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If you’re a home owner looking to sell, you’ve doubtless been a little discouraged by the recent downturn in the real estate market. These things happen, and it’s nothing much that can’t be undone when the market gets to it’s next boom. In the mean time, improving your home is one of the best ways to compete on the real estate market. But doing so incurs additional costs that you can only hope to get back on the sale.
Painting your own home is one of the most economical improvements you can make. It’s also one of the most visible improvements you can make, and at least prospective buyers can see the results even if only in the picture in the home-finders magazine. But exterior painting is a slightly more daunting task than interior painting. So hopefully this will help you through the hardest steps.
Digital imagination
Your first task is to decide on the color scheme. Now maybe you have an artistic, vivid imagination and flawless taste in choosing a color palette. So good for you. If not, there is a new method that home owners are taking advantage of and that is digital imaging.
To do this, take a picture of the house with a digital camera, then load it into your computer and open it in a digital imaging program. You can then change the color of the house in the program by applying various color filters to it, using this to help you decide what color scheme to use. Commercial software is the first thing you might think of, but there are many freeware, shareware, and even Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) programs that are more than capable of handling this simple task. You should be able to find one for any computer platform.
Lacking that, you can either ask your computer savvy friend to do it for you, find a resource online that will image it for you, or try asking at the hardware store. Most paint and home improvement retailers now offer to do the same in the store, loading up a picture of your house which you provide and giving you a preview of different color schemes and palettes. Ain’t modern technology wonderful?
Prep work
A rule of thumb to know is that three-quarters of painting is good prep work. That is the labor-intensive part that makes the job so much work; actually slapping the paint on it is the easy part. Here’s the least you need to do:
Start by thoroughly cleaning the outside of your house. Paint won’t stick to dirt, grease, grime and dust. You may be able to get by just spraying the siding with a hose with a nozzle attachment. But you’ll do a more thorough job and get better results with a brush attachment on your hose. These brushes often come with a reservoir for liquid soap which will clean better. You can also wash by hand with rags or sponges, but the rule with house painting is that you don’t want to do anything by hand unless you absolutely have to – Karate Kid notwithstanding! If you do use soap, be sure to rinse the siding with pure water after you’ve washed it. Start at the top and work your way down the sides. If your siding has areas of mold, mildew or discoloration, wash it with an anti-fungal cleaner which will be available in most hardware and home center stores for a few dollars.
On wood siding, fill in any gouges or holes with an exterior-grade patching compound, sometimes this is called ‘plastic wood’. If damage is more extensive, consider replacing the area with a new piece of siding. Remove even small areas of loose, flaking, chalky or blistered paint thoroughly, as the slightest crack can peel a whole sheet away in the next storm. If not too extensive, loose paint can be removed with a power washer. If you’re hard up this can also be done with a paint scraper, putty knife or a wire brush. Sand the edges of the area of removed paint afterward to help the new paint cover and hide the edge.
To remove larger areas or even multiple layers of damaged paint, you can use a heat gun. This device, which looks a bit like a hair blower, generates temperatures of 1000 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Aim it at one area to soften the paint, and then take away the gun and scrape away the paint with a putty knife. Always use work gloves and eye protection and keep your hands away from the barrel of the gun. Never point the heat gun at anything except the paint to be removed – it will melt almost anything given time! Set the gun down on the plate provided.
An alternative to the heat gun is a rotary paint remover you can attach to an electric drill. Its stiff wire tines quickly remove large areas of paint, very similar to how a buffer works. Take care not to press too hard on the siding, or it may gouge the wood, which will be hard to fix. Practice on a spare loose board or other surface before you begin on the siding. Keep the tool away from your face or other body parts when it is in motion, and wear eye protection to prevent eye damage from flying chips.
Seamlessly caulk all cracks, seams and gaps with a top-quality exterior caulk. This includes areas like the perimeter where the siding meets the windows and doors, and the corners and the edges of exterior trim. Cracks and seams leave edges where fresh paint can quickly deteriorate.
Mask off areas that are not going to be painted. You will want to place masking tape along the edge of house trim, around window and door frames, and around trim, since this is likely to be painted in a different color. You can also tape newspaper, plastic sheeting, or drop cloth material over windows and doors to protect them from drips. The rule of thumb is, paint wants to go where you least expect it to. Place plastic drop cloths over plants and shrubs, or where paint may drip on porches, roof sections, sidewalks, driveways or any other surfaces. Remember that it’s always easier to cover something up than it is to remove paint from it afterward.
Now you’re finally ready to paint and let dry, then remove all the prepping. You’re done! Wasn’t that easy?

