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fa l l 2013 v o l u m e 10, #3
Residential
|
Commercial
|
Institutional
|
Industrial
rolling it on the
ROCK
John Graham and his
boys at Town Painters,
St. John’s, Newfoundland,
are painting up a storm
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acebook
see page 8
pm#40069240
Science of primers
>>
New products
>>
Building your business
yOuTubE.cOm/KILZbRANd
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Daniel FurDock
Professional Painter, KILZ PRO-X User
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inside
14
Features
12
The Science Behind Latex Primers
14
Rolling It On The Rock
Cover photo: Ian McCausland/KlixPix
Twenty years ago, professional painters gave them
mixed reviews. But the new generation of latex primers
will do everything you need them to, and more.
John Graham and his boys at Town Painters,
St. John’s, Newfoundland, are painting up a storm.
22
Build a Painting Business You Can Sell
As a self-employed painter or decorator, you probably
don’t have a company pension plan. So build a
business someone will want to buy.
26
DEPARTMENTS
04Editorial
Get yourself primed for success, by Bruce Mackinnon.
06 Facebook conversation
We eavesdrop on the pro painter conversation taking place online.
10 New products
Cool new tools for pro painters, including those from
Dynamic, Dripless and Wooster.
26 Where are they now?
22
We revisit our Summer 2009 featured cover story painter,
Paul Reinke
28Tattoowall
How this image transfer technology is helping to clean up
graffiti in Toronto.
30 My Best Work
A new type of contest. Send us photos of your completed
projects and you might win a cool prize.
Follow us on
www.professionalpainter.ca
acebook
“Pro Painter Magazine”
FA L L 2 0 1 3
Volume 10, Number 3
publication manager: Steve Payne
Email: spayne@canadiancontractor.ca
EDITOR: Bruce MacKinnon
Email: thewritestuff11@gmail.com
Contributors: Mike Draper, Brynna Leslie,
Bruce MacKinnon, Agnes von Mehren
AD Sales: Steve Payne
Email: spayne@canadiancontractor.ca
Phone: (416) 219-9949
Rob Koci, Robert
Email: rkoci@canadiancontractor.ca
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
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Professional Painter magazine is published by
Dynamic Paint Products Inc., Mississauga, Ont.
Canadian publication mail agreement PM# 40069240.
Professional Painter magazine and Dynamic Paint
Products Inc. do not warrant or assume any legal liability
or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or
usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or
process disclosed herein.
3
prime coat
By Bruce MacKinnon
Primed for success
Back in the 1980s, I spent a lot of time with acrylic
primers that failed. I had to peel them all off and
repaint using oil primer. Finally, a quarter-century later,
I trust the new primers, and so should you.
Do the new latex primers stick to oil paint like, well, nobody’s business? In a word, yes.
Resins and formulations have improved so much that I am happy to support manufacturers’ claims about latexes sticking to any surface. Mind you,
I’m talking about high-quality primer, not the watered down, ten-year-old
cans in the back of the warehouse or the el-cheapo buckets on sale.
Now that more than a year has passed since Ottawa passed its stringent,
new VOC regulations, latex primers are where it’s at. The green revolution is
here to stay.
But many of you may be wondering if the green revolution has helped or
hindered our trade. I hate to sound like an old curmudgeon, but back in my
prime – pun intended – latex primers were sketchy, to say the least.
I remember the late 1980s, when the new 100-per-cent acrylics began flooding the market. I tried everything. And I saw it fail, spectacularly. It frosted my
mittens to have to peel it all off and repaint using oil primer every time. And
of course, I always beat myself up for using a new product when I had an old
standby that I could have used much more successfully.
By 2000, the green revolution was in full swing in California and the news
of it heading to Canada worried a lot of painters, including me.
Now that the VOC regulations are law, I know many painters who are still
buying skids of oil-based paints and primers before they become unavailable.
They have little faith in the immediate future of these “new-fangled” acrylic
primers that are meant to bridge the gap between existing oil and nowmandatory acrylics, especially outside. But they need not fear.
In our cover story (see page 14) we find out that professional painter John
Graham in St. John’s, Newfoundland, hasn’t yet seen five years of the new
latex primers, so he’s still a bit skeptical: “I can usually tell if it will stick, but if
I get a bad gut feeling, I get religious and pray,” he says with a chuckle. pp
4
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
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acebook painters
A FaceBook
Conversation
Pro Painter magazine’s Facebook group page has attracted a loyal following in the last year.
The conversation below is a small part of what our Facebook painters are talking about while they help each other
learn and grow professionally. To join in, open your Facebook page and search under Pro Painter Magazine.
Marcelo Cruz
Sherri Mason
Stocks
Marcelo Cruz asked for help on marketing…
Hi guys… I’m in Toronto I’m looking for advice on how
to get residential contracts. My Dad had a painting
company back in Montreal and I worked with him for
many years… but I left the business to work for a big
corporation for the past 10 years.
Hi Marcelo. Congrats on starting your own business! My business is all referral based,
but since you are new to the area, you’ve obviously got to start from scratch. I suggest
making up some flyers with your website on them and distributing them... You probably
don’t have a budget for advertising, yet, I would imagine… Drop off free estimates on
houses that you think need painting. Network, network, network!
