The Red Truck crew had another fun and busy year in 2013.  Our projects included commercial jobs,  jobs for past customers, and work for people relocating their homes.

One of our commercial projects had us working near the airport again.  We worked in an industrial company painting an exposed ceiling.  We also painted the exterior and interior of a great new cafe across from the airport - the ROC Cafe.  Great sandwiches and breakfast!

Another project was painting the dining room of a terrific italian restaurant on Monroe avenue - Rocco.  I once worked with the chef and owner of the place back when he ran the Victor Grilling Co.  The food here  is simply amazing.

When we weren't eating while painting - we also worked on more homes for sale, or recently purchased, with a few projects in Fairport.  For most of May we worked for a couple who relocated here from the Carolinas.  

Fairport also had us working for friends at Bright Start Pediatrics.

Some of our more grueling projects had us scraping and sanding very old houses, including one in the village of Fairport. We worked on the old clapboards, the old shutters, and even the dormer peaks with the use of a boom lift. These jobs are tough, but tend to be the most rewarding. 

 Like every summer, we washed and  stained quite a few decks. This year we also stained five fences, most of which we completed using our paint sprayer. 

We recently added a new painter to our crew.  We also added a second red truck.  And, thanks to the folks at Coyne Design, we updated the red truck with an awesome logo, complete with my dog, Maddie!

Thanks to all for keeping us busy this past year!

Here at Red Truck Painting, we preform a lot of  Rochester wall paper removal projects.   A main priority with this work is proper surface preparation after the paper is take down.  

When wallpaper is removed, there is often a good amount of glue residue left over.  If this glue is not fully removed from the walls, it will interfere with the finish coat of paint.  In cases where we cannot clean the walls fully of the glue residue, we must use a product to seal the walls before the finish is applied.

 Oil Primer like Cover Stain  used to be our go to.  Now we usually choose GARDZ Problem Surface Sealer.  Here are the main advantages:
1. Unlike oil, GARDZ does not smell horrible
2. Unlike oil, GARDZ is truly ready in one hour under normal conditions
3. GARDZ takes about half as long to apply
4. GARDZ spreads out almost twice as far
5. GARDZ preforms slightly better at sealing down glue residue, and has worked where oil has failed

Cover Stain would still be a better choice if you only want to paint only one coat of finish after the primer, because it can be tinted, while GARDZ is a clear.  We always suggest two coats of paint, so for us this rarely applies.

There is a learning curve to applying GARDZ (which is also true of oil primer).  GARDZ is extremely watery, and has a consistency resembling milk.  You must be very gentle not to squeeze the roller, or it will run very easily.  Once you get the hang, though, GARDZ will spread out far and easily.  

Once the walls dry, give a light sanding, and they are ready for paint.  The paint will go on easier, because your walls are freshly sealed.

Cover Stain is made by Zinnser.  Now a part of the Rustoleum company, the Zinnser brand is perhaps the best known manufacturer of primer specific coatings.  This primer has been around for years, and is one of the most popular oil primers in the painting industry.

We have been using this primer for years as well.  Cover Stain became our go-to oil primer because it is thick, and because it blocks out stains like it is supposed to. We most commonly used Cover Stain for bare wood surfaces (especially old exterior wood that is porous and/ or or prone to tannin bleed, like cedar) and for problem surfaces with staining issues.  These surfaces include water stained ceilings, smoke stained ceilings, and walls from which wallpaper was removed.

This product does a great job at blocking stains.  With wall paper removal, Cover Stain does a good job at locking down torn drywall, and wall paper glue residue on the wall substrate.  This provides a safe undercoat for application of a latex product.  If latex is used without an oil primer, bubbling of the finish coat, and flashing of the residues is common

Cover Stain dries fast, and can be recoated in one hour, as stated on the can.  We do however suggest an overnight dry with oil primers, as they can take some time to harden, and can also take time to off-gas their oil solvents.   

Cover Stain's main weakness is that it is very smelly, with intense oil fumes.  You must use with adequate ventilation - or you will catch a nasty headache.  Also, if you plan to clean your brushes be prepared to spend some time with thinner or mineral spirits.

See our review of GARDZ, which offers a great, water based alternative for wallpaper removal use primer. 

Red Truck Painting recently completed a large painting project near the Rochester, NY Airport.  We painted for a local manufacturer, and a neighboring restaurant.

At the manufacturing building,  our commercial painters were asked to paint the exposed ceilings in a room that was being remodeled.  This ceiling was full of supports and duct works, and there was no way we were going to get it coated with a simple brush and roller.  And - they wanted it painted black.  What was the solution?  Dryfall paint!

Dryfall paint is pretty simple to define - it dries very quickly, as it falls.  So when you spray the paint, any over-spray will dry before it hits the flooring. The specific product we used was PPG Speedhide Latex Dry-Fog.  This product dries after a ten foot fall.   After a coat of Aqualock Latex Primer, the ceiling was ready for two coats of Dryfall.  It sprayed easily, had great coverage, and cleaned up nicely.  We purchased the paint from Hadlock's House of Paint.

Call Red Truck Painting for your Rochester NY Commercial Painting needs!

 

Our crew at Red Truck Painting performs several cabinet painting project's in Rochester every year.  We have learned from experience to only use the toughest enamels on these surfaces.

