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Turning
Startu
to Finish
a House
TPD’s
Into
a Home
by jerry rabushka
editor
We at The Paint Dealer don’t take
the easy way out. Earlier this year we
scraped and repainted a church that
was full of lead paint and had a 24-foot
high ceiling. Then we redid two decks
30
TPD u 08.07
at opposite ends of the city. Now we
picked a house that was much more
peeling than appealing, and it was in
Kansas City, 250 miles away from our
home office. It wasn’t as much paintto-beautify as paint-to-save.
Steve Thompson, of A Neighborhood Painter, let us in on a little secret.
If a contractor’s bid seems ridiculously
high, it probably means he doesn’t
want the job, but he’ll do it if you’re
willing to pay him a ridiculous amount
of money.
Some of the original bids on this
two-bedroom ranch in Kansas City
were coming in near the $5,000 mark,
but Steve, the contractor ultimately
awarded the job, explained that this
isn’t the kind of easy job that can
make a painter a lot of money. There’s
money in blow & go; scrape & stay is
significantly more work.
Jim Berry’s house in KC had problems—lots of them. The paint job was
about 10 years old; it was budget brand
over cedar shake. Over the years, water
had seeped in through the back of the
shake, working its magic both on the
siding itself and punishing the paint
job from the back. It was cracking,
it was peeling, and it needed a lot of
washing and scraping. Not to mention
Whetting Your Palette
I got there just in time, cutting
through a KC Wednesday rush-hour
to meet with Donna Sheridan, a
lifetime-career designer with about
a decade-and-a-half association with
Gragg’s. As I pulled up, Donna was
using her color tools to explain to
homeowner Jim the colors she thought
would work best.
By traveling to the homesite, Donna
had much greater ability to pick a
color that would be appropriate for
the home itself as well as blend in with
its environment. Easier, in this case,
than looking at 2,437 color chips in a
store. We had plans to apply MoorGard® Satin, Benjamin Moore’s
premium exterior paint. Since the
paint was provided courtesy of Ben
Moore, it made sense to use the best
product possible. It would also allow
our painter to experience a top quality
paint; he admitted to often buying
paint on the cheap to satisfy many of
his budget conscious customers.
Donna incorporated several factors
Project 203: Exterior Painting
the jungle of ivy vines on two sides of
the house that needed removing. To
make it “baby’s bottom smooth” might
have taken a couple weeks of sanding,
scraping, buffing and feathering. The
baby would have been a teenager by
the time it got done.
Bosh. Who wants to do all that hard
work? More to the point, who can make
money off that, asks Thompson?
As in any job, you have to make a
choice—ours was to make it look as
nice as possible, but we weren’t going
to try to restore the cedar shake to its
original condition. After all, we’re a
magazine on a budget and a deadline.
Anxious to take advantage of superior service, we partnered up with
Gragg’s Paint, a well-known chain in
the Kansas City metro area. It agreed
to supply us with a decorator, tint
the paint, let some sponsors funnel
product through its shelves, and once
all this went down, owner Ron Gragg
and his son Todd wanted to come
out to offer advice and check on the
progress of the job. Ron was especially
interested in monitoring our choice of
primer, a product from Ohio-based
primer-grinder XIM he was considering stocking in his store.
THE HOUSE u
Right now the home is a
house, old peeling paint
job, faded color, lots of
scraping needed. Water
seeping in behind the
cedar shake compounds
the damage of typical
UV exposure and the
changeable weather of
the Midwest.
THE DESIGNER u
Donna Sheridan has
about 15 years logged
in with Kansas City’s
Gragg’s Paint and about
twice that in her career as
a decorator. Customers
love taking advantage
of her experience and
her eye for color. In our
project, Donna stated her
reasons for keeping the
colors conservative—this
was a house that needed
to blend rather than strut.
THE PAINTERS u
Steve Thompson, his
wife Laurie, and his best
friend Gary Richards
make up the firm of “A
Neighborhood Painter.”
As they were naming the
company, Laurie reasoned
that Steve had painted
just about every house in
the neighborhood. Like
Sheridan, Thompson’s
approximately 30 years
of experience means he
knows a lot about paint,
and in our instance,
gains a quick appreciation
for new products.
