Painting and Storms Don't Mix - A Great Story

The PW Asks: Any interesting windy day or inclement weather stories? 

The Painter Says: Priming a farm house with oil primer and a storm came out of nowhere. It was sunny then blue, thunder & lightning. The primer had been on the house 3 hours and then a down pour.The next day on the west side of the house there was a line of paint on the ground. It took the oil primer right off the wall. Now that’s tough – taking oil off the wall.

PW Comments: stay tuned for Part 2 - it gets even better (slash worse) when they inspect the south side of this farm house.

Negotiating With Spiders

The PW Asks: Have you ever painted over a critter? 

The Painter Says: Oh yeah. I told them to go and they wouldn’t so I rolled them into the wall.

(The Painter pauses to ponder) Basically those Daddy Long Legs. They become part of the wall.

Big Bad Spiders - Badder Than A Junkyard Dog

The Painter Says: If you paint a house on a lake you better prepare yourself for the biggest baddest spiders you’ve ever seen. You can power wash them off one day and they’ll be back the next.

PW: Have you ever been bit by a spider?

The Painter: Not that I know of.

Biggest Baddest Minnesota "Lake" Spider

Interesting Critter Sightings While Painting

The PW Asks: What is the most interesting critter you’ve run into painting outside? 

The Painter Says: Not like they were in the way but I’ve seen deer, turkey, badgers and the BIG “lake” spiders.

Never seen on a jobsite - honest.

What The Painter Refuses To Paint

The PW Asks: Is there any job you would refuse? 

The Painter Says: Intricate screened porches. By the time you protect and paint around the screen it’s more cost effective to remove it and replace with new screen.

Bonus Information: If you try to wipe a drip of paint, off a screen, it’s gonna smear.

Can You Paint a Concrete Stairway?

The PW Asks: Can you paint an ugly concrete stairway?

The Painter Says: Yep, you have to clean and prep them right and then use an epoxy - or an exterior urethane but it won’t hold up forever – it’ll look good for a while.

Bonus Information from The Painter: You can use concrete stains for a patio. It wears off eventually but you can re-stain it.

The Painter can also "paint" a concrete staircase - cuz he's an artist too.

Can You Paint a Sidewalk?

The PW Asks: Can you paint a sidewalk?

The Painter Says: Yep

PW: Stay tuned for Friday, when The Painter answers the question you've been sitting on the edge of your seat to know: Can you paint a concrete stairway?

The Trouble with Bees: Part 3

The Painter can tell you stories - about bees:

 "I've been bit a few times. Just put my hand in the wrong place at the wrong time – grabbing the edge of a roof and the first bee that came down the pipeline bit me. They are in and out. They are busy!"

The PW Asks: Do you have a remedy for bee stings? 

The Painter Says: I don’t do anything. I just make sure the stinger is out if they left one.

PW: So - no need for an ambulance, then.

The Trouble with Bees: Part 2

The Painter Tells a Story: There was a house in St. Peter, MN that had a high peak with a big wasps nest. The circumference was 2 ft. At the crack of dawn we shot it with wasp spray – soaked it.

Then we knocked down the wasp nest and it hit the porch roof below and split open. 1000’s of wasps were laying and crawling on the roof.

We were standing on the porch roof and we started stomping the bees. We took ‘em out. Didn’t have any problems – we got ‘em.

The Trouble with Bees

The PW Asks: What can you do if you have bee’s nests in your eaves? 

The Painter Says: Get up early in the morning, like the crack of dawn – 5am – and spray them before they wake up. Of course, it depends on your fear of bees. I’m not afraid of them so they leave me alone. For some reason, they go after people who are afraid... because they swing at them.

Wow - This is a Florida beehive - Get Professional help with this one!

How to re-use cabinetry. See this kitchen makeover!

"I was extremely pleased with Signet Painting, Larry and the entire staff. The process was easy and the results fantastic! We did a full kitchen remodel - new floors, granite, appliances and of course, the cabinet refinish.  By far I think the cabinet refinish was the most dramatic change and provided the greatest bang for our buck!"

Cathy B. - Woodbury MN

From the PW: This customer did some really neat things with their kitchen. First you will notice they removed the center island and re-used it to create a dining peninsula. We love the "reuse/recycle" concept - but they took it a step further by refinishing their kitchen cabinets rather than throwing them out for the landfill and (buying IKEA); (nothing against IKEA - it's just that people see the low number on the IKEA kitchens but don't take into account all the hidden costs). 

Next - they turned their "desk" into a wine bar with just a little carpentry. This kitchen is adorable. Thanks for letting me share it with the world Cathy.

Before

Before

After

Weirdest Thing The Painter Painted

The PW Asks: What’s the weirdest thing anyone ever asked you to paint? 

The Painter Says: The shelves in a wine refrigerator were trimmed in wood and we stained them to match the dark cherry cabinets in the kitchen.

Make sure that Pinot comes from the color coordinated wine frig and not the plain one.

"Hottest" House Color Ever!

The PW Asks: What is the wildest house exterior color you ever painted? 

The Painter says: Fire engine red in semi-gloss. 

The PW Asks: Why did they want that?

The Painter Says: They liked the color.

Rockin' Those Colors in the Wild Wild....South!

The PW Asks: What is the wildest color you ever painted? 

The Painter Says: A gal from the south had us paint all the Easter egg pastel colors on her walls and ceilings and they changed from room to room.

Could I have a side of chocolate bunny with those jelly bean  drapes?

Best Compliment a Painter Can Receive

The PW Asks: What’s the nicest thing a homeowner ever said? 

The Painter Says: “The house looks brand new and your guys were great.”

Nick