Interior | Crestwood Painting

Touch-up Paint vs Fingernail Polish

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

Nails usually follow a three step process:

Base coat
Color coat
Top coat (2X)
(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.

Lead Paint Certification: Why It’s Important

Crestwood Painting has been EPA Lead-Safe certified since 2011, many of our Job Leads have also been trained and certified, as well.

Lead in paint has been outlawed since 1978. If your home was built before that the EPA says that lead-safe work practices must be followed. That means lots of tape and plastic to protect your home and family (and your contractor).

If a pre-’78 home is proved to have no lead in the work surfaces then lead-safe practices do not have to be followed. But the test procedures are fraught with their own set tangled rules – so we just assume lead on every pre ’78 project and work accordingly.

This means more more prep work than most contractors will do: we cover gardens to keep paint chips out, we sweep and vacuum driveways and decks and very often we’re told the yard is cleaner than it was when we started!

We equip our painters with gloves and proper breathing protection when they’re scraping, too. And soap to wash hands before lunch and at the end of the day.

We keep the soap in a nylon stocking – it’s an old Girl Scout trick (the nylon stocking keeps the soap free of dirt). There was a lot of eye-rolling at first but our painters do use it – while they tease.

Lead poisoning is very serious business. Young children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable. Contractors that ignore the EPA’s RRP (Renovate, Repair & Paint) regulations are putting their business at risk. Those same contractors are also unlikely to share the risks with their customers or their employees.

Yes, it’s true – there is a slight cost difference in complying: more time in implementing lead-safe protection, more materials also. On the flip-side, our systems allow us to protect very efficiently and clean up much more effectively than we ever did before implementing lead-safe work practices.

It feels good to do the right thing. All that, and a contractor’s nod to the Girl Scouts, to boot!

Best Colors For Relaxation

This update from Kansas City color consultant Diane Stewart (ColorSenseConsulting.com) gives the low-down on color – relaxing color. We’ve referred many customers to Diane; if you’re in a color quandary please give her a call.

“Many people say they don’t understand color, but they’re affected by it every day whether they realize it or not. Colors evoke emotions, bring up memories, and affect moods. These responses vary, but there are some universal reactions to color.

[Read more…]

Tips For Painting Trim

White Trim paint Trim color, especially for interiors, often defaults to a generic “white”. Color consultant Diane Stewart with Color Sense Consulting explains very clearly why there’s more to it than meets the eye.

“Trim is often an afterthought, but it should be the right color to complement the walls. Trim is sort of like the black outline around illustrations, or piping on a fabric. It should highlight and accent the main attraction in the middle, but it’s not meant to draw attention to itself. Unfortunately, that’s just what bright white trim does. I’m not sure why this became popular, but I try to steer my clients away from it as much as possible.

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Best Bedroom Colors

Bedroom paint colors kansas city painter crestwood painting Bedrooms can be either a relaxing refuge or a nondescript place to hang your clothes – I choose relaxing refuge. Here’s my favorite color consultant Diane Stewart at Color Sense Consulting:

Your bedroom is a private place to relax, refresh, reflect, and dream. It’s your refuge from the world. Creating a comfort zone before decorating public areas should be a priority, but often the reverse is true.

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