For more info visit
aneighborhoodpainter.com.
www.paintdealer.com
31
into her color selection. One of them
was the condition of the shingles. Since
they were old and damaged, she didn’t
want a loud color or a high gloss to
broadcast all the problems. She also
took a look next door to pick a color
that would go well with the brick and
grey-green siding of the house to the
left. The house on the right was more
of an everybody-has-it beige, so she
avoided that color as well to set Jim’s
place off on its own.
Using a large color chip, she showed
Jim how—in various angles of the
sun, as well as in tandem with the
house next door—the chosen color
could holograph slightly different,
from beige to light green.
She recommended painting the
wooden frame on a screened-in front
Above: After power washing with our Maxus
sprayer and Jomaps’ M-1 housecleaning
additive, Laurie and Gary scrape the house in
preparation for priming.
Left: Steve Thompson enjoys how easily his
Graco Magnum sprays on XIM’s Peel Bond, a
clear-drying, glue-like bonding primer.
Below: Peel Bond dries clear but you can see
its sheen as it locks down loose paint and
provides a smooth surface for a new coat.
porch the same color as the body of
the house so as not to call attention
to the screens; the trim color would
be a slightly darker Texas Leather
that would be painted on the window
frames and around the garage, as well
as the porch ceiling.
The intent was a unique but neutral
color that would call on neighbors
to admire the house but not gossip about its defects. By consulting
Benjamin Moore’s extensive color
palette, Sheridan was able to make an
excellent choice; Ron Gragg noted
that her decades of experience have
made her a popular fixture at Gragg’s,
32
TPD u 08.07
and a very busy woman at its Overland
Park, KS, location.
Sticking It to the Siding
One of the beauties of these projects,
from a manufacturer standpoint, is it
forces dyed-in-the-epoxy painters to try
new products. In this case, the primer
was Peel Bond from XIM. Company
President Dick Hardy and his troops
wanted to show America how this
product works; it’s a glue-like primer
that dries clear, bonds loose paint to the
surface, and when applied thick enough,
flows and levels into cracks and crevices
to smooth out the surface.
Ron Gragg was reading up on the
product and noticed that it could be
applied up to 20 mils, which meant
it could really lock down some old
coatings! As an XIM dealer already, he
was really excited about this product’s
potential. “If it does what it says it’ll
do, I’m pretty sure I’ll stock it,” he
said.
Folks were a bit skeptical: can it
really fill in the cracks and level out a
surface that was this messed up?
It took some learnin’. Steve Thompson noted that it took a bit of finesse; if
you as a dealer sell this to either a pro
or DIYer, maker sure they have suf-
it would be a better fit for this
heavier bodied primer.
All in all, Thompson sprayed
on about 25 gallons; to be honest we could have used even
more for a smoother undercoat
around the house. As it was,
Thompson, his crew and Ron
Gragg were impressed with how
the product locked down any
loose paint chips. Thompson
became more impressed the
more he used XIM’s Peel Bond
product! We all ran our hands
along the primed surface of the
house to feel the tight coating
it formed. It felt smooth and
glassy and proved it was worth
testing a painter’s mettle to calm
down a combative surface.
“This house might rot out
from the inside before anything
will happen to the prime coat,”
everyone joked.
Even so, Thompson noted,
this is a product that will take
Above: How’s this for product placement?
Our Graco Magnum lets Thompson apply a
coat of Peel Bond; 1800 psi with a .017 tip
turned out to be the best bet.
Right: Here he takes a stiff-bristled Purdy
Pro-Extra to back brush the thick coat
of primer. The stiff bristles are a good
companion to this heavy-bodied product.
ficient instruction prior to application.
Steve laid out a thick coat on the side
of the house and then back-brushed it
with a Purdy. Initially this thick first
coat seemed to sag, and he expressed
his disappointment to Mark Maggio,
the XIM rep at the scene.
Now you know we’re not going to
tell you it didn’t work, so what happened? Thompson discovered two
things as he sprayed it: what appeared
to be sagging was actually the product
filling in the cracks and crevices. Plus
the best way to apply it was to put on a
thin coat first, then he could spray it on
pretty darned thick and it would flow
and level just like it promised on the
bucket. Initially he sprayed the product
out at 2,800 psi but he found turning
the sprayer down to 1,800 made for
better results.