Glow in the dark paint works by absorbing light and then releasing it, creating the glow in the dark effect while other types use self-emitting light technology. This type of paint can be used on many surfaces to make them glow when the lights are turned off. You are sure to get this kind of paint in party supply stores. Its used for illuminating surfaces for parties, hobby stores, or in any department store in your area. You are sure to get them from online as well as offline stores. Glow in the dark paint has sufficiently found use in model rockets. These rockets are painted with this paint in order to launch them at night and find them. Parents can create glow in the Dark Stars in children rooms to create the impressions of galaxies. They could also be used on Silhouette Walls, RC Airplanes, Vehicle Painting, t-shirts, fishing lures, police flashlight, glow cars, candles and dot rooms among many other uses. These paints come in different compositions though the most common are zinc-sulfide based phosphorescent pigments in an acrylic medium, alkaline rare earth metal silicate in an aluminate oxide europium dope and Strontium powders among other formulations. The different combination allow for different color combination ranging from green to red to blue and yellow green. The water based version of these paints also produce an odor similar to a typical paint though they are non-toxic, odorless and also safe. The Solvent Based mediums can produce harmful fumes and are not safe for children rooms. During preparation the paint mix process is done such that the crystals are evenly dispersed within a clear and thick paint medium. These ensures the highest available glow times and clarity.

If you have decided to paint your car, then you are in for a real adventure, and hopefully a positive one. Many people do paint their cars and they turn out great. There is no reason yours won’t, if you follow the rules and guidelines. One of the most crucial things you have to do is make sure you purchase the right car paints, and that you use them exactly as instructed. Like any technology the car paints have taken on a different character and changes over the years. Naturally they must stay consistent with what the car manufacturers are using or there would be no compatibility in the car paints at all. You will see when you go to buy your paints that there is a variety, so you will have to make some choices. It is not a cheap commodity, so you want to be sure before you start that you are going to have the budget to buy your car paints in enough quantity to finish the job. One of the things you will need to determine when you buy the car paints, is do you have the equipment that may be necessary to use that particular paint. For example, if it is a brand of paint that requires application with a spay gun, then do you have access to one. Unless you are inclined to do so, its unlikely you are going to want to buy a lot of additional equipment just for this one time project. Unless of course you are planning on painting other cars in the future and this would be a investment for you. Its not just the color of the car paints that you have to decide upon, you are going to need to apply a primer as well. Once again you must consider how this is to be applied. The other alternative to buying paints that require a sprayer is to by the spray paint tins. Some individuals feel that it is more expensive to go that route, but if you don’t have to buy extra equipment, then the cost maybe very comparable. You need to be sure that you are going to be able to purchase more of the paint should you run out. Can you imagine the disaster it would be if you got the car 3/4s finished and couldn’t get more car paints because they were end of the line and you bought them on sale? In either the paints that you use a spray gun with or aerosol cans there are a variety of brands available. Make sure you purchase from a reputable dealer, and hopefully one that can give you some advice. No doubt everyone will have some favorite brands, but a little research on your part will help as well. Don’t forget that you will also need to buy a top coat as well when you go to buy your paints. Don’t penny pinch when it comes to this one. You will have put a lot of hard work into painting your car and you want the effects to last. You can achieve this with a good product.

Painting a wall is a great way to pop that standard beige sofa everyone seems to have. Throw pillows that incorporate these colors will also add an additional pop of color to the room. If you are keeping the rest of your walls a neutral color, try finding some wall art prints or oil paintings that incorporate these bright colors. While taking on this fun adventure, why not learn a little bit more about what the paint companies are doing to follow the environmental trend. A majority of the paint companies offer low VOC paints or no VOC paints. VOC’s are volatile organic compounds that may cause some types of cancer when released into the air. I recommend staying away from walls with lots of windows because the wall becomes broken up and won’t have the full effect as a solid wall with a pop of color. Another benefit of using this paint is that your house will smell very little if at all like paint! Some of the paint companies even offer paints that are a primer and paint color in one! My personal favorite would be Benjamin Moore’s AURA paint line. I would recommend that you save the time and try out this new paint technology. To continue the environmental trend, remember to recycle those plastic paint tray liners. Cloth tarps and standard paint brushes are a great investment because you will be able to reuse them again next time.

