I LOVE MY JOB!!!

I  really can’t say this enough, but today was especially allowing. I was finally able to begin the application stage of my Bluff Park job. So, after a week’s worth of weather-dodging and 3 hour days, I finally put some shine on this dull gem.

The day began easily enough, with a bright natural shine sneaking through my windows and Third Eye Blind blaring through my iPod player. My roommate wanted to help me this week and I obliged because it’s always easier having one man on the ground to dip your paint roller. Well, naturally, he was up before me and ready to go as I was stumbling to the bathroom.

Up and at-em! We stopped at Wally World for some bananas and Clif Bars (my favorite energy food), and were on the site by 9:30.

I’ll give you a little background. Over the past 2 weeks, I’ve been using spare hours of days during which the weather was neither freezing nor wet to get this house prepped. To begin, every eave was fraught with serious peeling and cracking. I’m not sure whether it’d even been caulked before! For the peeling problem I used a Zinsser product call Peel Stop to glue the edges of the scraped surface down to the wood. Then I primed and sealed it down with a Zero VOC primer. This is the most basic way to achieve a proper substrate. In addition, the house has metal windows which were caulked with a non-paintable silicone based caulk. So I had to convert that surface to a paintable latex. I used a Low VOC Dap product called ALEX 230 Ultra.

So with this problem solved I was finally able to get down to business. Now, it’s funny, during the summer time us painters play a little game called “Chasing the Shade.” It’s pretty simple; You just try to stay in the coolest spot possible while still maximizing efficiency. Well, in the wintertime, we do exactly the opposite; we chase the sunlight! For this house, in the morning the sun hits the right side, so we hit it first. As it turns out, we were able to get the hardest part out of the way right away – this is the tallest side and it’s got an annoyingly placed, though beautiful and peaceful, tree right up close. In truth, I like this tree because it’s fun to climb. There’s one spot where I have to plant my ladder between it and the A/C compressor, and although it forces the ladder up a bit too straight, it gives it a nice and safe cradle while it presents a perfect transitional stepping spot right where I need it. Painters can usually climb anything…

We finished the right side today and finished the cut-in stage of the rear, so tomorrow we’re going to roll the inner area to start. Well, maybe… If it’s too cold I might have to chase the sun. But anyway, I left my roller wet to avoid clean-up time and conserve water, so everything will be ready to go when we get there.

In my next post I want to go into greater depth about my process for getting a wall covered.

I’ll try to teach you some strategy the will make it easier to attack this do-able, but challenging job. For now I want to leave you with a not-so-deep moral story for your painting soul.

My roommate has worked with me a couple of times but, like every amatuer, he’s encountered the Painter’s Learning Curve. I’ve given him basic technique instruction, which he’s picking up slowly but surely. But there’s one thing that I noticed today that I think anyone, painter or not, can benefit from. As he was brushing, he was using strokes that seemed to be of a close-to-decent speed, but the results just weren’t there. He had the motion, but the paint just wasn’t going on the wall. His issue was that he wasn’t pressing down forcefully enough. He wasn’t using his tool; His tool was using him.

So I asked to borrow it and I proceeded to show him how it’s done. I loaded the brush and illustrated that he must push down as hard as he can, almost to the ferrule, to get the paint out and on. In so many words, I said, “You cannot be weak. You have to show the paint who’s boss. Your strokes must be strong!”

This has 2 (or more) applications, one for paint and one for life. You cannot be afraid of what lies before you. You must strive to preserve quality, but you must also do it on your own terms. You must master your life. Remember, surrender to nothing which you choose to conquer.

Until next time, stay strong and you cannot go wrong.