Watching Paint Dry

Painting and decorating is an occupation/hobby that for some reason has contributed a great many metaphors to the every day language.

One of the most commonly used of these appeared in the news threads of the printed and online media recently when it was used by none other than Mr. Wayne Rooney when he tweeted in his Twitter account when watching the Superbowl, that it was “Like Watching Paint Dry” this is to say of course that he found the event (sometimes described as “The Greatest Show on Earth) to be extremely boring.

This news prompted two trains of thought with me.

The first which I always think when I hear this particular meta 4(twitter speak!) used is, how can “Watching Paint Dry” possibly be boring? It is after all how I earn my living and I spend a great deal of my working day doing same. In fact if I am not “Watching Paint Dry” I am not earning money.

Secondly I thought, how much experience does young Wayne have of “Watching Paint Dry” he doesn´t after all strike me as the DIY sort? In fact I would imagine that the closest Mr Rooney has ever been to a tin of paint will be the red stuff which he uses to “Paint the Town Red” (another meta 4) which he does on regular basis (allegedly...sources can´t be confirmed at this time etc).

There are quite a surprising few more examples of metaphors,euphemisms and similes connected to painting and decorating, I suppose because everyone has a least tried it at some time in their lives, (with varying degrees of success!) and I will show more examples of these in future blogs.

Wood - A Love Affair

It's hard to beat Mother Nature when it comes to creating beautiful , lasting building materials. Certainly wood, that hard, fibrous tissue harvested from many different trees , is the backbone of shelter construction that has housed humankind for thousands and thousands of years

As a construction material, wood is highly regarded for it´s strength, efficiency, adaptability in use and of course, lasting durability and beauty. Properly cared for wood serves silently and dutifully for several hundred years or more. Yet as tough as it is, once wood leaves the cradle of Mother Nature's care and goes on to its extended life as a building material, someone has to take responsibility. That someone needs to look it over regularly and occasionally apply modern methods of protection to extend wood's productive life span. 

We at The Villa Painters know a thing or two about caring for the timber that is so commonly used in and around the homes on the Costa Blanca.

People living in this part of the Spain love the natural look of wood of ceiling beams,  window frames and pergolas and increasingly now, decking around swim pools. However the typical 300 days of sunshine we get here can play havoc, because the sun's UV rays will, over time and without proper re staining, turn wood surfaces black and cause shedding or deterioration to occur.” Furthermore unchecked moisture issues can lead to wood rot, an equally troublesome enemy for wood surfaces.

The Villa Painters know how to spot wood threats and how to treat them. We work with our customers to find a balance between the appearance and protection they are comfortable with, and explain the various stain/color finishes, as well as their protective properties.” Clear and transparent finishes are usually preferred, but they require more frequent re staining. Semi-transparent and solid color finishes hide some of the wood's natural beauty, but last longer in the strong sunlight.

We always recomend the products of the Jotun Paint Company and in particular Trebitt wood stains and treatments. A range of products developed and perfected by the Jotun to treat and protect the wooden houses of their home nation Norway. In general, two coats give the best protection. The first cost penetrates the wood for good protection. The second coat bonds well to the first coat, and provides a surface covering that better resists UV and moisture

Why Stabilise?

Why Stabilise?

Proper preparation when house painting is,as with most aspects of life, vital.

An example of this is that the surface to which new paint is to be applied must be clean, dry and in good physical condition. A problem that we frequently encounter when painting houses here on the Costa Blanca is that the condition of the existing paint has deteriorated to such an extent that it presents an almost chalk like characteristic that will part from the substrate when rubbed by hand.

The remedy to this that prior to painting a coat of stabiliser (Fijador in Spanish) should be applied. Fijador is a material that is in part a sealant and part an adhesive which provides a suitable surface for the application of new paint.

Normally we will use the standard water based version of this product supplied by the Jotun Paint Company, however an option that we some times choose when we feel that the substrate is in especially bad condition or that the applied paint is going to be subject to difficult conditions (E.G. on swim pool surrounds) is to use the solvent, penetrating version which is much stronger.

Once this has been completed we can apply the paint confident in the knowledge that there will be no problems with the adhesion and that the new paint will provide a first class protection to the house for many years in the future.

Never Mind The Quality Feel The Width!

A saying that used to be attributed to some less than scrupulous tailors when trying to pass off suit material that was less than top quality.

The same can be applied to the purchase of house paint. Some house paint companies advertise that the paint they use is "Thick paint...up to 20 times thicker than normal"  to infer that the thickness adds to the quality when in actual fact quite the reverse is the case.

Paint manufacturing companies will thicken "economy" paint by adding chalk which of course is porous and actually attracts water and damp instead of repelling it.
The addition of chalk of course explains why a bucket of such paint will actually be much heavier than the same quantity of a quality product such as Jotun Jotashield which is manufactured with the appropriate chemistry to ensure it´s effectiveness and long life.

Therefore when  choosing a house paint it´s always better to "Feel The Quality and not the Width"

Conditioning Your House To Sell. (Curb Appeal)

Today´s blog deals with the expression "Curb Appeal" and which is in fact the term used by the Realty (Inmo - Real Estate) industry in the U.S. to describe the impression and impact (or lack of!) that you property will have on any prospective buyer on the first instance of viewing E.G. from the car outside or when they walk through the gate.

It is certainly not reference in any form to those nice young ladies who stand or sit by the carreteras here in Spain while they practice the "Oldest Profession".

People judge books by their cover, we all do, so you have to make sure that in the current oversupplied real estate market the "cover" on your book is sufficiently attractive to induce a positive all important first impression.