Painting contractors know that paint and coatings play a crucial role in the green building trend sweeping the nation today. Because of the decline in construction brought about by the financial crisis, the green building idea is taking root and getting wider attention from construction stakeholders who not only appreciate a non-polluting and environment-friendly method of construction, but also welcome the significant cost reductions to construction projects. The construction industry’s interest in green building projects challenges paint manufacturers and their raw material suppliers to ingeniously produce environment-friendly paint products and materials that comply with environment standards without sacrificing quality performance. The products are now populating the market, ready to be used by painting contractors in many facility projects. Environment-Friendly Paints and Coatings The result of paint manufacturers’ paint reformulation efforts is apparent in the wide array of green paints that painting contractors can chose from. One product is a result of many years of polymer research leading to a new and improved latex paint that eliminates the use of toxic solvents. The presence of VOCs or volatile organic compounds is also a major environmental problem in regular paints. To address this problem, paint manufacturers make it one of their stringent goals to develop new products that contain little to zero VOCs. Green Raw MaterialsRaw material suppliers have also been busy researching and formulating green materials. A new line of emulsion polymers, for instance, help paint manufacturers develop low-VOC and low-odor paints without the aid of detrimental coalescents.

Getting your vehicle to look its best is important to you as its owner. You want to make sure that it stays looking great for a long time. This means that if something does need fixing you need to take care of it as soon as possible. You may think you can do it yourself, however that usually will not produce the results you are looking for. You will also see many different automotive reconditioning shops located near you. Don’t choose the first place, don’t choose the cheapest place, don’t choose the closest place and don’t choose without doing your homework first! Start looking for a professional to touch up your vehicles paint by first asking around to your friends, family and colleagues. Look to see what kind of word of mouth reputation automotive reconditioning shops have that are near you. Once you have an idea of which shop may be a good selection for you, you will need to go in and talk with them about what you want done on your car. See if they are knowledgeable about paint touch up. Also ask to see if they have any previous work that they can show you that they have done.One of the key elements to your paint touch up repair looking good in the end is if the auto body shop uses the latest technology for paint matching. It is usually done with the computer giving a direct match number for the paint.