Maggio brought along a .017 sprayer
tip to replace the .015 that came with
our new Graco Magnum XR7 noting
34
TPD u 08.07
the painter some getting used to as far
as how it handles out of a sprayer.
Sometimes it Really IS
Christmas in July!
Steve loves Graco sprayers; he’ll
tell you that just about every painter
he knows uses a Graco. So you can
imagine his glee when we scored him
up the latest model of Graco’s Magnum XR7 to use on this project. Steve
enjoyed the fact that… well… it works!
It helped him lay down a smooth coat
of primer, several coats of paint, and
cut a lot of time off the project. In
fact, he joshed, the quick work of the
sprayer meant he spent more time
going up and down the ladder than he
actually spent spraying.
For a pot & brush contractor who
is afraid to make the investment, he
suggested, the time-is-money savings
provided by the Magnum makes it a
no contest purchase.
Having an instrument that worked
so well meant that he was also going to
not really extra time spent cleaning as
it is less time spent on application.
Here Comes the
Neighborhood
Above: This Maxus machine clearly labels
its capacity; by pouring Jomaps housewash
into the container, Thompson got the
optimum mix of water and cleaner.
take good care of it. He made sure to
prep it according to instructions before
he started using it for the first time,
and at the end of the day he spent
plenty of time cleaning it and getting
the paint out of the hose & gun. With
all the time a good sprayer can save, it’s
We should backtrack. Steve Thompson has been a painter for over 30
years; he and his wife Laurie started
up their business “A Neighborhood
Painter” back in Februrary 2007. It’s
a small company; he’s accompanied by
Laurie and his best friend, retired IRS
worker turned painter Gary Richards.
Laurie helps with web design and marketing as well as the painting. Steve
handles most of the large jobs like
spraying and power washing.
Much of the wash happened before
we got there; the week before, Hans
Mugler, our publisher (da boss), hauled
up our Maxus pressure washer for
work on its third project. As we learned
from the first time, they work a lot
better when you put oil in them before
you turn them on!
Steve liked the power washer for
its smooth and consistent operation.
A washer pretty much will work or
it won’t, and he liked the troublefree smooth operation of the Maxus.
With both the sprayer and the washer
he noted the difference between a
pro-grade and a homeowner model;
any painter worth his roller needs to
invest in a quality product such as the
Maxus. Some homeowner models are
both sprayers and pressure washers, he
pointed out, and have a very short life,
and aren’t a good buy for a contractor who plans to use the equipment
continuously.
Along with water, he applied
Jomaps House Wash, an additive
that he put into the Maxus and that
sprayed out on the sides of the house.
We arrived in time to take some photos
of Steve washing down the porch and
the short concrete sidewalk leading
up to it.
Steve was convinced that the House
Wash product made the difference, he
observed that it cleaned the house and
porch much better than if he’d just
blasted the surfaces with water. The
concrete was literally a night and day
difference, it looked like someone had
poured a new sidewalk.
Gragg’s Brags
After that was a trek up to Liberty,
MO, to visit the Gragg’s new Benjamin Moore signature store.
I’ve been in all kinds of paint stores
over the years; the first set of “dealer
profiles” I ever did for TPD included
a visit to Gragg’s store in Overland
Park, KS. The Liberty, MO store is its
newest, about a half hour north of the
Berry house.
Above: Corob’s D600 automatic dispensers
team up with several mixer models from
Red Devil Equipment; the rollers around
this horseshoe of equipment allow for
easy loading and moving the heavy paint
containers.
Left: Gragg’s Store Manager Adam Pillman
demonstrates the D600; note the receipt-like
printout that lets him label each can of paint.
36
TPD u 08.07
Far left: Gragg’s website was designed by
BigEye productions. Visit graggspaint.com
and see how simply yet effectively this site is
put together, noting products available, who to
contact, store locations, and more.
Left: Pillman likes these Red Devil shakers
(models 5025 and 5990). They’re quiet and
they don’t give him any trouble even over
long-term use. Just like his favorite customers.
Here we picked up four “fives” of
base color and another couple of the
trim. Gragg’s combined the look of a
Ben Moore signature store along with
some features that its own customers
have gotten used to in Independence
and Kansas City; its high ceiling and
spacious displays welcome both contractors and DIYers alike.
When business gets hopping, there
will be plenty of equipment available to
tint and mix in the “horseshoe” on the
other side of the large window behind
the front counter.
