Crestwood Painting

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Helpful Painting Tips

Ready to tackle a painting project? Here are some pro tips.

Touch-up Paint vs Fingernail Polish

paint touch upA homeowner asked about touch-up painting for trim and kitchen cabinets – this explanation really clicked for her.

Nails usually follow a three step process:

  1. Base coat
  2. Color coat
  3. Top coat (2X)
  4. (Optional) Chip

When a chip happens there’s really no easy way to make that nail look like all the rest, is there?
She had no more questions.

You’ll notice how similar nail polish lingo is to painting lingo. Same process, really – primer, paint and, in the case of kitchen cabinets, very often a clear coat on top of everything.

Sure, you can apply paint to cover a chip, but it won’t look the same without a lot of extra work. Now, if you’re selling a house that might be OK – but keep this trick in mind when you’re buying, too. What at first appears to be a well-painted home may really be nothing more than clever touch-up work. That’s something that you’re likely to not see until you’ve lived in the house for a bit.

If you’ve got touch up painting questions, give us a call. We’re happy to help and there’s usually no chipped nails in answering questions.

Filed Under: Painting Tips Tagged With: Interior, kitchen

Top 3 Things to NOT Caulk

Caulk kansas city painter crestwood
Sealing moisture out is perfect around doors and windows but sealing moisture in can grow mold and rot.

Caulk is, in terms of aesthetics, the most important part of prepping for exterior painting. It makes for a smooth, seamless appearance – no gaps between trim boards or hairline cracks in stucco. Caulk also protects from moisture infiltration.

Crack sealing (wood or stucco) should not be very noticeable. It’s often done poorly and looks like a finger dragged across a blob of caulk. Which is exactly the cave-man type of repair that is so common. Ideally, a detail-oriented painter will remove excess caulk with a damp rag for a neater appearance.

If you can seal moisture out you can also seal moisture in. So here are the top three places you do not want to seal:

  • Storm windows
  • Bottom edge
  • Soffits

Storm Windows

Sealing storm windows in solves one problem (heat loss / convection) and creates another, far worse problem (trapped moisture). Plus, there’s a much higher risk of damage on removal (say, for painting) of both the storm window itself and the window opening. There are usually weep holes or slots at the bottom edge of a storm window; they’re effective for water run-off but don’t help much with condensation. Sealing storms in leaves no path for condensation to escape. Please, be kind to your home and don’t caulk your storms in.

Bottom Edge

We’re talking about the bottom edge of clapboard siding and shake shingles. When (not if) moisture gets behind your home’s exterior sheathing it will need an outlet path or it will become a breeding ground for mold, mildew and wood-eating fungi. Yes, some siding boards may cup and warp; do not yield to temptation and caulk recklessly for the sake of appearance. You’ll solve one problem and create another – leave an outlet path.

Soffits

Your roof and gutters should be doing their job and directing water away. But sometimes they don’t and water goes where it shouldn’t. If you seal the bottom edges and joints of soffits and fascia trim you’ve effectively created a bathtub. Water will then travel where you don’t want it to or, maybe worse, it will fester and grow mold and mildew. As a general rule it’s best to follow the old adage “think like a raindrop” – if a raindrop continues its downward path will it wind up where you want it? Many contractors tout that they caulk “everything”, now you know that’s not quite the best policy. Want to know more about what not to caulk? Give us a call – we’d love to help.

house painting exterior crestwood

Filed Under: Painting Tips Tagged With: bad paint job, exterior, shingles

Tips n’ Tricks – Vinyl Window Trim Color

white wall tire vinyl window optionsVinyl windows can be kind of tricky when it comes to trim colors – they are almost always stark white and generally cannot be painted (see below). Some lean to matching trim color to the vinyl – this gives a hospital-feeling white-on-white look that lacks visual interest. It also ranks a solid “Zero” on the Warmth scale.

The other end of the spectrum is the high contrast approach. This lacks subtlety and, just like whitewall tires, isn’t suited for most homes. Both white-on-white and dark-on-white are just too harsh a contrast for most tastes.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Painting Tips Tagged With: contrasting colors, exterior, trim, vinyl windows

How to Test Paint Colors

exterior paint colors kansas city painter crestwood paintingAnother update from Kansas City color consultant Diane Stewart at Color Sense Consulting. Exterior colors can be tricky and, as Diane points out, it’s tough to visualize what the whole house will look like from a tiny paint-store sample. Here’s Diane Stewart:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Painting Tips Tagged With: color consulting, color testing, contrasting colors, exterior

Choose the Right Paint Sheen

Paint sheen crestwood interior
Sheen describes the amount of light reflected.

Everybody knows about color; not many know about sheen. But it is just as  important when choosing paints. So here we go!

Sheen is another way to say “light reflectance”. Kitchen cabinets are usually higher-gloss surfaces and so reflect more light that most ceilings (flat sheen).

One is not better than the other – but there are trade-offs and considerations in choosing which sheen is best for a particular application.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Painting Tips Tagged With: bathroom, bedroom, cabinets, ceiling, doors, egg-shell, flat paints, gloss, hallway, high-gloss, kids' room, kitchen, living room, semi-gloss, sheen, trim

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236 W 73rd Terr, Kansas City, MO 64114

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