Not sure about Toronto, but here in Edmonton, the good old Yellow Pages still brings in
tons of work…
Rick Fowler
Yellow Pages works out east here, too. But at $2,800 for six months of small print, black
and white ads, it’s a little pricey.
Craig Estey
Yellow Pages is the worst in BC! Huge mistake… Find a networking group that you fit
into. Good luck!
Jared Martin
Dagmar Wickes
When I started here in Niagara, I placed an ad in the local paper. Kept paying under
$100 a month for about a year and a half. By that time, I was able to nail down clients
and referrals. It was a hard way to start, yet that was all I could afford at the time.
Join the conversation on Facebook: “Pro Painter Magazine”
6
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
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news
F
orget Fifty Shades of Grey. The new neutral paint colour
for 2014 is – wait for it – pastel blue!
According to Benjamin Moore, pastels are back. And you
may start to see customers demanding pastel shades over
more traditional greys and beiges as we head into the New
Year.
While it may seem like a flashback to the late eighties,
these things are cyclical. Benjamin Moore announced
its 2014 Colour of the Year in early October. It’s what it
describes as “an ethereal blue” called “Breath of Fresh Air.”
The company claims it’s not so much setting a trend as
reflecting pastel shades already out there – in pop culture,
furniture and fashion.
Certainly, a quick glance at the recently-held New York
Fashion Week would suggest Benjamin Moore is onto
something. The runways were teeming with the pastel
hues – pinks, greens and blues – mixed with deeper accent
shades that are covered in the company’s 2014 colour trends
collection.
Benjamin Moore’s palette includes all the pastels fit to
paint, with names like Lavender Mist, Peach Parfait and Iced
Mauve. But there are also some bold accent colours, including Black Satin (self-explanatory), Super Nova (resembling
the outer skin of an eggplant) and Van Deusen Blue (which,
to the untrained eye, looks like slate).
For those who really like to keep the walls plain as a
parcel package, the 23-colour collection also includes some
true neutrals, like Clay Beige and Wickham Gray.
The 2014 colour trends collection (see it for yourself
at www.benjaminmoore.com/en-ca/for-your-home/colourtrends-2014) represents the latest in Benjamin Moore’s
collection of 3,500 colours. Who knew there were so many?
Dulux launches program to help add
colour to commercial spaces
A
fter more than two years of extensive research, Dulux
Paint has found a cure for the traditionally-sterile décor
associated with healthcare and educational institutions.
The leading Canadian paint brand has launched a firstof-its-kind program to help hospitals, healthcare centres,
schools, colleges and universities add colour to their spaces.
Called the Dulux Functional Colour & Design Program
8
(www.functionalcolour.ca), the initiative provides a palette
of different colour schemes designed to have a positive psychological and physiological impact on patients, students
and staff.
Part of Dulux’s new colour series for commercial environments, the healthcare and educational platforms offer
professionals easy access to more than 40 décor schemes
and colour combinations, as well as information on the
emotional impact of colour. With options ranging from light
to dark tones in every colour family, the colours offered
are spectrally-arranged to make the selection process easier, with palettes specially-designed for each industry. The
healthcare palette alone, for example, features 596 unique
colours specifically selected for healthcare environments.
The healthcare module provides examples of such areas
as patient, exam, treatment and emergency rooms as well
as public, staff and social spaces – along with a host of
stress-relieving colour choices for those areas. The educational module does the same for such spaces as classrooms,
lunchrooms, gymnasiums, public spaces and auditoriums.
Both modules also recommend products that will withstand
the high traffic characteristic of healthcare and educational
facilities.
“Through our research conducted using a wide-range of
existing studies and resources, Dulux recognized the need
within commercial design to create and offer supportive
informational materials related to colour and design,” said
Martin Tustin-Fuchs, brand manager for Dulux Paint.
Based on science, the Dulux Functional Colour & Design
Program was created with a wide range of elements taken
into consideration, including light reflectance values, the
intensity of colours and insight into the psychological and
physiological aspects of colour. It also addresses a variety
of factors when making colour decisions, such as the end
user, light sources, architecture of the space, existing or
new décor elements and activity related to the environment.
Among the program’s underlying principles are:
u White
walls appear unfriendly, antiseptic and institutional.
colours cause visual fatigue, while high-intensity
colours over-stimulate.
uWarm, subdued neutrals – such as khaki, oatmeal, tea,
vanilla, ivory, bronze and chocolate – are versatile, pro viding a high degree of comfort.
uClassic, sophisticated cool neutrals – such as fog, ebony,
stainless, ash, frost, slate and stone – give a space an
introspective feel.
pp
u Primary
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
Photo: Thinkstock.com
Benjamin Moore announces
its 2014 Colour of the Year
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new products
10
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DYNAMIC Painter’s Hand Cleaner
Our popular Painter’s Hand Cleaner now comes in an all-new
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or without water.
DRIPLESS Ergonomic Caulking Guns
Designed for the professional, these ERGO/TECH guns have
the light weight and balance that will reduce your hand fatigue
when applying caulk and sealants. The super strong rod and
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precision cutter, rotating barrel, drip/no drip option switch and
extra long clean out.
DYNAMIC Paint Can Tray
No professional painter should start a job without these high-quality
paint can trays which can speed up your production and help you
paint cleaner. They fit all gallon paint pails. The convenient holder
for mini-rollers is an added touch to help you stay organized.