Traditionally cabinets have been painted using a oil based product, or sometimes an exterior paint is used.  This is in attempt to coat the surface with a hard, durable product.  These products are often times difficult to work with.

Enter Cabinet Coat.  It is an Acrylic  so it is easy to work with, dries pretty fast (6 hours to recoat) and cleans up with soap and water.  It doesn't have that nasty smell either.

Cabinet Coat goes on very thin - which lends for a very smooth finish, perfect for cabinetry.  And it dries hard, leaving a durable finish you can live with and not worry about it chipping off.   To see more on the proper preparations and procedures, see our process on Rochester Cabinet Painting. 

Benjamin Moore Advance is a very similar product to cabinet coat.  It also claims to be self-priming (we know better than to skip this crucial step) and also offers a hybrid formulation as a "water borne alkyd."

The Advance is easy to work with like cabinet coat.  It does take longer to dry before recoat (16 hours.)  And it does take a bit more elbow grease to sand.  It dries to a very similar mil thickness (1.35)  It has slightly more solids by volume than Cabient Coat (33 vs 39%)

We prefer Advance  slightly.  Why?  When it dries it is  really hard! The bottom line - this paint is easy to work with, lays down extremely smooth, and creates a tough finish that is  perfect for cabinets.

Here are some specs for Cabinet Coat.  Both products are owner by Benjamin Moore, and have similar application instructions.  Here is a link for Benjamin Moore Advance.

Cabinet Coat™ 
Urethane Acrylic Satin Enamel
CC-45XX Series
Type: Urethane Reinforced Acrylic   Sheen: Satin    Theoretical Spread Rate: 350 - 450 Sq. Ft. Per Gallon*    Recommended Application : Brush, Roller or HVLP Spray    Thinner : Do Not Thin    Clean Up: Warm Soapy Water Drying Schedule: Tack Free:  1 Hr. @ 77ºF   Recoat:  6 Hrs. @ 77ºF Full Cure:  7 Days 

Cabinet Coat™ is the ultimate finish for refurbishing dingy kitchen and bathroom cabinets, shelving, furniture, trim & crown molding and other interior applications that require an ultrasmooth, factory like finish with long lasting beauty. Its super adhering quality allows painting "hard to stick" surfaces, even polyurethane and varnish, without using a primer. Cabinet Coat™  has excellent flow and leveling, superior stain resistance and an extremely durable satin finish that will allow cabinetry to look like new for years.  Not appropriate for surfaces that will be immersed in liquid (sinks and tubs) or for stove or oven surfaces.

WHERE TO USE: Interior & Exterior   SUBSTRATES:  Cabinets, Metal, New & Previously Painted Wood, Furniture, Woodwork, Doors Trim.    APPLICATIONS: For exterior use, limit to small areas of trim.  Do not use as a whole house wall paint.
SURFACE PREPARATION: General – All surface areas to be painted should be clean, dry, sound and free of all dirt, grease,oils, waxes, mildew and any other surface contaminants that can cause paint failure.  Dirt and chalk should be thoroughly removed by scrubbing with warm soapy water.  Surface wax should be removed with a commercial wax stripper. Grease residue should be removed with INSL-X® PC-2000  Citrus  Cleaner.  Remove  all  loose  chipping,  cracking  and  peeling  from  previously painted surfaces by hand scraping, sanding, wire brushing and/or by use of power tool cleaning methods such as electric sanders, grinders, etc.  Remove any loose rust, mill scale, rust deposits from metal surfaces by the same methods described above in accordance with SSPC – (Steel Structures Painting Council) specifications for the proper surface preparation of metal surfaces. Repair/replace any seriously damaged and/or delaminated surface areas.  Lightly feather sand all rough paint edges to adjacent surface area.  All glossy surface areas should be lightly sanded to effectively dull any existing sheen and create a more suitable surface for painting.    Glossy Surfaces – Although Cabinet Coat™ is formulated to be applied to hard to coat surfaces without  the  need  for  sanding,  it  is  recommended  that  proper  surface  preparation  still  be completed to enhance adhesion properties.  Surfaces such as Melamine Laminate, Formica®, ceramic tile and glossy painted surfaces should be properly deglossed.    Previously Painted Surfaces:  No primer is needed if surface is in good condition. Clean or and as described above.  Spot prime bare spots with an initial coat of Cabinet Coat®. Melamine   Laminate or Formica®: No primer needed. Lightly sand with fine sandpaper. Remove sanding dust with tack rag.    Ferrous Metal: Prime bare spots with metal primer.
APPLICATION: Cabinet Coat™ applies easily with a quality brush or roller.   If spraying is desired, the preferred method is HVLP. Stir product thoroughly before using.  It is important to maintain a wet edge during all methods of paint application by brushing or rolling into previously applied coating area.  Overworking Cabinet Coat™ can lead to brush marks or roller marks, as this product dries quickly. 

I recently moved to Fairport, and the Red Truck has a new home here.

Since my Farther grew up and worked in Fairport, it has been a place we have done a lot of painting.  We have worked on a number of older homes, including this historic house.  These old painted lady's have a lot of details!

This summer we look forward to painting here again.  We also love to stain the cedar houses in the areas, as well as those decks that need a fresh coat.  We love to work with paint and stain products from Benjamin Moore.

We are offering a 10% Discount to all Fairport Residents! So let us know if you would like a free estimate.