Professional Painters are Lazy

[jiveturkey]

The people that lived in our place before us were mentally reeruned, which lead them to painting the back deck. This year it finally got bad enough that I decided to do some work on it. We power washed it, scrapped it and laid down a coat of primer. After all of this we decided that this was too much fun for the wife and I and decided to pay someone else to finish the project.

I've called 5 painting companies and here's the results.
First 2 do not answer or return calls.
Candidate #3 made an appointment to come out and give me an estimate. He never showed up.
Candidate #4 is either related to candidate #3 or the previous owners of my house.
Candidate #5 came out and told me that he'll "probably" be able to do it but he won't be able to get to it until October and I will have to buy a sprayer for him.

So if you know of any painters please kick them square in the nuts for me.

I have lost hope in the people of this country. I also run my own business and I run into similar problems in the professional world. There are times when I need a service or product from an outside vendor so I shop around and then place a call that goes something like this "Hello ABC company mine name is Jiveturkey and I would like to give you money in exchange for the service or product that you specialize in". Later that week no one calls back, there's no follow up and they never actually put any effort into taking money from me.

When someone calls me and requests that I take their money I haul ass over to their place and help them write the check.

The lazyness has reached epic proportions and it's pissing me off.

[jiveturkey]

Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco

He says as he doesn't finish his own deck project that he started.

It does seem strange now that you bring it up. I just want it to look good and if that means paying someone to reprep it I'll even do that.

Everyone will be happy to know that candidates #6 and #7 have returned calls and will be coming out next week (hopefully).

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by jiveturkey

I never used the Yellow Pages. All of the problems are coming from referrals. And none of the possible contractors even know that I started the project. I also don't know where "cheapskate" came from. I'm willing to pay to have it done right.

Sorry, that was an assumption on my part. It's hard to find someone who's not buried this time of year. And by "cheapskate" I didn't specifically mean you, but the people who call 5-6 different contractors looking for the best price.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Brock

Well, let's just say my experience has been quite different.

We are talking about the same thing here, right?

I dunno. Maybe your standards aren't as high as mine.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Maybe your standards aren't as high as mine.

Yeah, I'm sure that's it.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Brock

Yeah, I'm sure that's it.

It must be, because you'll never see a pro using one either.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

It must be, because you'll never see a pro using one either.

Nothing personal, but I've never seen a pro painter whose opinion I'd really care about.

[PastorMikH]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Dude, I've been painting for 15 years and I've used nearly every type of painting device out there. Trust me, they are junk. They are noisy, slow and have a [poor] spray pattern because they don't atomize the paint adequately. Total waste of money.

I know where you can get a job painting a deck...


As for the Wagner, If I were a professional I wouldn't use one either - and I would have serious concerns about a professional painter that I hired that brought one in to use. But for the average joe with a weekend do-it-yourself project they will do fine. I bought one to do a deck with about 5 years ago. Since then, it's painted many projects - even shot Elastomeric roof coating on a 40x60 metal roof with it and the thing is still going strong. I do make sure it is good and clean when I am through with it.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Brock

Nothing personal, but I've never seen a pro painter whose opinion I'd really care about.

Usually if you're going to do something yourself, the best thing to do is look at how someone who does it for a living goes about it. If you're not interested in making a job easier and getting good results, that's your business I guess.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by PastorMikH

I know where you can get a job painting a deck...


As for the Wagner, If I were a professional I wouldn't use one either - and I would have serious concerns about a professional painter that I hired that brought one in to use. But for the average joe with a weekend do-it-yourself project they will do fine. I bought one to do a deck with about 5 years ago. Since then, it's painted many projects - even shot Elastomeric roof coating on a 40x60 metal roof with it and the thing is still going strong. I do make sure it is good and clean when I am through with it.

It's probably ok for some small DIY projects I suppose, I just have a hard time recommending something that I can't even get good results with myself. The commercials for that thing burn me up as well, they don't even show anyone actually even USING the darn thing. I just couldn't imagine anyone trying to paint their house with one. The vibration from it is so bad my hand would be numb in 15 minutes.