Have you ever wondered why YOUR car seems to be a car scratch magnet? Causing you to look for a car scratch remover.  There could be multiple reasons…however I am going to focus on just two today.  Did you know that by simply keeping your car clean you will avoid the most common of everyday scratches that make your car look horrible in the bright sunshine this summer? Cause #1: This is because dust and grit that is allowed to set on the paint finish imbeds itself, from overnight condensation and then bakes on in the hot sun the next day.  It acts like sand paper when you or your friendly shopping mall neighbor brushes against it…or horror of horrors…you or someone at the mall sets a cardboard box or packages etc on top of YOUR hood or trunk while the car keys are found. It may as well be sandpaper…because that is exactly what it is however the “sand” is on the car and the box just grinds across the paint, and loosens up the grit therefore inflicting some serious clear coat scratches.  A high quality car scratch remover system will remove scratches like this.     Washing your car once a week is a good start, I might suggest that you wash it by hand with premium micro fiber mitts and a high quality pH balanced shampoo.  Think of it as spending quality time with your car that unfailingly takes you to work and play everyday without complaints.   Do not use dish washing soap under any circumstances…it will remove any wax protection you have and also it is very harsh on plastic and rubber…leave it in the kitchen where it belongs.  There are some very specific techniques to wash a car by hand properly…and it doesn’t mean you need to spend a day doing it…if you know the tricks…you can wash a properly in under 30 min.  I think that is a small price to take care of what is most people’s second largest investment.  Additionally, having a high quality car scratch remover always close by will give you peace of mind knowing that you can keep your car looking nice no matter what.   Cause #2: Wax or sealant …or the lack of.  We all know, or I think we all know that protecting the paint finish of our vehicle is important…very important.  However it seem that most of us think that modern paint technology is so good that it really doesn’t need much help to stay looking nice.  While modern paint tech is absolutely light years superior to paint of just 10 years ago…it still requires protection to stay looking nice for years to come.  So using a wax or sealant or hybrid wax/sealant is important for more reasons than you might expect.  Not keeping your car protected with a high quality wax or sealant is just asking for scratches and the need for a quality car scratch remover to make it shine like new.       Wax and or sealant protects the paint finish from the environment natural and manmade.  Pollution fallout in rain…is like throwing a mild acid on your vehicle! Tree fallout, bird doo, insect splats are all chemicals that attack a vehicles paint.  I am sure you have seen the result of a bird drop that was left to bake in the hot sun on a dark color car; yep it etches right in to the paint.  Depending on how quickly you address a bird dropping a high quality car scratch remover may save the day.  Another natural environmental attach on your paint is the sun.  The sun attacks unprotected paint and in the most extreme cases results in what I am sure everyone has seen, cars that look like they have some kind of white scale all over.  This is…or should I say…was the clear coat.  The clear coat is the top coat of paint on modern cars that protects the base color from everyday bumps and scratches and the sun too.  However it must be maintained to make it last a long time.   A high quality hybrid wax/sealant applied twice a year (summer and winter) is your best bet to keep natural environment attacks at bay and also close encounters with absent minded people at the shopping mall.  It makes the paint slippery so that dust and grit do not stick very well and it makes the paint resistant to minor scuffs and scratches.  It also keeps the paint properly nourished so it does not dry out and begins to fail.  It also gives UV protection as well.  Think of it as sun screen for your car.   In the end it is easy to keep your car from being a scratch magnet by keeping your car clean and properly protected.  Dust and grit cannot attach to the paint therefore it tends to stay cleaner all by itself…and when you do wash it …the dust and grit come off without a fight.  However no matter how you protect your car finish, common scratches and scuffs are a normal part of life.   A high quality car scratch remover that is clear coat safe, gentle and effective is your best line of defense to maintain the value of your car, which in most cases for us is the second largest investment we make.

Years ago when my father and uncle painted homes in Boulder winter time painting was fairly simple. As long as it wasn’t snowing or raining, and wasn’t about to, you could paint outside. The rule was bundle up and get to work. We had to work with a short day so once we did get started we didn’t stop until it was dark.  All the paint was oil based and therefore much less affected by lower temperatures.
Along came easy-to-use water based paint. First used for interior painting it was soon developed for painting outside. Water based paint had many advantages. It was more flexible, held its color in Colorado’s bright sun longer and was less likely to peel. And of course it was easier to clean up after the day’s work. Water based paint was taking the country by storm.
Some problems became evident soon after water based paint’s use eclipsed that of oil base. Bonding to oil based paint could present problems if the surface wasn’t properly prepared by cleaning and sanding. Higher humidity caused some paints to dry too slowly and often with odd color patterns in the finish coats. Painting in hot weather made the paint dry too fast. Lap marks, brush marks, ropey finishes and dull and shiny spots became more and more common. Each of these issues was recognized and minor adjustments in methods of applications solved the problems.
But one big issue plagued Colorado painters for years. Water based paint couldn’t be, or least shouldn’t have been, applied when the air temperature was below 55 degrees. That rule of thumb pretty well shut down exterior painting from Thanksgiving until Easter. The main problem was that the paint wouldn’t coalesce properly. The paint job would look ok for awhile but cold weather created some hidden problems. The coating life was shortened, colors would fade quickly, and odd looking peeling would start within a year or so. It was much better to be safe rather than sorry, so we just never painted outside in the cooler winter weather.
In the late 1980′s paint companies started to manufacture paint that could be used in what we called the “shoulder season”. Now the magic temperature became 35 degrees and above. We could safely paint many days in November and even some in December. Spring painting could now start in late February. The painting season was successfully extended to almost ten months of the year.
In the last twenty years paint technology has advanced to the point where low temperature paint performs every bit as well as “normal” paint. You can be assured that a job done during cooler weather will hold up just fine. In fact, at Jacobsen Brothers Painting, we now extend our industry leading three year warranty to all our exterior work, no matter when the work is done.
The days haven’t gotten any longer and we still have to bundle up and get to work just as when my dad and uncle were leading their crews, but nowadays you can have all the advantages of high quality acrylic water based coatings just about any time of the year.

