Surface Preparation

Good Surface Preparation is Key to a Quality Industrial Paint Job

If there is one thing that you should never joke about an industrial painting project is Surface Preparation, it can make or break any paint project. Basically, how well you prep surfaces for painting will make the difference between a paint job that lasts for 10 months and one that lasts for 10 years. As expected with any industrial painting project, the longer a coating lasts, the lesser the chances of repainting. So evidently, good surface prepping is as environmentally friendly as the green product going on top of it.

For any paint job, on any surface, whether interior or exterior, surface prepping will significantly lengthen the life of a coating. In contrast, painting a poorly prepared surface only masks potential problems that will recur sooner or later. This will force you to repaint the surface multiple times throughout the life of a coating that was applied on a properly prepped surface. Most people may not realize this, but paying more the first time is easy to pass up. But spending smaller amounts of money over and over again creates extremely unnecessary waste of money. It is also nerve-wracking and time-wasting. You end up wasting many resources on something that you could have avoided from the very beginning.

So how do you ensure that there is adequate Surface Preparation for your industrial painting project? Many DIY enthusiasts don’t know how to properly prep the surface that they intend to work on. A good number even ignore the importance of surface prepping and simply wash and paint surfaces directly. There is a great deal of information on how to prepare surfaces for a paint job properly. This information is often readily available. If you plan on DIY painting, there are three main ways of finding information on how to prepare surfaces for painting. These are:

Product labels on the paint cans usually contain detailed descriptions of common surface defects and how to correct them.
Paint manufacturers’ websites always have resource pages on all of their products. These pages are literally the bible of the paint industry and are more detailed than paint labels.
The staffs at your local paint store are often knowledgeable on both paint selection and surface prepping down to the trickiest scenario.

If you are using an industrial painting contractor, there are several things you need to consider. One is that contractors who are always willing to offer cheaper quotes or increase profit margins tend to overlook important details of good Surface Preparation. A majority of them will always choose to use shortcuts mostly by hiding surface defects, sometimes quite successfully, using a fresh coat of paint.

When using a painting contractor, always ensure that proper prepping is included in your project by asking for a detailed account of all the necessary prep procedures included in both the quote and project contract. Another thing, ask them to specify all the products that they plan to use and find out prepping instructions that the manufacturer recommends. Do not forget to be specific about your requirements for the project. Let the contractor know that you want the necessary prep included in the quote, and don’t be afraid to ask questions or raise concerns.