[PastorMikH]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

It's probably ok for some small DIY projects I suppose, I just have a hard time recommending something that I can't even get good results with myself. The commercials for that thing burn me up as well, they don't even show anyone actually even USING the darn thing. I just couldn't imagine anyone trying to paint their house with one. The vibration from it is so bad my hand would be numb in 15 minutes.

With mine I've painted the Church (Trim, eaves, soffits, etc), 2 sheds, stained a deck, part of the Church's roof with elastomeric, and a 6x12 trailer that I built. The thing has done a decent job and is still going strong. It's saved me numerous days worth of work over brush/roller. Would I use it on indoor work? Probably not unless I was already shooting a textured wall where the occasional splatters wouldn't be seen. But for the most part it does fine. Remember too, most people that use them would do a poor job with a thousand dollar sprayer too.


Really, in all honesty, it did great on the deck with the thinner stain. In fact, if it were my deck, I'd have thought about stain before brushing primer on.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by PastorMikH

With mine I've painted the Church (Trim, eaves, soffits, etc), 2 sheds, stained a deck, part of the Church's roof with elastomeric, and a 6x12 trailer that I built. The thing is still going strong. Would I use it on indoor work? Probably not unless I was already shooting a textured wall where the occasional splatters wouldn't be seen. But for the most part it does fine. Remember too, most people that use them would do a poor job with a thousand dollar sprayer too.


Really, in all honesty, it did great on the deck with the thinner stain. In fact, if it were my deck, I'd have thought about stain before brushing primer on.

No kidding. I've painted 3 houses with mine. It has more than paid for itself.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by PastorMikH

With mine I've painted the Church (Trim, eaves, soffits, etc), 2 sheds, stained a deck, part of the Church's roof with elastomeric, and a 6x12 trailer that I built. The thing has done a decent job and is still going strong. It's saved me numerous days worth of work over brush/roller. Would I use it on indoor work? Probably not unless I was already shooting a textured wall where the occasional splatters wouldn't be seen. But for the most part it does fine. Remember too, most people that use them would do a poor job with a thousand dollar sprayer too.


Really, in all honesty, it did great on the deck with the thinner stain. In fact, if it were my deck, I'd have thought about stain before brushing primer on.

You have a good point there. An inexperienced person operating an airless has the potential for disaster as well, and it can be dangerous too.

I also have to admit it's been a good ten years since I've used one, maybe they have improved them since then. They had a long way to go though, I couldn't get that thing out of my sight fast enough after trying to use it.

Agree about the deck, it's a bad idea to paint them as it doesn't hold up well. But if it's already been painted you really have no choice.

[redbrian]

Ok here is my three cents on the subject.

First paint or stain on a deck, both are equally durable when applied properly and utilizing the proper product.
This means using deck paint (or sometimes labeled porch paint), it is specially formulated to be used on porches and decks.
Personally I prefer to paint the porch as I find it more aesthetically pleasing (especially homes built prior to the 20s).

Finding a good contractor, don’t use the yellow page.
Call up you local HBA (home builders association) they will have a list of contractors both union and non-union.
Choose at least three of these, then get a minimum of three references from the contractors and then go out and look at the work and talk to the owners and or contractors whom they did the work for.

Sprayers, a home owner who paints only rarely can get very good results with a Wagner type sprayer.
The reason pro’s do not use them is because they are not built to be used daily, they are built for the odd job once or twice a year and are very good at that as long as they are properly maintained.
I have used utilized both and have found them to be equally good and troublesome on occasions.

[Bwana]

Originally Posted by Over-Head

As a professional painter and Plaster I take exception to your statement "Professional Painters are Lazy"Not all of us are, just 99% of them.

WTH? I thought you were a truck driver?

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by Bwana

WTH? I thought you were a truck driver?

He's a truck driver on another board. I think over on the minge he's an exotic dancer. Overhead leads many lives. But first and foremost, he is Canadian!!!