Our Process

Power Washing

Power washing aluminum, steel, vinyl or wood siding removes grit that grinds away the surface like sandpaper when it’s agitated by wind or rain. Having a clean surface allows paint to adhere properly, adding length to the life of your paint job.

Your Student Painters Branch Manager will power-wash your home 1-2 weeks before the painting begins. All areas of your home to be painted will be washed with the appropriate wash settings and methods for the particular surface. Most importantly, we use a “top down” method. By beginning at the top of the surface being painted you can be sure that the surface is completely clean before we do any more work.

If your home was built before 1978, the EPA has specific guidelines to follow for homes that may have been painted with lead based paint. Student Painters will adhere to those guidelines.

Back to our process

Preparation

At Student Painters we pride ourselves on giving you the best possible paint job, one that will last you longer than any other contractor can offer. To give you such a paint job everything must be done right! We know that the preparation of the painting surface is just as important as the way the paint is applied and we treat it as such.

Step 1 SCRAPING

While the process of scraping the painting surface is most important on a wooden surface; it is often necessary on aluminum and vinyl as well. Scraping allows us to remove anything that power washing may miss (i.e. larger clumps of dirt and wasps nests), as well as any loose paint.

Step 2 SANDING

After the surface is properly scraped, any bare wood or rough surfaces must be sanded smooth. The sanded surface allows primer to adhere more successfully, thus leading to more durability from your paint job. Don’t worry about the safety of your home, we do all sanding by hand, no power sanders will be used, guaranteeing that our sanding will cause no damage.

Step 3 CAULKING

While caulking is not necessary in all situations, you can be confident that where it is necessary, it will be done. All of our managers and painters are professionally trained and know where caulking is needed. Caulk is used to seal gaps in wall, soffits, etc. which, if not sealed, could allow water to flow behind the surface, not only affecting the durability of your paint job, but potentially the structure of your home.

Back to our process

Primer Application

Primer is the “glue” of a paint job. While exterior paint is made to adhere to other paint, it is not well suited to adhere to bare wood, aluminum, or metal, in many cases. Application of a primer coat to the above situations allows the paint to adhere correctly, thus extending the life of your paint job. Without a primer coat to these situations, the paint would fail much more quickly, leading to more painting being done sooner rather than later.

Bare or unpainted wood – In the situation of uncovered wood we use a common oil or latex primer from the Sherwin-Williams Company. The primer will be applied and allowed to dry before any painting is done.

Aluminum -With an aluminum surface we will apply a product called E-Bond from the Sherwin-Williams Company. E-Bond is mixed with the first coat of paint. It is designed to allow paint to be able to adhere to the aluminum surface. A second “top-coat” is usually necessary to ensure proper coverage.

Steel- A steel surface requires a full primer coat of a product called MetalPrime, also from the Sherwin-Williams Company. MetalPrime serves the same purpose as E-Bond. It is specially formulated to allow paint to adhere to the previously unpaintable surface.

Back to our process

Painting

While everyone wants a good-looking home, there are more important reasons to have your home painted NOW! Paint can obviously increase the visual quality, but it can also increase the physical durability of your home. Uncoated surfaces are vulnerable to all sorts of damage; a quality coat of paint can decrease the effect of the elements on the structure of your home.

Almost all of our painting is done by hand. While spraying may be more economical for contractors, the quality of the work is often sacrificed in an attempt to save them money. At Student Painters, quality comes first, as is evident in our guarantee, and the best way to give you a quality paint job is to do all painting by hand, with the greatest care. So while using a brush and roller might take a little more time, the end product (a perfect paint job for you) is well worth it.

Back to our process

Perfection

You have made a decision to trust in Student Painters and our work. You have decided to spend your hard earned money with us. And for that we sincerely thank you, and we promise not to let you down. We will not leave your home until you are 100% satisfied that we have done everything stipulated in your contract to perfection.

When we finish a job, before we leave all of our painters put down their tools and diligently look over all of the work we have done and fix anything that may have been missed. If that isn’t enough to make you comfortable, this is not where our commitment ends. Before we ask for your final payment you will take a walk around the home with your branch manager. Anything you see in our work that is not done correctly will be fixed before we ask for payment.

Back to our process