The Gragg’s chain uses Red
Devil mixers and Corob tinters; here there’s three Corob
D600s and Red Devil models
of all types. Store Manager
Adam Pillman likes the setup,
the conveyor rollers around
the equipment make it easy to
tint and load machines without having
to hoist up fives any more than absolutely necessary. It’s all well and good to
“be a man” but “being a man with a bad
back” isn’t nearly as much fun.
Using the Corob is easy, about as
easy as sending an e-mail. Put the
bucket under the machine, pop the
lid and line it up with the dispenser
nozzles, then use the software to program in the tint color. Adam and Todd
Gragg feel this works more accurately
than a manual, and Gragg’s is phasing
out its manual tinters throughout the
chain. There’s too much room for
human error, they believe, especially
when you’re dealing in increments
of 1/384 oz. They use Corob because
they like its dependability. Someone at
each store has been through a training
course to make sure that there’s a
staffer who knows how to work and
maintain the machine. The investment of sending them to training saves
money in the long run; they’ll be able
to take care of most tinter issues in
house rather than paying an outside
troubleshooter.
Since we were shaking up two fives
at a time, Adam put the first in the
5025 Red D mix 5-gallon shaker
from Red Devil Equipment and
shut the door, the second went into
the 5990 Multi-Size Shaker. The 5025,
with no window to watch the proceedings, might not be as much fun for the
kids but it sure is quiet! Adam’s fave
machines are the ones dedicated to
a particular size. He’ll use them
first, then fire up the multi-size
shakers when he’s got more cans
to shake at once. But all in all, the
dependability and ease of use of
the RDEs has made the investment worthwhile; Todd estimates
there’s about $120,000 in tinting
and mixing equipment just in that
horseshoe.
In some of the other stores, the
RDEs have been in service for
several years. They might look
a bit beat up, but they still shake
their booty.
Far left: Mark Maggio, an independent
sales rep for Jack Bentzinger &
Associates, helped our painters with their
questions in applying Peel Bond.
Left: CPS Color’s Corob brand D600
at work tinting a five of Moorgard. The
staff at Gragg’s Paint loves these tinters
for their ease of use and consistent
accuracy, and use them throughout their
chain of stores.
38
TPD u 08.07
Above: Thompson changes spray tips on
the Magnum to start applying MoorGard.
Note the logo on his t-shirt.
Above right: Using a premium quality paint
like MoorGard and a professional grade
sprayer like the Magnum lets Thompson
make quick work of painting this house.
Bugs and Buckets
Later on, Ron Gragg visited Jim’s
place and brought by some of his
company’s private labeled paint buckets as well as some Benjamin Moore
t-shirts for cast & crew. Steve was
using buckets from a mass merchant,
after all!
We’re back outside with the bugs.
For a lot of the first day, XIM rep
Mark Maggio was there to answer
questions about Peel Bond, Sikkens
rep David Grace was there to discuss
staining the front door, and Todd and
Ron had heard so much about this
project that they both came by several
times to check out the progress.
What happened of course, with this
many paint people in one place, was
a lot of discussion and opinion—and
disagreement—about the best way to
paint the house. Well, OK, we have
the advantage of being a magazine’s
project with a national profile, but
it’s cool to watch people with a lot of
40
TPD u 08.07
passion about painting this small house
but yet wanting all their products and
services to come off in the best way
possible.
One thing we’ve seen on a couple
projects now is a mindset that if one
type of product should be applied a
certain way, the same goes for all of
them. This can create trouble when
using new products; it can even give a
customer the idea that the new product
doesn’t work. It’s important to point
out differences in new products; how
they should be applied, and how dry
times and other characteristics differ
from what’s currently and popularly
on the market.
Because the XIM primer dries clear,
Ron suggested, more like insisted, that
the painter use two coats. This would
make the homeowner happy, and allow
the MoorGard to show itself off in
the best light. As the supplying dealer
he had a stake in a good final appearance—as did Benjamin Moore and
XIM. Since the sprayer gave Steve
the ability to knock out a side of the
house in several minutes, and we had
lots of paint, it wouldn’t be hard to
put on as many coats as necessary. In
many instances he sprayed on three
Above: Gary Richards covers a hinge with
Shurtape’s Razor’s Edge. Its blue painters
tape would most likely work just as well, but
he wanted to try out its new product. Either
way, the door hinge is covered. Purdy’s ProExtra makes quick work of this tucked-away
back door.
sprayer wasn’t optimal. Purdy supplied
a lot of brushes—when a pro painter
has his unlimited pick of Purdys you’d
think he discovered the treasure of the
Sierra Madre. Padco supplied several
other applicators and accessories: mini
rollers, paint pads and trays, and even a
Shake Siding Painter which came
in perfect for (get this!) painting shake
siding.
