If Other Painters Have Failed You? Consider Reading This.
When painting the interior of your home there are so many questions to ponder. What sheen level do I use for each room? Can I use latex paint in high traffic areas? I have removed the wallpaper, now what do I do? How do I make a large room cozy? With so many decisions to make let All-Chroma 's professionals help you answer all your interior painting questions and more. Our staff of colour consultants, house painters, sales and service specialists are trained to be courteous, knowledgeable, skilled and dependable. We make interior painting easy for you.
This is our 5 step approach:
Care:
We suggest that electrical and computer equipment are unplugged and moved to the centre (where possible) of the room so we can cover it. Breakables should be packed away. We use professional quality drop clothes to protect your home.
Wall Preparation:
The best finishes start with wall preparation. Nail pops are dealt with. Corners may need a feather coat of spackling. Loose paint is scraped from the area and spackling or wood filler is applied. A smooth finish is achieved with just the right amount of sanding.
The Cut-In:
Nothing mysterious here, just accurate paint lines are applied to corners and joints. Taping and masking may be needed
The Roll:
The paint is applied in smooth continuous bands with a roller. Just the right pressure is used to achieve coverage without lines caused from excessive paint.
The Pause to Admire (we snuck this one in):
Yeah, we can't help ourselves. We like our work and we admit it, we love our results. It also gives us a chance to inspect work quality and make any necessary touch-ups.
The Cleanup:
Drop clothes are removed, waste material is bagged and a good vacuum or sweep of the area finishes the job.
Need a Colour Consultant to help with those decisions?
We have Colour Consultants with a knowledge of the paint brand that you have decided to use, to assist you in developing a paint plan that suits your family, your lifestyle and your tastes.
Request an All-Chroma Colour Consultation
Need a Primer & Tips on Colour Selection
Learn About Kitchen Design
All-Chroma sits down with one of the GTA's top kitchen designers. With the busy schedules we lead, the kitchen is central to our home life. Soraya Esmail gives us insights into planning , developing and implementing your kitchen renovation. Read about it.
Are more expensive paints better?
Customers often have one question in the back of their minds, which they may be reluctant to ask, "...are more expensive paints better than less expensive paints?" Generally the rule of thumb is that the more expensive paints have more solids in them. Less expensive paints also use less expensive ingredients in the mix. Paint companies will manufacture and sell a range of paints to meet each price point. When hiring a painting contractor, you the consumer need to know specifically what grade of paint of a particular manufacturer you are being quoted on, not simply the manufacturer. You also need to understand if the more expensive paint is simply a luxury or good solid economics. So read on...
Well to answer that question let us examine what goes into a tin of paint. In residential interior applications there are alkyd (oil-based) paints and latex (water-based) paints. Firstly latex paints do not contain latex. In North America we refer to water based paints as latex paints because these paints look like they have a rubber component in their mix, but they don't. Paint chemists assure us that those of you that are sensitive to latex have nothing to worry about from latex paints. These paints are more correctly called emulsion paints by our European counterparts, and contain vinyl-acrylic or in more expensive paints 100% acrylic.
Both alkyd and latex paints contain 4 basic components, pigments, binders, liquids and additives.
Pigments obviously give what we are all after, the colours we crave. These pigments can be clay based or chemical based. Higher priced paints use more intense pigments and use less volume of the pigments to achieve the desired tint. This means less VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and more room to add additives to improve longevity, scrub ability and biocides (resistance to mildew and algae).
Binders can be linseed based oils, in the case of alkyd paints they are alkyd resins. Latex paints use vinyl-acrylics or in more expensive paints the more flexible 100% acrylics. The binders job is to create a thin tough coating over the surface being painted.
Liquids are used to...well, keep things wet. They hold the other components in solution. Alkyd paints use solvents like mineral spirits. Latex paints use water. These are the paint components you are waiting on when watching paint dry. Better paints have less liquids.
Finally paints use a variety of additives such as surfactants to aid in keeping all the solids in the paint mixed. Deformers to prevent bubbling, to give a smooth finish. Thickeners to prevent splatter and aid coverage. A variety of hardeners are used to increase durability in higher quality paints. Additionally, refractory agents are added in better paints to reflect the pigments and give richer colours. Biocides are added to prevent mildew, algae and other unsightly growths.
As we have discovered, paint manufacturers sell different paints of varying quality and price. Generally, higher quality paints cost more. Better paints have attributes that are apparent immediately and some qualities that are appreciated over time. Your All-Chroma staff can assist you to further answer your questions and give you the facts you can use.
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