Cutting Room Floor
Ever wonder how paint manufacturers communicated with customers in the past? You know, the old days of slow cars, rotary phones and typewriters… They sent postcards. A far cry from today’s high paced cloud based tricks. It turns out that my wife’s grandfather was a Sherwin Williams paint sales rep in Billings, Montana in the […]
The First Cut is NOT the Deepest! Ok, I confess. I have been asked for advice on cutting straight lines a lot over the years. I’ve offered many canned answers: “Stare at the line. Until you see 3 lines. Cut the line in the middle…” Or… “Tape.” Or… “It’s the brush…” Or… “I was taught […]
Tools that stop working are the most costly tools to have around. In 2013, for us, it wasn’t the expensive tools that stopped working. It was tools in the under $20 price range that bit us. Here is a run down on some of the disappointments of 2013. We suspect that you will see a […]
Not included in our review, here’s why: Ever put exterior stain on gray weathered wood and watch it turn to black cloudy ugliness? That’s what oil stain always did. Here’s what Benjamin Moore Arborcoat waterborne alkyd/acrylic transparent stain did on some tired outdoor furniture. If you look carefully, there are three boards that comprise the […]
It is an ego thing…the discussion of size. It doesn’t mean all that much. In the corner to my left, you have superheroes who can do the work of 15 men by themselves. And in the corner to my right, you have the fat businesses with 25 employees, whose workload could likely be handled by […]
Rules for Tools How much does the tool cost? The answer to this question may not have as much to do with the price you pay for the tool as it does with how quickly you can get the tool to pay for itself and become a profitable company asset for the remainder of its lifespan. […]
We have been running the Graco 9.5, our first HVLP, pretty hard in the shop and field for years. We also run HVLP systems by Apollo, Titan, Earlex and Turbinaire. The 9.5 is the one we mobilize the most for miscellaneous cabinetry on projects requiring oil primer and oil based enamel paint. It is also […]
Providing a clean workspace is a matter of procedure at Topcoat Finishes, and as a homeowner, husband and father, I try hard to hold myself to the same habits and standards at home when we are in project mode, which has been often over the years. So, I have come to think of protecting noses, […]
We have been running our Graco 395 Finish Pro in a variety of applications and products for over a year. The stock G40 gun has been on our 395 up until now. Stay tuned as we explore the G15 option. Anyone using this?
Just over a year ago, my paint contracting company prepped and finished a 4500 sf concrete floor in a warehouse for a bread distribution company. Recently, at the one year mark, I went back to inspect the floor to see how it was holding up to fork lift, hand trucks, foot traffic and the hundreds […]
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