Pre-painting tools are the materials used in preparation for future paint application, mainly to create a clean working surface and to make sure that the painting process will go as smoothly as possible.

Pre-painting tools include:

Washing Compound
Washing Compound is composed of trisodium phosphate which washes off grease and tobacco smoke off the exterior surfaces of a home.

Sandpaper
Sandpaper is a common household material which is used in sanding to level the surface for a finer finish.

Patching Material
Patching material is used to cover up or fill in deep holes. This material can be difficult to work with and very hard to sand smooth. Choose accordingly.

Painter’s Rags
Rags are used to help produce a good-looking, clean, professional Paint job. These must be lint-free and absorbent to wipe off excess caulk for paint from the wall.

Caulking Gun
Caulking Gun is used to patch cracks in areas where siding meets trim. This dries quickly and can be painted without being primed.

Spackle
Spackle is primarily used as a patching material. It is easy to work with because it is quick-drying and sands easily.

Scrapers
Scrapers are treated as the most important Pre-painting tool. It primarily scrapes off old paint on siding or trim, curved wood moldings, and other surfaces, to give way to a new one. It also removes accumulated dirt.

Another type of house painting tool are the Paint Applicators. Paint applicators are the tools used in the actual painting process; these tools are responsible for holding and releasing paint.

Paint Applicators may include:

Paintbrushes
Paintbrushes are the most common tool used in house painting. Although using them requires experience and skill, it is the most versatile and the best in different types of painting work.Paintbrushes come in different sizes according to the area of application and consist of two types, the natural which is made of animal hairs or the synthetic which is made of nylon. The main difference is that Natural bristles work only with alkyd paints and not with the water-based latex paints due to the fact that water causes the bristles to go limp, while synthetic bristles work with both alkyd and latex paints.

Rollers
A paint roller is composed of steel frame, a metal cage, and a threaded handle that can hold an extension pole. This is used to paint most interior walls, ceilings or any flat surface because it is four to five times as fast as the brush and it produces more professional looking results even in the hands of an unskilled user.

Pad Applicators
A pad applicator is like a paint roller except it slides rather than roll. It has the same application as the brush except it lets you apply a different color to the wall without irregularity or spillover along juncture lines.

Mitt
A mitt is the same as a paint glove which is worn and dip it into the paint, allowing you to wrapped around the object until the surface is coated with paint. Examples of this would be staircase balusters, railings, gutters, or pipes.

Airless Sprayers
An airless sprayer is a machine that applies paint in the form of a spray. It greatly reduces the time required to paint a house. In the hands of an experienced painter it can produce smooth, even painted surfaces. When properly used, airless sprayers can produce excellent results.

House Painting is never easy, especially to those who are novice, but practice makes perfect. With a proper set of tools in your hand, good quality work is assured while saving time.

Picking House paint colors makes the House painting process more complicated. You may already have a color in your mind, but still not sure. If you pick colors that are dull, your house may seem flat and featureless. However, if the colors you pick are too bold, they might overwhelm the architecture and eventually upset the neighbors. Once you get your color right, house painting will highlight the most beautiful features of your home.

Quality house painting can even disguise architectural and design flaws, boost up the curb appeal and increase market value of your home. If you are renovating, it may contribute some to the cost and transformation of your house, but inexpensive compared to other renovations that you can have done. With a few tweaks of colors it could restore the glow of your house as it was before.

Your house must blend with its surroundings when choosing an exterior paint color combination, because if you don’t subscribe to the norm, your house will stick out like a sore thumb. If that happens, you will stand out in a negative way. Get color ideas from the house next door, but don’t copy. Just choose colors that set your house apart without clashing with nearby buildings. To be safe, stay in a single color family, although clashing of colors draw attention, too much of it detracts the details which doesn’t look good.

Try to maintain the balance of color over your entire house. A burst of a single color on just one part of your home may give it a lopsided appearance. Also, Consider blending into the nature around you. The landscape around your house is full of colorful expressions. It will be more appropriate if you live in areas full of trees, to use greens or browns. Along the beach might suggest blues, turquoises, and coral colors. Even the flower garden in your front yard can be a source of color to craft the color theme of your home.

If you’re planning to paint an older home, use a historically accurate color scheme, but if it’s new, use modern colors to dramatize architectural details. Different colors have different longevity and maintenance. Dark shaded colors for siding will make your house look smaller and will draw more attention to details. Dark colors with lighter trim will highlight details. So if you have a lot of trim, go for dark shaded colors for siding.