The trick to painting shake siding,
said Ron Gragg, is sufficiently coating
the underside of the shake. This helps
keep water out of a rather inefficient
siding system. The top edge of Padco’s
Above: M-1 Mildewcide from Jomaps is an
extra precaution against mildew to help the
new paint in its new home—a very humid
Kansas City summer.
coats of exterior paint over two coats
of primer.
A Good Paddling
Well what’s the first thing you do
when you open a can of paint? You
stir it up, of course. We had plenty
of paddles on hand from American
Paint Paddle, both the one- and fivegallon variety that we used for the XIM
product as well as Ben Moore. While
these were generically labeled with the
manufacturer’s name, don’t forget you
can get a box with your own and give
them away at the time of purchase.
42
TPD u 08.07
In any case, the paddle kept the
paint stirred up as Thompson set the
sprayer equipment into the bucket.
As he sprayed on the MoorGard, he
was, first of all, impressed with the
color chosen by Donna Sheridan, and
second his respect for the Peel Bond
increased because of how well the topcoat bonded. And the Graco sprayer?
“I just can’t say enough good things,”
said Steve.
Standing On Gard
As Steve was applying the coats of
MoorGard, Gary and Laurie, who also
enjoyed stepping back to admire the
color, were trying out various applicators on downspouts, trim, behind the
gas meter, and other places where a
Above: A handy paddle from American Paint
Paddle give the paint a final stir prior to
application.
shake painting pad is designed just for
that; run the pad under the bottom of
the shake and it’s coated!
Gary liked the pad for painting
between the downspouts and the
porch, for example, and Padco’s mini
rollers came in handy for quick work
in some other hard-to-reach areas.
Laurie got the honors of painting
behind the gas meter and some other
spots where it was easier for a smaller
person to fit into. Gragg mentioned
the usual problem with many of his
customers, even if they’ll buy a top
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Clockwise from above: Gary Richards
enjoys using Padco’s unique applicators
to put paint in some out of the way places.
In the top picture, note how the roller tray
has a special device; Gary simply rolls the
paint pad over the white plastic cylinder
for a smooth load of the paint pad. Next,
the wheels of the edger let him apply paint
neatly just under the gutter. The mini roller
lets him make quick work of the downspout.
Below: From Padco comes the Shake
Siding Painter, the top of this paint pad
allows for application on the bottom of the
shake, which is what everyone regarded as
the most outstanding feature of this simple
applicator.
quality brand like MoorGard, when
he’s loading the paint in their car he’ll
see the 3/$1 rollers or the $5.99 bag o’
brushes in the back of their car. “The
Purdy doesn’t cost that much more,”
he pointed out, “and it gives them such
an easier time of things.”
Our painters realized the value of a
good brush—particularly for free!— so
they made sure everything was cleaned
out at the end of the day.
44
TPD u 08.07
“It’ll last for years if I just take care
of it,” Thompson pointed out. Tell
your painters the same thing. If they’re
going to spend over $20 on a paint
brush, it’s a great investment if they
actually treat it right. If not, well…
sell ’em another, and another, until
they learn!
As the paint went on, we noticed that
the color did what Donna predicted. It
spruced up the house, blended it in to
Top: Sometimes only a brush will do; Richard brushes up his Purdy between the gutter and
the downspout. While Laurie (above) gets the honor of painting behind the gas meter.
its environment, and reflected off the
house next door and took on various
timbres under the different positions
of the sun.
There was concern that the trim
color, Texas Leather, wouldn’t hide
the navy blue that was currently on the
trim, particularly with a see through
primer, but the fears were unfounded.
The slightly darker trim wasn’t a dramatic difference from the base, again
chosen to minimize the appearance of
any flawed wood or siding.
