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Understanding Painting Preparation: Facility Manager’s Guide to Preparing Painting Surfaces
Sep 6th
Understanding Painting Preparation: Facility Manager’s Guide to Preparing Painting Surfaces
Proper painting surface preparation is one of the most critical factors to getting high quality results. It doesn’t matter whether the job is complete repainting of a 1,000,000 square foot warehouse complex or a simple touch up job in the gymnasium of a small elementary school. Proper surface prep sets the stage for success. Here are some tips for perfect surface prep that you can take care of, and a guide to the prep work that you should leave to your painting contractor.
Dry Painting Surface: You or Your Contractor
First and foremost, your painting surface should be dry. So long as safety permits, you can make life a lot easier for your painting contractor by drying the painting environment beforehand. Dehumidifiers and fans can be employed to speed air circulation. Mop up standing water if necessary to improve the safety of the project site.
Clean Painting Surface: You or Your Painting Contractor
Painting surfaces have to be thoroughly cleaned to ensure good paint adhesion. Your contractor will often include an estimate for prep work in a project bid. You may be able to perform some of the work and thus reduce the estimate; however, some tasks must be performed by a professional. Get rid of old flaky paint, sand down blisters and other imperfections.
IMPORTANT: You should consult with your painting contractor and determine if lead-based paints or other hazardous materials are present before cleaning the painting surface. If a hazardous material issue exists, the painting surface will need to be cleaned by a certified professional for safety reasons.
Sand or Blast Painting Surface: Your Painting Contractor
The actual sanding of the painting surface should be left to your painting contractor. Depending on the types of coating products that will be applied to the surface, the contractor may have specific manufacturer’s recommendations for sanding. Plus most painting contractors hold to a high standard for surface prep because it is such a huge component of a quality job.
Prime Painting Surface: Your Painting Contractor
After the drying cleaning and sanding, the painting surface is ready to be primed. A primer coat acts as the foundation for the coating. All subsequent layers of paint depend on the adhesion between the primer and the bare surface. Most painting contractors will insist on applying the primer coat to ensure that it is properly done and capable of producing a good finished product.
For more information and advice on preparing a surface for painting and coating, please contact a professional painting company.
Steve A. Parker, Sr. Estimator, RaiderPainting.com – the preferred painting contractor for building owners and facility managers of commercial and industrial properties nationwide. Call 877-724.3371 for a free Estimate. And check out the Raider Painting
Blog.
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Corian worktops – Are Solid Surfaces A Good Choice For My Kitchen Worktop?
Sep 5th
Corian worktops – Are Solid Surfaces A Good Choice For My Kitchen Worktop?
When it comes to making your choice for a surface in the kitchen Solid Surface worktops may be something you are considering.
What makes them the right choice for your kitchen worktop?
Well in presenting the facts I hope I can make it easier for you to make the correct decision.
There are a number of similar surfaces that in truth are little different in their make up and properties to Corian but as the pioneer of Solid Surfaces, Corian is the standard bearer and that does count for a lot in the eyes of the consumer..
This isn’t to say that other surfaces aren’t as good as Corian and to determine this there’s no better proof than the opinions of fabricators who work regularly on Solid Surface Materials. LG Hi-Macs like Corian, is an acrylic surface that offers a 15 year manufacturers warranty and in a consensus of opinions I’ve read on fabricators discussion forums over the years, there is nothing to choose between the two.
As with Corian, LG Hi-Macs worktops are available in a wide variety of colours and, like Corian Worktops, LG Hi-Macs surface warranties are only available through a network of quality installers and fabricators giving the client a greater assurance of a quality project being undertaken and some peace of mind thereafter.
To examine warranties for all surfaces is an important factor and one that is often confusing to the consumer. The warranties available are limited and apply only to faults that can be determined as being a manufacturing defect or as a result of a substandard installations only when carried out by approved quality fabricators and installers.
For Hi-Macs, at the time of writing this article the warranty shall not apply to damage caused by:
Failure to follow procedures recommended in the Fabrication Guide Book for transportation, storage, handling, fabrication, or maintenance; Physical abuse, accidents or misuse; Exposure to excessive heat; Faulty or improper installation, including seams.
For all Solid Surfaces it’s important to consider the potential damage that could occur outside of the warranty conditions and to incorporate your new surfaces into an existing household insurance policy is good advice.
As for choice, it’s worth mentioning that a number of relatively new “Solid Surfaces” are of thin core and cannot be compared to the 13mm guage of Corian and Hi-Macs. Personally, I have resisted any attempts to sell these surfaces after having witnessed a number of issues with cracking and delaminating, so again, if you do consider thin core surfaces, check the warranty and ensure it offers you sufficient cover for the price you are paying. Interestingly enough a price exercise I once carried out saw Corian coming in more affordable than a thin core surface less than a quarter of its thickness.
In the kitchen Corian worktops and Hi-Macs Worktops offer their owners seamless joints and seamless sinks with endless design possibilities seeing more distinctive projects being offered by creative designers. Downturn end panels are becoming increasingly popular as are deeper profiles such as 60mm or 100mm finishes.
So there you have it, there are a number of Solid surface worktops in the UK yet it’s important to determine the differences before making your decision.
They remain a firm favourite for UK Kitchen Buyers but my advice is to undertake some thorough research on your choices before making a decision on what’s best for your kitchen or bathroom project.
Tim Foley is founder of Kitchensfitted an established research and information resource for the kitchen buyer. T Foley Interiors specialise in the provision of Corian and Quartz worktops to both Commercial and Residential clients in the UK and Ireland. His TV credits include Project Consultant with Granada ITV on programmes such as Better Homes; 60 Minute Makeover (series 1&2) Tonight with Trevor McDonald.
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