Painting Challenges

Advice for house painting challenges in Kansas City.

Nail Pops: What You Should Know

nail pop crestwood painting — Exterior siding nail – properly set, no moisture infiltration

First, let’s understand what a “nail pop” is – simply a nail head that protrudes above the surrounding surface. They’re usually caused by structural settling or by normal expansion and contraction – both interior and exterior. Here’s how to deal with them.

Exterior Nail Pops

On exteriors, a nail head that is visible does not mean that nail head has “popped”. On exterior work it’s generally impractical to make nail heads invisible. They should, however, not be protruding. On newer construction especially (less than 25 years old, very often “value engineered” plywood siding) structures settle, construction is hurried and sometimes improperly dried lumber is used – a perfect recipe.

If the siding contractor had only adjusted the nail guns to just dimple the siding surface… Or if another second was taken to be sure that each nail was driven perpendicular to the surface… Or if a better quality siding material had been used… But no time or money for all that.

Nail heads that are visible but that have not loosened to break the paint film are doing their job just fine and it’s best to let them be. Nails that are protruding should be set flush with a hammer, primed if there is evidence of rust and sealed with a high grade caulk to keep moisture out.

We recently had a suburban homeowner insist on “fixing” visible nail heads. While the were less than a handful on the whole house that had actually “popped”, this homeowner wanted her painting contractor to drive all visible nails flush with the siding and then caulk to seal.

If It Ain’t Broke…

drywall nail pop crestwood painting

Here’s the problem: in doing that it’s very likely that the nail or surrounding siding will be damaged (errant hammer gouges siding, nail now more likely to rust) or that the nail will be over-driven and the surface membrane will be pierced. And with that is a much greater chance of moisture infiltration, no matter how much caulk is used. The consequence of caulking each nail head is seeing a smooth dab of caulk every 16″ on a field of faux-wood or -stucco texture. Yes, you’ll see the texture difference right through the paint – and all across the side of the house.

Interior Nail Pops

Generally the same set of causes, interior nail pops have more straight-forward fixes. If it’s loose enough to remove by hand, do so. If not, tap it below the surface. Either way, drive a screw about an inch or two from the offending nail to secure the drywall – this makes a reappearance much less likely as screws have greater holding power.

Now, just skim with spackle or drywall compound, sand smooth and paint – easy! However, if you’re not sure of the status of your “pops”, please give us a call.

Tips For Dark Paint Colors

‘Dja ever notice that deep paint colors don’t seem to cover as well as lighter colors? There’s a simple reason for this and it involves a recent post about titanium dioxide.

Let’s say you’ve chosen a deep orange for your living room – this really happened about three weeks ago (along with deep burgundy, chocolate brown, etc). Because these colors requires so much tint to achieve the deep colors paint manufacturers must remove some other ingredients to make room.

One of the things that’s got to go is titanium dioxide – the chief component that gives paint its hiding power. That means you’ll almost certainly see the original color through the first coat, probably the second, etc. I’ve heard of professional painters applying five coats (in addition to the old trick of using a gray primer coat) before they achieved deep and even coverage. Paint quality really comes into play here – low quality (and low priced) paint never covers very well; you’ll eat up any savings with increase labor costs. Or simple aggravation if you’re a DIY’er.

Paint quality certainly affects coverage, but at a certain point you simply bump into the tug-of-war between tint (deep colors) and hiding power (titanium dioxide or similar). As there’s only so much room in the can; something’s got to give.

This is why we always make a point to ask about colors when we first meet with a customer to discuss an estimate. Most people assume that paint is paint and colors are colors and they appreciate an open discussion about how their color choices can affect the cost of their project.

And not all paints are available in all colors. Manufacturers make different paint “bases” – some are formulated for lighter colors and others are for darker colors. So, for example, if a certain high quality interior wall paint isn’t available in an ultra-deep base so we’ll have to use a more commercial-grade paint for that particular color. Just some of the trade-offs that manufacturers make between product line, cost, sales volume, etc.

Exterior Paint on New Homes

Builder quality paint doesn't last very long Home builders are notorious for using “builder grade” (poor quality) exterior paint. Paint so bad that it starts to deteriorate after the last check clears. Here’s what’s going on and what can be done to remedy the situation.