Oops! We forgot to pick up the
porch paint, but thanks to the exceptional service provided by Gragg’s,
Ron swung by with a gallon of Ben
46
TPD u 08.07
Moore’s Porch and Floor the next day.
On the porch, Thompson applied the
self-priming alkyd product. It was the
last thing he did on that Saturday, after
letting it dry overnight; he returned
the next day for a final coat and presto!
House looked great, it went from
“worst house on the block” to “wow
that’s a great paint job!”
It was an educational experience for
Steve as well. He was so impressed
with the Gragg’s service and product
knowledge that he made plans to open
an account with them. After working
with a top quality paint, he feels more
comfortable explaining to his customers what their options are, and the
Top & above: Thompson loves his Cosco
“World’s Greatest” multi use ladder,
which bends in all directions, serving both
as a step and an extension ladder. The top
photo shows him flexing his joints while the
bottom has him safely working on the front of
the house. In other configurations, he could
easily access the various levels of the house.
Steve had nothing but praise for this product
as it simplified his job and allows for extra
room in his truck, since he only needs one
ladder instead of two or three. The ladder is
available in 13', 17' and 21' sizes.
benefits of using a better product.
With over 30 years experience,
Thompson certainly knows his stuff,
but he’s still open to learning about
new products and techniques—good
for his business and good for his customers.
BEFORE u
Gentlemen Prefer Bronze
Last step of the
project, stain the short
concrete walkway that
leads to the porch.
Both Hans and Steve
were impressed with
Lumi-Seal’s concrete sealer. Just
stirring it up, again
with a trusty American Paint Paddle,
the product has a
very inviting look to
it, almost like stirring
Above: The house is prepped, thanks to the worry-free operation
of the Maxus pressure washer and some diligent scraping by
Lori and Gary.
DURING u
Above: Note the contrast of the scraped house and how well
the paint is covering; much of the credit, says Thompson,
belongs to the primer as well.
AFTER u
a can of molten bronze… but not nearly as hot. It
applied easily with brush and roller and as it dried
it turned the expected bronze color and picked up
varying sheens as it filled in the peaks and valleys
of the concrete and reflected in the sun. In general
this category has gotten more user friendly over
the years, and many concrete products apply just
like house paint. Lumi-Seal is designed to stay on
the concrete for years longer than conventional
clear and lightly pigmented sealers. The dingy concrete walkway, first cleaned by the Maxus pressure
washer and then coated with Lumi-Seal, suddenly
goes from overbaked eyesore to “welcome home!”
Top: Thompson blasts 10
years of grime with the Maxus
pressure washer. Big before/
after difference!
Middle: Lumi-Seal applies
easily to the concrete just like
putting on conventional paint,
in this case with a Pacdo
mini-roller.
Left: The completed
sidewalk, ready to be
“trampled underfoot” (also the
name of Berry’s favorite KC
blues band) by friends, mail
carriers, and solicitors.
Above: The next-door neighbors will enjoy this view; with both
premium primer and paint, this job should look fresh for several
years.
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TPD u 08.07
In Front of Closed Doors
Oh my gosh, the front door. It’s
probably just was well we do “real”
projects where things go wrong. A lot
of customers, most likely, call you and
go “now what?” Sometimes you have
to change plans.
David Grace represents Sikkens
products in the Kansas City area, and
he came around to examine the door
that we planned to stain with Sikkens
new Cetol Door and Window exterior stain product.
Well, there were a few problems
with this, which is why when a customer plops a can of stain down on the
counter, it’s a good idea to ask them a
few questions to make sure what they
buy will do what they plan.
In our case, we were allowed to heist
four quarts of stain out of Gragg’s
store in Liberty, along with a Purdy
oxhair, which Grace recommended for
the best application.
First things first, this is a product that
cures through UV. Jim’s front door was
behind a screen door, which was behind
a screen porch. It probably hadn’t seen
the sun since it was installed, which was
probably around 1947.
Also, the product was designed to
go over new wood. As is, the door
Top left: Some of Back To Nature’s HiSpeed Ready Strip finds a temporary home
in a Padco paint tray.
Top right: Shurtape’s Blue Painter’s tape is
called to action to protect the metal on the
door before stripping.
Above: Various applicators were used to
apply the stipper, here a Padco mini-roller
slathers on a thick coat of Ready Strip.