Proudly made in Canada of 100% recycled plastic.
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
new products
DYNAMIC Infinity Microfibre Rollers
These rollers come with super absorbent lint-free microfiber
technology, resulting in superior pickup and release for faster
painting. They are ideal for low lustre, eggshell and semi-gloss
paints. Made in Canada, these professional quality rollers are
available in 7 mm and 18 mm nap thicknesses.
PREVAL vFan Portable Airbrush System
This is a complete airbrush kit for touch-ups that is portable and
silent. It’s a “first in class” product for professional painters, made
of stainless steel and brass. Can go from 1/16” detail to a 3” fan
spray pattern simply by switching out the air cap. It sprays gel
coats, clear coats, water-based paint, solvent-based paint, latex
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WOOSTER SILVER TIP BRUSHES
Made with a blend of white and silver Wooster chemically-tipped
polyester that virtually eliminates brushmarks, Silver Tip brushes
deliver professional finish quality at an affordable price. Thin, soft,
flexible ends provide exceptional levelling and smoothing. Perfect
for latex paints, applying enamels to metal, or polyurethanes
on wood.
WOOSTER LOCK JAW TOOL HOLDER
The new, affordable Lock Jaw tool holder allows even non-threaded
tools to be used on standard threaded and no-twist Wooster
Sherlock GT extension poles. The “jaws” securely hold any item up
to 35mm diameter, including paint brushes, trim rollers, flashlights,
and scrapers. Nine different positions give the Lock Jaw an
adjustment range of 160 degrees.
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
11
tech savvy
By Brynna Leslie
When it comes to primers, science is everything.
U
ntil about 20 years ago, despite the fact that latex
acrylic paints had been on the market since the ’50s,
many painters were unconvinced that latex primers
could match oil-based primers on professional jobs. And for
good reason, says Dick Hardy, a chemist and the president
of XIM Products.
“The pros liked the breathability, appearance and easy
clean-up of the latex,” says Hardy, “but the fact is, it took
a long time until the technology of latex primers began to
match or exceed oil-based. It took a long time for the industry to catch up.”
There were several reasons why latex primers didn’t perform so well in the early days, says Hardy. All latex paints
and primers are emulsions – essentially resins (solids) that
have been ripped in a blender into a particle form and then
suspended in water. The problem was, in most cases, the
particles were too big to really get into the nooks and crannies of most surfaces. And the solvents didn’t work as well
as the chemicals in oil-based because they weren’t breaking
down resins into a nice, fluid form.
“With acrylic resins, you’ve taken something that isn’t
naturally dissolvable in water, but you make it dissolvable
by mixing it so hard it produces particles so small they won’t
separate back into two layers,” explains Hardy.
But in the early days, the particles were still bigger than
they should have been – which meant painters weren’t getting the smooth and glossy surface of oil. And the early latex
primers simply didn’t adhere as well to certain surfaces as
did the chemical-based oils.
Up to scratch
Gone are the days, however, when sanding pre-priming was
necessary, says Hardy. Twenty years ago, paint and primer
manufacturers realized they were going to have to do a
much better job with latex primers if they were going to get
the industry hooked.
Much of the science and research was propelled forward
by green legislation, first introduced in California and now
continent-wide, that essentially bans paints and primers
containing chemical solvents - in other words, all oil-based
primers.
“The science rapidly improved. But now the industry had
to convince the painters the latex primers were just as good
as oil,” says Hardy. “This was a tough sell. It’s the devil you
know versus the devil you don’t. And it’s taken two decades
– because the early latex primers really weren’t as good – but
the guys in the industry are finally starting to see that the
latex primers match or exceed oil-based primers.”
12
If you’re still doubting the supremacy of
latex acrylics, you can stop right now.
They are everything you need them to be.
Choosing a primer
There are basically four things professional painters need to
consider when choosing a primer for a job, all based on the
science behind the product. The first is solvents; the second
is resins or polymers (the solids); the third is pigments and
the fourth is additives. All these elements are variable in
different products. So, to choose the right primer, you need
to know what these components do, depending on the type
of surface and the conditions in which you are painting.
Contrary to popular wisdom, latex primers do have solvents. The difference is that latex products use water-based,
rather than chemical, solvents. The solvents essentially
break down the polymers – or resins – into particles small
enough to connect them together again, to give you a clean,
smooth undercoat.
“There are two types of solvents in latex primers,” explains
Hardy. “First, there is the antifreeze solvents, which is the
glycol, but more importantly are what we call coalescing
solvents. The job of the coalescent is to soften the particles
in the resin and fuse them together so the paint or primer
coalesces into a binder or sealer.”
In order for a solvent to work well, it has to evaporate
more slowly than water. If you think about the two stages of
paint finishing – drying and curing – this is where solvents
are important. When paint dries, that’s the water evaporating. But even when paint is dry, it can still be sticky.
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
tech savvy
THE
science
latex
behind
primers
Photo: Thinkstock.com
The second stage – curing – is more important – this is the
coalescing solvents evaporating off until the paint or primer
film has cured.
Resins give it guts
“But it’s actually the resins, or polymers, that give a primer
its guts,” says Hardy. “It’s the type of acrylic polymer found
in the primer that will cause variability in things like adhesion quality, durability, etc.”