Although dark colors can conceal surface blemishes, they fade easier when exposed to direct sunlight, so frequent maintenance is imposed. Light colors make the house look larger and can reflect more light which makes your house vibrant. However, stains will show up more on light color shades, but fading is less noticeable.

Home Painting is a serious matter because paint colors can transform the overall appearance of your home. Studies shows that it can affect your mood. Therefore, it is recommended that if you live in the home, make sure you like your color choices and that they truly compliment the style of the home. Home itself is an amazing thing, and house Painting just amplifies its beauty.

What I have found through the years is that most homeowners do not know how to properly evaluate Roswell painting contractors before hiring them. Just because a contractor is cheaper doesn’t mean you’re getting your monies worth. When it comes to hiring contractors, cheaper priced services often end up costing you a lot more.

With the high cost of labor and materials, profit margins aren’t that great in the painting industry. Real cheap services in the painting industry are cheap for a reason. Quality and value of services are being cut.

Better qualify your painting contractors in Roswell with the following 10 conditions.

1. How long has the contractor been operating in your area. Instability is common in this industry? Some painting contractors work a few years in an area then start to feel the heat from dissatisfied customers, so they move on to another city and start the whole process over again. If a contractor has been working in an area for 10 or more years, generally it is an indication of stability.

2. Does the Contractor pay his help by the hour or on a percentage basis? When I started my business in 1982, I paid my painters by the hour. After about 7 years of paying by the hour and being dissatisfied with their performance, I decided to switch to paying on a percentage basis. I found that the quality of work went up dramatically and the projects were completed in half the time.

The painters had an improved mindset when being paid on a percentage basis. The painters also have a special interest in the quality and timeliness of their work. Better performance means a smaller punch list at the end of the job and in less time, resulting in better pay.

Be sure and ask the contractor this question. This is merely a suggestion. Obviously, there are some painters that work by the hour that have a good work ethic.

Due to this success I will never pay my painters by the hour again. I have been able to provide a higher quality service overall since paying on a percentage basis.

3. Does the Contractor present a well written and organized contract to sign that outlines what he is going to do? This is a good indication of how organized he is. If he is well organized, in most cases it will carry over to his crews. Well organize people are very uncomfortable with disorganization and generally will work to maintain well organized projects and crews.

4. Does the contractor ask for a deposit up front? Although the size of a project may dictate whether a deposit is appropriate or not, for the average size painting and repair project (3,000 to 8,000) I strongly recommend not paying a deposit.

The ability of the painting contractor to finance the project is an indication of financial stability and more importantly his desire to operate at peak performance making sure you are happy.

I have heard many stories through the years of homeowners who have given the deposit only to have the contractor leave after a day or two of work never to be seen again.

5. How well has the contractor communicated with you since the first time you contacted him? Is he quick to respond to your questions and concerns?

Communication is very important to most quality professional contractors. This is another indication of the core values, by which he operates. During your project, you will definitely want good communication.

6. Are the painters working for the contractor covered by workmans comp? Be sure of this because many painters say they have liability insurance, but liability insurance is not the same thing as workmen comp and will not cover the painters if they are injured on the job.

Another consideration is how well the contractor has insured his crews against injury. Some contractors pay their crews under the table and there is no history that the insurance companies can verify. They may not cover the crews in such cases. This can put you at considerable financial risk. This simply is another indication of the core values that govern the Roswell painting contractors performance. Contact his insurance company and ask these questions.

7. Be sure and check their references. Even though they will give you their best references, you can still get a feel for qualities such as neatness, timeliness, communication, and overall opinion of quality of the job. Keep in mind though, everybody has their own opinion of what constitutes a quality job so don’t decide based solely on their references.

8. Be leery of the aggressive cut throats, as they are more volume oriented. They have to bang out as many houses as they can to turn any kind of profit. In most cases there aren’t any core values driving the quality of their work. You only stand to suffer from this type of contractor.

9. Make sure it is understood there is to be a walk through between you and the head of the crew to take care of touch ups and any issues before you pay for the services. This is crucial, both for you and the contractor.

It assures that you are happy with their work and helps eliminate warranty issues for the contractor, saving him time and money. Seasoned contractors who really care about their customers know that this is the best approach for finalizing a project.

10. You should also check for the following obvious things: a business license, Better Business Bureau for unsettled complaints, how long they have been in business, how many crews work for them, written and detailed warranties.

Always put quality first. Putting a little extra time into qualifying your Roswell painting contractors will pay off handsomely. You will have fewer headaches during the project. You will have a better looking home with a paint job that last longer.