Builders (and some homeowners) apply poor quality paint because it simply costs less. Then the homeowner finds that their new house doesn’t look so good after a couple of years – the paint film breaks down from weather and the sun’s UV rays – even bird poop. It loses sheen, the surface gets chalky and you can often see the substrate right through the paint film.

[Read more…]

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Updated Golden Oak - this young couple was delighted with the transformation. — Updated Golden Oak – this young couple was delighted with the transformation.

Golden Oak cabinets are so last century. But re-staining or painting kitchen cabinets is not as straight-forward as painting your living room. Here’s what to look for:

Material – there are trade-offs. Solvent-based (oil) materials have some advantages, but they have terrible odor. Not just your average terrible, but industrial strength, move out-of-your-house-for-three-days kind of terrible. A latex product solves the odor issue and the right product will solve the durability issue.
Application – there are some DIY kits available that say the product can be brushed on, but most professionals wouldn’t even think of brushing kitchen cabinets. Cabinets require a silky-smooth, even layer of paint – the kind of finish that can only be achieved with a sprayer, a practiced hand and a keen eye.

A close view of dated, dark and dingy cabinetry before painting. The previous homeowner was a heavy smoker – major cleaning was required.
Durability – This is a balance between finish hardness, flexibility and adhesion. Too hard and the finish will chip under the heavy use common to kitchens. Poor adhesion means it’s even more likely to chip because it doesn’t stick very well. Flexibility means the finish has more “give” when dinged but at a certain point adhesion comes into question. Proper material selection is critical – you don’t want to learn six months later that there was a better choice available.
Blocking – A finish with good blocking properties will allow you to put a can of soup on the shelf and remove it a month later without leaving an impression or removing paint. Latex products have typically not had very good blocking properties, but there are niche materials available that block as well as oil-based paints.
Hardware – there’s no problem to replace existing hinges or door pulls provided the hole spacing is the same. If there are holes to fill (say you change from a door pull to a knob), you might consider texture. The hole will be filled and then sanded smooth; that repair will not match the texture of the surrounding wood. Usually not a deal-breaker, but a small detail that might affect your expectations.
Interiors – Melamine cabinet interiors are almost always masked to protect from paint; wood or composite materials are often painted, depending on age, condition and homeowner preference. Masking takes more time to make sure that paint goes only where it should.
Grain-filling – Oak is considered an open grain wood and maple is a closed grain (and therefore very smooth) wood; other species may have knots. If the texture of open grain or knotty wood doesn’t appeal to you the grain can be filled and sanded for a smoother appearance. This option involves a bit more time but it’s a practical way to minimize wood texture. A caution, though – it’s reasonable to expect a “disguise” of the wood grain rather than a complete conversion to piano-smooth.

If you’d like to discuss the options available for your kitchen cabinets or bathroom vanity, please call Crestwood Painting today!

Painting Interior Trim – Joint Gaps

Interior Trim - gaps kansas city painter crestwood painting Something we see quite often on interior projects is the different styles of interior carpentry and the effects that those styles have on a painted finish. Traditional styles tend to hide the effects of wood movement from

Seasonal expansion and contraction
House settling or movement

This is because the different component pieces never join flat-edge to flat-edge. You can see in the picture how this plays out. Older craftsmen were aware of wood movement and used that knowledge to “design-out” those effects. The wood still moves – it’s just not as noticeable to the eye.

Newer construction (“newer” being almost anything since 1940) is different. The post-war Baby Boom required lots of housing built quickly. For both economics and speed of construction miter joints were used. This was to minimize the number of pieces, the number of cuts and therefore the labor cost. Find more info on New Wood vs Old Wood.

The downside to all this efficiency is joint gaps. Buildings move and seasons change – gaps happen. To the right there’s a miter joint that’s opened up. Just below is a similar joint whose surfaces don’t match and therefore have an uneven appearance.

If you’ve got joint problems (sorry – painters’s humor) give Crestwood Painting a call today.

The painting prep process for this situation is similar to traditional joinery, but the long-term effects are very different. Scrape or sand excess paint or caulk, prime as needed and re-caulk the joint. Over time, these joints will open or mis-match – it’s just a consequence of design trade-offs.