“You’ve heard of things like urethane, vinyl, epoxy – these
are all different types of polymers and they all have different
properties when used in coatings,” says Hardy. Many years
of research and testing has now created latex primers where
the polymers are blended microscopically-small, making
them adhere better to all kinds of surfaces to compete with
the old oils.
Generally, the higher the solid content, the more costly
the can of paint. But Hardy says you’ve got to keep your eye
on pigment volume concentration (PVC), because that can
affect the adhesion.
Pigments, of course, give a paint its colour. But as the
level of pigment goes up, the amount of resin or polymer
has to increase as well.
“If you have a high level of pigmentation without increasing the level of resin, you’re simply not going to have the
best adhesion,” says Hardy. “Pigment isn’t a binder. It isn’t
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
It’s taken the
better part of two
decades – and
changes in the way
they are made – to
convince painters
that latex primers
can perform as well
as oils.
sticky. It doesn’t have guts.
I have to have the right
PVC, which means the
right amount of solids.”
One of the biggest
advances in latex-based
primers, however, is the
effectiveness of the additives created by people like
Hardy. The science behind
these additives has come
a long way in the last 20
years.
“The additives are myriad things that paint formulators use to help wet the service,
fight corrosion, help the paint roll better, brush better, give
it body, make it thinner or thicker,” Hardy says.
If you’re still doubting the supremacy of latex primers,
stop right now. The science has come so far that you can
basically find an emulsion to suit any job. And you can
safely put away the sand paper.
“The technology has caught up,” says XIM’s Hardy. “As a
paint formulator I know I have to have the right solids, PVC,
the right resin, the right hardness and softness. As a painter,
you can be confident that our water-based paints and primers today are up to the job.”
pp
13
cover story
g
n
i
l
l
roON THE
14
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
cover story
The colourful clapboard exteriors
Newfoundland’s
“jelly bean houses”
are a joy for restoration painter
John Graham, Town Painters.
H
ere’s one for you: What did the anthropology
graduate do after graduation? He became a painter,
of course. At least, this is true for John Graham,
owner of Town Painters in St. John’s, Nfld.
Over the past six years, Town Painters has earned a
solid reputation as a creative business, specializing in the
colourful clapboard exteriors and intricate interiors of
heritage homes that form the basis of the city’s housing
stock.
“You’ve got to love this place. Sometimes I walk to work
down the main street in the oldest city in North America
and it’s a nice feeling to be a part of keeping the tradition
alive,” says Graham, 50.
“The downtown is full of jelly bean houses, where most
of the exteriors are dramatic colours, primary colours,”
Graham says. “They’re mostly playful colours. It’s a whole
different mindset here, all jokes aside. But in the ‘burbs,
the colours are all a variation of beige.”
John Graham, left, and his colleagues, whom he sees as his second family.
“I am more for the personal touch. It lends pride to our workmanship.”
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
All photos: KlixPix/Ned Pratt Photography
iRtOCK
Kinnon
ce Mac
u
r
B
y
B
and intricate interiors of St. John’s,
15
cover story
The artist’s touch
Graham’s artistic nature fits well in
this environment. Clients looking for
bold colour and careful preservation
of interiors and exteriors know that
Graham and his crew offer more than
just paint on the end of a brush. It
helps that his crew are all part-time
artists. He has a drummer and a
photographer on staff, while his lead
hand is Mark Callanan, a well-known
local poet.
“I developed a relationship with
each of them and eventually decided
to offer them jobs because it’s really
hard to make a living as a poet, drummer or part-time photographer,” says
Graham, who admits St. John’s has a
well-developed arts scene for such a
small city.
“Granted, the musicians don’t
always show in the morning,” he adds
with a laugh.
Graham believes the artisans working for him have helped give Town
Painters a creative edge over the competition. His clients agree.
“They have so much respect for my
house,” says Charlotte Strong, who
owns a heritage home in downtown St.
John’s. Her family’s home for generations, the place needed a major colour
overhaul. Graham and his crew nicknamed it “the great facelift of 2013.”
We are small on purpose. Even if
we can paint quickly, we need to focus
on quality. It’s the most important thing in
this business.
“Every time I come home, I see
that it has changed even more,” says
Strong. “Their skills in patching and
prepping are so thorough and the
paint application is so well done. It is
a restoration project, indeed.”
“It’s lovely to have so much care
taken with my house,” she adds. “John
helped me to select the colours and
get the clapboard repaired in preparation. The colour of the trim is called
scruncheons – a local cuisine and a St.
John’s heritage colour.”
Graham admits one of the favourite
parts of his job is talking with many of
the visitors to St. John’s, people who
see his exterior restoration projects as
part of the tourist attraction.
“I appreciate that residents and
tourists, alike, love what we do,” says
Graham. “I always take time to talk to
everyone. Tourists especially. It’s our
duty to interact with the tourists who
support our city.”
Town Painters’ artisans
give the company a
creative edge over the
Keeping things small
At age 50, Graham and his crew stay
away from the really big exteriors,
those that need scaffolding, 60-foot
extension ladders and boom trucks. In
St. John’s, the firm’s one-job-at-a-time
focus goes a long way. Although it’s
the provincial capital, St. John’s has a
small-town feel, with just over 100,000
residents in the city core.
