthier product you are making the choice to better someone else life.
Years ago I decided to make the commitment to use water based paints on trim instead of oil. I felt that I would have to sacrifice quality. As I made the commitment I worked out the bugs. I only gained benefits and quality. Once in a while I have a customer that want to use oil base trim paints, but I get to be the one to tell them the success that I have had with water based enamels.
The key question for me was; was what I was giving up more important then what I was gaining. I realized that the differences in quality were not significant even before I learned which products to use and how. The benefits far out weigh the costs. When you half try a new paint system chances are you will not stick with it. If you take your current knowledge and commit to what you know is best you will learn how to make it work for you.

It's a great time to live!

It is so easy to get focused on all the negatives in the world today, but I want to draw motivation and inspiration from that which is changing for the better. Not to put my head in the sand, but rather to take stock of the blessings we walk in.

We are living in an unprecedented time. There is a growing awareness and care for things that really matter. People are looking past their own needs and wants to those beyond themselves. I had lunch with someone this week who said, "I have all I need or want, now I am working toward been able to travel to other countries and build kitchens for orphan's in South America." Not only is this a long term goal for this man but a short term reality. In the United States and around the world purpose is being released and it is the purified American dream. It is a dream that we will be strong enough to reach out in relationship and friendship and empower someone else.

How does all this affect a painter or someone just wanting a paint job? It affects us all because we have choices. Simple choices in paint can affect live in both the short and long term. I remember the day's of feeling ill from smelling oil based paints all day. It is the simple things in life that can change the world. Their is a power and peace in respecting others. None of us have it all together, but we can take little steps toward our goals. In this age of opertunity we can make a difference.

Reaching My Goals- When?

Personal Thoughts:


Keep your long range vision!
Some days I feel like I am so far away from the picture of my vision. It helps me to look back and see where I have come from. I may never arrive, but I am on a journey none the less. It is a incremental journey. So many things seem so far out of reach. As I look back at where I was ten years ago I am amazed at where I am now. Ten years ago I was painting my way through college at ten to fifteen dollars an hour. It is hard to keep in mind the successes when you look in the mirror at only the things that are lacking. Each day is filled with juggling challenges, some to victory and some to apparent defeat.


I have come to accept myself and my weaknesses. So now that I accept that it's OK to not be perfect I can start to move forward from where I am. This is so important in my life whether it is my personal life, business or working toward being more green in our practices. The most important thing is to have a vision and get on the road. I can't wait until I have it all together.

How to get ride of all that extra paint?

This is a question I have to deal with on a regular basis. I just heard a story of a painter dumping all his old paint into a neighbors dumpster. It is extremely important for us to find a soloution to this problem. I have not found a solution that I am fully satisfied with yet. These are some of the ways that I am working towar an solution.

1. We try to buy a little less than I think I need at the start and adjust quantities based on how much paint is being used.
2. We keep extra paint at our customers home so that we can use it later for touch up.


3. We remove all primer, clear coating, and other commonly used products so that we can use the extra on the next project.
4. I have donated extra paint to my Local Habitat for Humanity and a local YMCA. (Churches, and other community centres are also good options)

I would like find way to recycle paint.

Water Based Stains

Send your vote to paint suppliers and learn how to use waterbased stains succesfully.

I started painting houses when I was a fifteen. Working for a high end paint company we had our very specific right ways to do thing and wrong ways. Being brought up in the painting profession this way I have had some opinions that needed to be challenged. Last year I started using water based wiping stains when ever possible. The world didn't end. My customers didn't fire me. In fact a home owner/customer we recently worked for liked the staining job we did with all water based products more than the oil based stain in his previous (identical) house.

Painters, home owners, and paint suppliers give water based stains a chance. It works differently, but I believe that in time you will prefer it.

How to effectively use water Based Stains?
(traditional drawbacks and how to overcome)

1. Waterbased stains Dry quickly sometimes causing overlaping marks.
2. Waterbased stains tend to be more like a glaze then a stain and can cover more then you want creating a one dimensional look.

Some possible Solutions:

1. Use a waterbased pre stain. We have to make our own by thining a waterbased clear coat.
2. The pre stain can be colored to create more depth and take some of the green out as shown below with this poplar door.

Benifits

I recently walked into one of our jobs and could not smell any paint. The whole house was stained and looked great and there was no stain smell. I felt like I could just take a deep breath and feel good about what we had done.

1. Smell
2. Dry Time
3. Water clean up
4. Better work environment