The conventional paints for vehicles proved more dangerous because it contains many ingredients that are always environmentally destructive.  For this reason, the technologies in this field continue to be developed for the creation of environmentally friendly products that has quality no less than conventional paint. Recently, the development of technologies that relates with paint is growing very fast.  In fact, the latest technology brings paint with waterborne technology.  This product contains more elements of water including for the dilution purposes instead of toxic compounds such as paint thinner in it that can cause the damage to environment. Waterborne technology can be described as a simple process; water can replace liquid paint thinner for the benefit of mixing, painting, and evaporation.  This is very beneficial because the substance that contained in a thinner is a form of environmental damaging compounds. However, it does not mean waterborne did not use paint thinner in the entire production process.   But the concentration and the amount of use is reduced if it compared with the use of paint thinner in conventional products. Therefore, the combination of paint that contains water with a high solid system is the mixture of several chemical compounds that contained in the paint can reduce the amount of toxic solvents which is used.  The new system is also very environmentally friendly including the coating process, coat base, and also coat. Paint that contains more water must be heated in a temperature between 5 to 30 degrees Celsius.  Even for a better result required the heating process until the temperature 20 degrees Celsius.  The process is slightly more complicated than the use of conventional paint. Recently, this system has been developing a method of painting with oven, and can eliminate some obstacles. For example, to mix paint in the oven you must be carefully before painting. Moreover, it can also be used infrared method, so that the paint which is diluted with water definitely can be dried with ease. This product formulated to be friendly with water. Therefore, pigment-binding process is one of examples that can be performed easily. This process can be imagined as mixing paint for the purposes of drawing water. But the end of result is almost exactly same as oil paint, which more powerful and easily to coat the shiny metal. Because of it is easily soluble in water, the other chemical solvent needed in the process of painting as a whole can be very small, about 10 percent compared to the use of conventional paint. On the basis of painting process with conventional products required 85 percent of toxic solvents. But, by using this new type of paint, the other chemical solvents compounds that required only ten percent. The advantage of using waterborne is not only reducing the environmental problem in the process of refinishing, but also balancing ecological and economic systems. This new material is safer to be used every day, and also can greatly reduce the investment of new equipment, because the using of material is less than conventional paint. Automotive manufacturer Audi in Germany has also made research to refine these findings. The development includes the process of water dissolving directly mixed in the circulation at a special container when sprayed. This also includes the using of the latest ultra filter system. The process is the water from the paint collected in 250,000-liter tank before cleaning the pollutants and other toxic chemicals. After that the water is recycled into the painting circuit. In other words, to fill the water circuit, also required the water. It means that the whole process of painting is not only guaranteed of environmentally friendly, but also very economical, because the water can be recycled. The process is able to reduce more than 70 percent of the energy for the purposes of tinting on the entire of the cars body in the series of production car in the factory. That means it will save at least 2900 tons of oil for heating purposes in the process of painting in the factory of Audi per year. If discussing about this new paint technology, of course it must be linked with the painting process of vehicle in the factory. The result is the progress of the environmental protection and the efforts to suppress the production cost can be obtained by using waterborne. Meanwhile, for the business or the painting services, the level of information about efficiency is not obtained yet.

Get any form of work done to your vehicle is usually a little bit stressful. You will have to spend time and money to get your car in great shape, which are two things many of us don’t have a lot of. Also you want to be assured that you are getting quality workmanship done for your vehicle. Getting any form of paint work done to your car falls directly into what is mentioned above. You want to make sure that it comes out looking great and stays looking great! When choosing a repair shop to handle any paint repairs or paint touch up you want to make sure that you first of all choose a qualified professional at a well known auto body shop. Check around and do some research so that you know they are not planning to rip you off or that they in fact do a good job. You should also ask to see an example of the work that they produce from their shop. They should be able to provide an exact match. With an exact match it will be almost impossible to tell that any paint work was ever even done on your vehicle. Also you should check that they are using a high quality paint for your vehicle. It is important that you vehicle has a top quality paint since your paint is what acts as a protection for your cars metal body against rust and other environmental hazards.