“We are small on purpose. Even if
we can paint quickly, we need to focus
on quality. It’s the most important
thing in this business,” Graham says.
Town Painters does about 15 exteriors
each season, generally getting in and
out within a couple of weeks.
“If I’m in one place too long, I get
antsy,” Graham says. “I want to see
a new house and deal with different
colours and meet different people.”
His clients appreciate that he can be
both efficient and conscientious.
“John’s so good and fast at painting that he does himself a disservice
because people think they didn’t get
their money’s worth,” says Anita Carroll with a laugh. She owns a Victorian
heritage house, built in the 1840s.
She’s hired Town Painters on a number of interior and exterior projects
since she first bought the place six
years ago.
“John knows how to repair lath
and plaster and he does all the old,
complicated trim easily,” says Carroll.
“I’ve known him since our university
days. He’s still the affable, humble,
laid-back guy who doesn’t give himself
credit. He’s very intelligent and he’s
very good at his trade.”
competition in restoring
heritage homes in
St. John’s.
16
The thoughtful painter
Perhaps it’s Graham’s background in
anthropology, but he’s known in the
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
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SMALL SURFACE SPRAY TOUCH-UPS
cover story
industry as someone who is thoughtful in his work – continually finding, investigating and discussing new
products and how they work – with
some scepticism, too.
“John is pretty conscientious, but
he also loves to talk,” says Darrell Traverse, owner of The Paint Shop, one of
the larger Benjamin Moore dealers in
the province. “John is a thinking-man’s
painter. He’s not one of those guys
who thinks he’s been around long
enough to know it all. John asks a lot
of questions and doesn’t take things
at face value, always questioning the
parameters. “
Questioning parameters and product claims is a boon in St. John’s
where one of the biggest challenges
for painters is dealing with the elements. Graham needs to know that
The guy at the paint
store threw away his
moisture meter after a few
years, realizing there was
no place for science on
the Rock.
the products he’s working with are
up-to-scratch to deal with Newfoundland’s famous moisture, extreme temperatures and high winds.
“It’s hard to find people to do exteriors these days,” says Andrew Ryan of
Signature Homes, which builds new
homes and does restoration work in
the city centre. “Most painters don’t
want to be at the mercy of
the weather, and on these
old houses, there is just too
much complicated antique
trim.”
“No one here can give a
guarantee in good faith,”
Graham admits. “I will go
back and fix my mistakes
and I’ll also take my customer to see my paint supplier to find out what is
the best primer to use on a
problematic surface.”
Priming against the elements
As the saying goes, if you don’t like the
weather in St. John’s, wait an hour.
“The guy at the paint store threw
away his moisture meter after a few
years, realizing there was no place for
science on the Rock,” Graham says.
“We will never have perfect conditions
here. Moisture is a constant problem,
even with the best primers and paint.
I can usually tell if it will stick, but if
I get a bad gut feeling, I get religious
and pray.”
“When applying primer, sometimes
we can’t afford to wait for a house to
be perfectly dry,” he adds. “We wait a
reasonable amount of time and then
get at it as quickly as possible.”
Not to mention the variety of surfaces on some of the heritage structures. Many heritage homes in St.
John’s, for example, were covered over
in marine paint a hundred years ago.
Graham admits he used to prefer
oil-based priming products, but he
now uses acrylics almost exclusively,
accepting that the products – and the
science behind them – have come far
enough to satisfy him.
“We use the newer XIM latex primers as well as STIX and Prime Lock,”
says Graham. “While I can’t guarantee
the underlying 100-year-old paint will
stay on the wood, I can guarantee the
top coat,” he says.
Graham’s creative team enjoys a rare good weather day as they tackle finishing complicated
antique trim.
18
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
cover story
Tools of the trade: proper prepping makes for a better finish.
Started out in Toronto
Although he’s only had his own business for six years, Graham had years
of training in his hometown, but
started out in the largest city in Canada – Toronto.
Ironically, Graham – who is now
calling for painters to be certified
across Canada – decries the method
he used to get started painting. Like
many, he grabbed a paintbrush and
called himself a painter one day when
he suddenly found himself working
for a student painting franchise.
“Anyone can start painting if he gets
a paintbrush and a mode of transportation,” says Graham. But paining
professionally – he knows it’s a craft
that you have to perfect over many
years.
Graham now laughs when he
recounts how he started his painting
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career after university in Toronto. He
still remembers riding a bicycle down
Bay Street on a brutally hot day,
30 years ago, with two trays and a
broomstick in a hockey bag – on his
way to paint some offices. It was a
start – gave him some confidence.
“I moved to Toronto after university to get away from Newfoundland
and the (then) 30 per cent unemployment,” Graham says. “I was the
only one on the island to get a B.A. in
anthropology. A lot of good it did me,”
he laughs.
“One day I found myself talking to a
Nigerian who ran the student painting
franchise. I couldn’t understand a single work he said, but he offered me a
job and it was enough.”
Some days, Graham would take a
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Professional Painter • Fall 2013
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19
cover story
The company focuses on quality exterior
restorations and rarely works on projects that
require major scaffolding.
It’s not just about nine-to-five
for us,” says Graham. “We are at the
mercy of the elements and the guys
have to be flexible. If it rains for five
days, they stick with me.
bus to a subway to a bus and then to
another bus, 90 minutes at least, each
way, and fall asleep an hour after getting home.