Right: After waiting 30 minutes as per the
directions, the Ready Strip product made
it easy to remove the top layers of paint on
this very stubborn door.
50
TPD u 08.07
would have to be stripped and sanded.
Grace explained how even if there was
paint left in the grain, it would get in
the way of the stain penetrating. And,
it was a three coat-three day project;
each coat needed a day to dry in the
sun before the next was applied. Beautiful product, but as with many Sikkens
creations, make sure your customer is
willing to do it right before sending
them home with it.
Donna Sheridan chose “light
oak” as the color; Grace suggested
we put on a single coat of that
and then cover it with two coats
of clear.
First off, strip the door. We
choose Hi-Speed Ready Strip,
new from stripper-maker Back
To Nature Products. This is a
safer stripper designed to remove
up to three coats in 30 minutes.
They’d also given us a more conventional safe product that would
do the job but at a much slower
pace, but since time was running short
and the project was running long, we
chose to take it off quickly. Again,
another reason to ask some questions
so you send your customers home with
the right products.
We poured some Ready Strip product into a Padco paint tray and applied
it with a Padco mini-roller as well as a
Purdy brush. Steve Thompson noted
that with a product like this, it’s best
Sikkens rep David Grace provided
instructions for using its new Cetol Door
and Window stain product.
to apply it thick and leave it—that
re-brushing would in fact diminish
its effectiveness. And he made darned
sure to clean the Purdy!
We went inside for awhile, came
back out in about 30 minutes and saw
the effect of the stripper at work, the
paint nearly bubbling off in spots.
There was a lot of history on the door:
deep blue, deep oil red, white, blue-black, it was going to
take more than one application of stripper, then the door
would have to be left to dry and then sanded to get out any
paint residue. Plus, the door was loaded with filler putty.
Well, OK… here’s where you have to make a decision.
The stripper worked great, no doubt about that, and another
application would have taken it down to the bare wood. But
what condition of bare wood? The door was still older than
the Korean War and even if it was stripped and sanded, there
were putty problems and window problems and possibly lead
paint, and bah, who needs it?
If we were going to all the trouble to stain, we should have
a good finished product. Much to David Grace’s approval,
because he didn’t want to see his product go on a piece-ofscrap door, we purchased a new door to apply the product.
Our intrepid publisher Hans applied the stain himself
(Hans and homeowner Jim Berry are close friends, even
after all this!). First he used our roll of Shurtape Blue
Painter’s Tape to tape off all the metal hinges and knobs,
then using the Purdy Oxhair brush recommended by David
Grace, he applied a coat relatively quickly on day one, then
let it set outside in the southern and western sun to dry;
since this is a UV-curing
product the more sun it
gets, the faster it dries.
Alaska in January? Wait
for awhile. Hans found
both the tinted and
clear product easy to use
over the new door, but
suggests dealers make
sure their customers are
aware of the extended
application technique.
Shurtape’s Blue Painter’s Tape guards
The next day, a light
the lock and the doorknob from any
sanding removed the
inadvertent product attack.
gnats and mosquitoes
that had stuck to the door while it spent the previous day
drying in the sun. He applied one more coat of stain on day
two, and then a final clear coat to complete the three-coat
system recommended by the manufacturer. When the product was dry he reinstalled the new front door. Looks fab,
doesn’t it? We can put Hans in the category of “experienced
DIYer,” and while this product takes some extra time, you
can see the results are well worth while. The finish has a
nice depth to it and three coats will protect the door for a
long while.
www.paintdealer.com
51
Above: Steve Thompson puts a finishing
touch on the front door.
Right: The new door, finally in place and
ready to walk through.
Grace, in fact, notes that dealers selling this product may need to explain
why it’s worth a time-is-money-conscious painter spending three days with
it. Sikkens has a one-coat product, as
do many other companies, but, as he
puts it, “Cetol Door and Window
kicks butt.” The depth of finish, the
beauty of the product, and its longevity
compared to a conventional one-coat
all make it a good choice when you
really want to impress the folks coming to your door. Besides, on a new
home project, there’s more than likely
three days to get it done. It’s also more
flexible; while spar varnish or polys
may crack after a couple years, Door
& Window is made to move with the
wood. When the sheen looks worn
after three to five years, a maintenance
coat pops it back to life, he advises.
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TPD u 08.07