A sound investment therefore and one which will surely be much easier on the finances than having to discount the price of the property to achieve a sale, is to commission a proper professional paint job. Not just a lick and a promise with a roller and two tubs of "economy" paint but a professional specification of works which delivers properly repaired and prepared walls, good tight lines round edges and borders and a standard of paint such as Jotun Jotashield which will protect the house and provide a lasting depth of colour to the finish.

Of course if you are to commission The Villa Painters to undertake such a contract then you will also be provided with our "Ten Year Maintenance Guarantee" which can be passed on to any new proprietors of the property. Another aid to making the sale.

You only get one chance to make a good first impression so use it!

Paint It Black

“I see a line of cars and they're all painted black.”

So goes the opening line of a big hit by the Rolling Stones (popular beat combo of the sixties) whereas at The Villa Painters we don't paint cars, the paint it black idea is an increasingly popular solution to the what to do with the top of the chimney problem. Many residents of the not always warm Costa Blanca burn wood in the stoves of their houses during the winter months and of course the smoke on exiting the chimney will leave black soot stains and this can lead to the dilemma of whether to paint over in the same colour as the rest of the house, secure in the knowledge that the stains will return as soon as the fire is re lit, or to leave as is. A mixture of ugly black stains and original paint.

So we now offer our clients the option of having the top affected part of the chimney painted black neatly and a chosen uniform area thus turning a former

problem area into a feature.

It's important of course to undertake the work correctly by scraping as much of the carbon soot off the area as possible and then to apply a coat of a good quality solvent based penetrating primer. Then to paint two coats of Jotun Rehabilit Revestimiento.

Problem solved.

Like Painting the Forth Rail Bridge

A popular metaphor based on painting and decorating
and one which will soon be redundant as thanks to the
continual development of paints and coatings with a much greater life cycle than previously and with which Rab the Painter (pictured right) and his fellow painters have recently used to completely renovate all of the metal work on the now 122 year old bridge there will be no need to paint the bridge on a continuous never ending loop. So in future tasks such as, washing the dishes, weeding the garden, tidying a child's bedroom and of course organising all the files and photos on your computer will no longer be comparable to "Painting the Forth Rail Bridge" and another time served expression will vanish from our language.

Tight As Two Coats of Paint

Another popular metaphor with a painting theme and one that at times can be used in a pejorative context E.G. to describe a person that is mean "He´s as tight as two coats of paint" or at other times can be a complimentary expression E.G. it can be used to describe a good R&B band "They´re as tight as two coats of paint"

In painting and decorating terms coats of paint should of course always be "tight" that is to say they should be applied to properly prepared surfaces and then allowed sufficient time to dry before the next coat is applied on top thus creating an bonded layered effect which will adhere to substrate and have the depth of coating to protect the substrate against the elements. It also will provide a much better depth of colour.

No Whitewash!

“There will be no Whitewash on the Whitehouse” 

These words (or similar) were spoken by ex-President Richard Nixon in reference to the enquiry in to the original “Gate” scandal, Watergate. And not as one might suspect about an imminent re paint project for the White House (Casa Blanca). Even so there is a relevance in his remarks as the reason that the White House stays white and not grey is simply because it is painted with a first class coating without any misguided cutting of corners and costs by choosing an inferior/economy paint which would in fact just be whitewash which had been bulked up with chalk to make it thicker and which wouldn´t have sufficient strong pigment to maintain the colour. Also missing from cheap paint is a whole bunch of other important chemistry which provides good waterproofing and anti-fungi properties to the product. Don’t ever therefore let there be any “Whitewash on your Whitehouse”. Or any other colour of house for that matter!



Painting of Gates and Grills (Rejers). The do´s and don´ts.

Now that the temperatures have abated (at last!) here on the Costa Blanca the time is right to undertake the onerous task of painting the metal work on and around your house. So please find below a list of the do´s and don´ts of rejer painting as advised by us here at The Villa Painters based on our considerable experience of this type of work.

1. Do used a brand of anti rust metal paint that is manufactured here in Spain (the paint store will advise you) and not the brand that is imported from the U.K. As the viscosity is too high to be effective in the climate here on the C.B.
2. Do rub down all rust spots with a wire brush and also apply a rust inhibitor to any persistent area of rust before applying the metal paint.
3. Do dilute the material by at least 10% with white spirit (aguarras) before painting as this speeds up the working time and improves the finish look.
4. Don´t assume that the best form of coating metal is to paint with “thick paint” as this is a common misconception of most amateur painters. If you wish a thicker finish you should paint a second coat which by using diluted paint which will dry almost immediately will be achievable almost immediately.
5. Do paint with little sponge rollers as it is much quicker than brushed and will supply a superior finish. You can use a small brush to paint the areas that are inaccessible with the rollers
6. Do work with some background music playing or with headphones to supply same. You will find that this speeds up production considerably. “Music While You Work” To which I refer you to previous blog re the Transistor Radio
7. Don´t attempt rejer painting in months with an r as it is too hot. Even the beginning os September can be problematic.
8. Lastly do keep reducing the paint you are working with as after only a few minutes the spirit will have evaporated and the paint will be thickening as you work.

Good luck with all of the above and remember that another option to undertaking this tiresome and onerous task is to contract us at The Villa Painters to paint the metal work of your house and marvel at how speedily we complete same and how happy we are at our work.

Also you should be aware that during the winter months we offer this service at considerably discounted prices which allows you the customer to get on with your life and not be bothering with rejer painting.