“They would give each painter their
dollar budget, piece work, and I realized immediately, I had to get good at
painting or I’d lose my shirt,” Graham
says. “In three years, I went through a
dozen different franchises and managers in the city, but I did get really
good at painting and so the money
was good.”
After his stint with the student
painters, Graham returned home to
Newfoundland and caught on with a
local college teaching faux finishing.
In his six years, he tackled the restoration of a century-old heritage build-
20
ing, learning techniques in antiquing
and marbling, and teaching as he
went. That laid the foundation for his
current heritage building expertise.
He then started painting for Master
Painters, a local finishing company,
where he spent the next six years.
“They taught me really well and how
to do things right and especially how
to work hard,” Graham says. “But they
were reasonable, they weren’t tyrants.
They taught me how to work smart.”
It’s a family affair
When he first struck out on his own, it
took a few years to get comfortable as
a business owner. Graham had to deal
with survival first, working hard to get
enough money ahead to keep afloat to
pay his workers.
“Starting without a cushion makes
it hard to run above board at the
start,” says Graham. “Not that I didn’t
have the ethics to do the right
thing and treat my men right,
but sometimes there were
delays. I was fortunate enough
to have my guys – my friends –
hang with me until there was
money at the end of the job.”
Graham knows that it flies in
the face of most business advice
to befriend his employees, but
he sees his business and his colleagues as a second family.
“Being just a boss and only
having the work matter is boring and dehumanizing,” says
Graham. “I am more for the
personal touch. It lends pride to
our workmanship.”
Graham also thinks there’s a lot of
mutual support built into the “family
business model” he’s using. He attends
the readings, concerts and photography exhibitions of his staff and in
turn, they work hard, no matter what
challenges they face on the job site.
“It’s not just about nine-to-five for
us,” says Graham. “We are at the
mercy of the elements and the guys
have to be flexible. If it rains for five
days, they stick with me.”
And at the end of the day, Graham
likes having interesting and likeminded people to talk to.
“I like to be able to enjoy my work
by chatting about the things I like
and those things that really matter
throughout the day.” pp
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
broad strokes
B u i l d a pa i n t i n g
business you can
sell
As a self-employed painter or decorator,
you probably don’t have a company
pension plan. So how are you going to
retire one day? The first step in retirement
planning for any entrepreneur is to build
a business you can sell. And that means,
you may have to change the way you
think about your painting company.
T
he very first thing you have
to do if you want to sell your
painting business one day is
to look at your company as a business
instead of just a firm that applies
paint to walls. It doesn’t matter what
an enterprise actually does to make
money, the successful owner treats
his company like a business, first and
foremost.
I don’t know of any small painting
company that has a company pension
plan. So how are you going to make
sure that there is enough money to
22
By Mike Draper |
retire one day? Most painting companies I see barely make enough money
to support the owner today, never mind
stockpiling money for retirement.
At Renovantage, our definition of a
successful business is a commercial,
profitable enterprise that works without
you.
That definition is very important.
Especially the last four words, “…that
works without you.”
Does your painting business “work
without you?” If not, how are you
going to sell it one day?
Renovantage.com
Working longer hours won’t do it
Many painting contractors work six
days a week, eight to twelve hours per
day, and the business is their life. The
problem with this mode of operating
is that nobody really wants to buy a
business where the owner is working
such crazy hours just to provide themselves with a wage. So, if you want to
sell your business one day, you can’t
continue operating this way.
To build a business that someone
will want to buy, you need your business itself to become profitable, quite
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
broad strokes
One of the main
reasons that most painters
simply close down their
businesses, rather than
sell them, is because they
have built businesses
that cannot work without
them. So there is no value
for an investor once the
original owner is out
of the picture.
apart from the wage that you are
paying yourself from the business’s
activities. Now, to grow your business
from where it is now to a much more
profitable position, you may be in a
situation where you can’t just spend
even more time working on the business. You may be, in fact, working
as many hours as you can handle
right now. So, how are you going to
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
expand the business when you have no
more hours available to work? When,
in fact, you are probably hoping to
reduce the number of hours that you
are spending in the business?
If this describes your own situation
then realize that you have probably
reached only half of the Renovantage
definition of a successful business:
Yes, you have built a commercial,
profitable enterprise as a professional
painter. But your business simply cannot work without you. And I would
estimate that 95 per cent of all paint-
ing company operators have the same
problem.
Painting franchises can be sold
Your painting business may look
nothing like one of those national
painting franchises, especially if you
are focusing on a higher-end part of
the residential paint market, but have
you ever asked yourself why the largest of those companies have been so
successful?
One thing I have noted is that these
franchises can be sold – and you may
23
To build a business that works without you, that
you can one day sell, you need to ‘systemize’ your
painting business. Start with how you close sales and
how you get the production going.
or may not feel the same way about
your own painting “franchise.” Yes,
these franchises can be sold because
they have a well-developed brand
name. But there’s more to it than that.
These companies have systems: i.e.,
methodical and time-proven methods
of handling sales calls, of providing
estimates, of getting the work done
on time, and of handling follow ups.
So what can you learn from painting
franchise operators? Well, for one, it’s
not a good thing to “fly by the seat of
your pants.”
Now that we have identified the
problem, we have to focus our efforts
on building a company that is not so
dependent on the owner to function.
We have to build some systems into
the company so that the company can
start to take care of itself and release
the owner from being a slave to the
company.
People talk about systems all the
time, but only a few exceptionally
smart contractors actually make the
effort to put them in place. And this
lack of systems is one of the main
reasons that most painting companies never get sold. Most painting
companies are either passed onto a
son or daughter or simply shut down
when the owner has had enough. Now,
at least when the business is passed
onto the kids there is some value that
changes hands. But when a business
is shut down it is a real shame. Think
about it: A business has been around
for 30 years, is well-known – and then
it is simply shut down? This is crazy!
All because the business never learned
to take care of itself and its owner.
All because the owner was a slave to
the business, flying by the seat of his
pants.
Start with how you handle sales
One of the very first parts of your business to systemize is your sales and production process. You must break your
sales process down into steps: right
from the first meeting or phone call
with a prospective customer, through
the estimating process, to the first day
you or your crew show up to begin the
prep. The goal here is to set a standard
for all new sales opportunities so that
all leads are followed up on in a timely,
professional manner.
The second major area of concern is
the amount of time you are spending
on job sites being the site supervisor/
painter. This on site role is a very critical role in the painting process and
is extremely important in keeping the
quality of the work up to your standards. With this in mind, it is a tough
decision to let someone else manage
the quality of the on site work. After
all, this is what clients have come to
expect of you. However, this role has
to change from you to a crew leader.
It is the one area that sucks so much
time away from running the business
and forces most owners to be too
much “in the business.”
The next major area to delegate is
the bookkeeping. You need to have
someone who can help with accounts
payable and receivable, bank reconciliation, etc. As an example, consider a
system whereby invoices received by
noon on Thursday would be approved
and paid on Friday. Then you can stop
having to write cheques every day and
spending precious time meeting with
sub-trades to give them money. It has
to be systemized so that everyone
knows exactly when their invoices
need to be in and when they can
expect to be paid.
These changes in operating your
business are tough to implement,
so you will need determination and
focus. Taking the time to get the business to run without you is critical in
getting maximum value for your business. It is possible, so stay focused on
the end goal and not only will others
be interested in your business but it
will also be easier to operate. Then,
when you are good and ready, you can
sell your business. pp
Mike Draper is a contractor business coach. He and his colleagues at Renovantage
(www.renovantage.com) can help professional painters make more profits by systemizing
operations and learning from contractor peers.
24
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
Photo: Thinkstock.com
broad strokes
PAUL REINKE:
RENAIS
Paul Reinke Designs, Toronto
P ro P aint
er catches up on how one of the city’s most
accomplished decorative and special-effects artisans
successfully diversified his business.
By Bruce MacKinnon
P
aul Reinke grew up wanting to combine his artistic
skills with house painting – He definitely achieved his
goal – and then some. We last looked at his business
four years ago, when we featured him as our cover story
(Summer 2009).
A 37-year veteran of our industry, Reinke is one of Canada’s foremost experts in applying carriage trade decorative
finishes. He does everything from European-style faux finishes, to trompe-l’oeil murals and detailing, to gold, silver
and Florentine leafing.
He’s a brilliant technician in wood restoration. He’s
renowned for his high-end wallpaper work and is an expert
“rosemaling” (a Norwegian word for the exquisite application of decorative motifs). And just to prove that he isn’t all
paint, paper and plaster, he is a dab hand at metallic spray
finishes.
Oh, and if a client just wants their house painted
conventionally with perfect finish and laser-like cut-ins and
edges, Reinke’s the man as a straight-up house painter, too.
He does everything from
European-style faux finishes,
to trompe-l’oeil murals and detailing,
to gold, sliver and Florentine leafing.
26
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
where are they now?
Property management work
Diversification
is also rolling in nicely for
When we spoke with him last,
Reinke. “I do a lot of it, which
Reinke was operating with
pays the bills. I can meet the
three to a dozen painters and
demands. Now, faux is the
this has not changed. What
gravy work. It was almost too
has changed for Paul Reinke
easy to get specialty finish
Designs is its diversification.
work.”
Reinke is not afraid to try
“All they want is to have spenew things or change his comcialty finishes and papers done
pany’s direction. In fact, he has
I like to do it all on a job,
right – and that’s not hard to
been forced to change paths,
do. It’s only a matter of budgetmostly as a result of a dip
including murals, faux finishing,
ing the time right. Be there and
in the demand for high-end,
spraying specialty paints,
finish when you say you will.
residential specialty-finishing.
The skills are really easy, but to
Now, he’s picking up a lot more
picking colours, and becoming
be one of the few doing it well
premium quality, commercial
more of a painting and
makes it great for me.”
retail work – including solid
“There is still a huge
vinyl.
decorating service.
amount of money being spent
“There is a lot of demand for
on high-end residential and
commercial vinyl wall covercommercial finishing. It may
ings around, but you need the
be slowing, but it’s still very lucrative, but I still can’t just
connections, and I have all I can handle,” Reinke says. “So
depend on the high-end work.”
I have switched from being dependent on high-end residenReinke is not happy to sit still. Now he wants to get more
tial to adding a larger percentage of commercial finishing
into the design aspect of his projects.
and commercial wall coverings.”
“I like to do it all on a job, including murals, faux finishBut it’s not as if the high-end residential work has gone
ing, spraying specialty paints, picking colours, and becomaway. It’s just changed. As you may have noticed in your
ing more of painting and decorating service,” Reinke says.
own marketplace, if you’re a high-end painter, very high
“It’s important to be able to work with tones of one colour
quality wallpapering has gradually replaced faux finishing
and make it all flow nicely – match the paints properly. With
in carriage trade homes.
commercial projects, it’s all specified for you, but in a home,
I try to use all my decorating skills.”
Not intimidated
“However, it’s rare to find a designer who will work hand
Reinke is not intimidated by the cost of his new materials
in hand with you,” Reinke says. “And they charge 30 per
or the prices he needs to charge to hang them. Some vinyl
cent more on top of what you charge. If I am doing the
paper (54”) costs up to $50 per meter. However, fewer and
decorating on my own, I am able to offer more since I am
fewer people are qualified to hang it now. And many of the
the applicator as well, but not charge so much.”
old-timers have retired, which suits Reinke fine.
pp
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
Photo Credit: Larry Arnal
SANCE MAN
27
graffiti removal
gone
with The Tattoowall!
Defaced planters on Queen Street West in Toronto are being cleaned up –
and covered with contemporary art from Canadian artists.
Here’s how this incredible transformation of the streetscape is being achieved.
By Agnes von Mehren
Agnes von Mehren is the
president of Masters
Academy of Decorative Arts.
For more information visit
www.ourwallscantalk.com,
or call 647-346-3870.
28
ast year, Masters Academy met with
Toronto’s West Queen West Business
Improvement Area to present a solution
to the graffiti that has plagued the street –
including on the local flower planters.
The solution was Tattoowall, which not only
covers up graffiti, but allows a beautiful piece of art to
replace it. It was decided to make the formerly-defaced
planters into a showcase by urban Canadian artists.
Four planters were chosen for the pilot project and
here you can see the process that was followed. An
additional 77 planters will be similarly treated.
The images chosen for the first phase were: The Bird by
artist Shalak Attack, The Men by artist Joel Richardson,
The Eyes by artist Daniel Bombardier, and The Old Man by
graffiti artist Smokey.
The planters presented a technical challenge. They are
made of concrete that wasn’t sealed. The soil in the planters
goes right to the bottom of the structures – and the units
are watered daily. Our chief installer, Steven Greenland,
needed to ensure a product efficient enough to stop the
water coming through to the Tattoowall.
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
graffiti removal
1
2
3
4
5
6
HOW WE DID IT
1 The first step was to tape the planter, leaving an area about a millimeter wider than the
temporarily affixed image. This allows the
concrete sealant to be wider than the image
to protect it from seepage.
2 We used two types of sealant on the concrete for comparison: a Zinsser product and
a RAMUC pool paint product distributed by
Dynamic Paint Products. Both worked well. The
images were then coated with what we call P1,
which is a special adhesive used only on the
Tattoowall membrane. It was allowed to dry
for 20 minutes, making the image elastic.
3 Next we measured and applied registration marks on the image. For most Tattoowall
applications, this is done by the printer. We then
applied P2, another special adhesive which keeps
the Tattoowall adhered to the substrate.
4 Now the Tattoowall was applied. You can see the special
Professional Painter • Fall 2013
silicone paper attached to the image which allows the applicator to make adjustments during placement.
5 The silicone paper is very slowly released to enable the
applicator to stipple the image onto the substrate using a
special Tattoowall brush.
6 Finally, the image was protected from future vandalism
using Dumond graffiti protector – a two-part protector that
takes seven days to cure.
The finished product. Isn’t it beautiful? (see top of opposite
page) In the upper right hand corner you can see a QR code
that, when swiped by a smartphone, will take the viewer to
the artist’s website.
The public’s response to the Tattoowall imaging has been
very positive – the images look like they have been painted on!
Masters Academy would like to thank the West Queen
West BIA, Street Art Showcase, Stefan Lialias and the City of
Toronto’s START program. Their vision in making this area a
walking art gallery is truly inspirational.
Tattoowall installation classes are now in session. For
more information, visit our website: www.mada-arts.com. pp
29
photo contest
Show us your
best work!
As a pro painter, your every brush stroke is
permanently recorded. When you do a job right,
you can feel it in your bones.
You know when you hit it out of the park.
that good
When you feel
about your painting
at a particular location, share it with us.
Send us your pics to spayne@canadiancontractor.ca and, in a few words, tell us...
n
n
Why about this project made you so proud?
n
n
n
Where is the job located?
Was the job technically demanding?
Were there difficult working conditions?
Did you use a new technique or new equipment?
n
Were you trying out a new brand of paint?
n
What was the customer’s reaction?
Email your PHOTO(S) and short description of your project to:
spayne@canadiancontractor.ca
Deadline for entries:
30
December 2, 2013
Winner will get a FREE
Dynamic Paint Tools
Package worth over
$100.00!
RENEW YOUR
SUBSCRIPTION
TODAY!
and be entered
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Or
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Type “Professional Painter magazine”
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www.professionalpainter.ca
You have a head for business but a heart for paint.
And your heart is not to be messed with.
So your paint can’t be all crazy,
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