SPRAY FOR SUCCESS
In the second part of our Inside the Academy series, Professional Builder attends the Spray Introduction course at the Dulux Academy flagship facility in Slough.
Our day at the Dulux Academy gets off to the ideal start with a warm welcome from members of the Academy team and a selection of breakfast rolls on offer. Bacon rolls and teas and coffees consumed, we’re then introduced to Matt Gray, Skills Development Consultant at Dulux Academy, who will be leading today’s course. Matt is an experienced member of the team, having completed a five-year P&D Apprenticeship before starting his own business – and lecturing at his local college on the side. Over the years, Matt has built up extensive experience within the training team at ICI / AkzoNobel and has been with the Dulux Academy team since launch in 2016. His passion for sharing his nearly 30 years of industry expertise with fellow decorators is evident from the outset.
Getting the basics right
Matt starts the morning session in the Spray Theatre, which is a purpose-built space sponsored by industry leading supplier partner Graco and aims to showcase their full range of equipment. With a safety briefing going over the do’s and don’ts of spray application before providing an overview of the various equipment available – including spray guns and spray units – and outlining the benefits of each to help decorators make more informed choices when choosing suitable spray set-up for a particular job.
Attendees are asked about their own personal experiences with spraying and prompted to outline what they believe are the pros and cons of spraying. This leads to a lively debate weighing up the benefits of speed and quality of finish versus elements such as high levels of cost and maintenance. This conversation is used by Matt to further highlight the importance of using spray equipment correctly to achieve an optimal level of application with minimal waste. He goes on to demonstrate the correct way to mask surfaces prior to spraying, the best technique for operating spray guns, and how to maintain and clean equipment after use. As Matt puts it: “You don’t get quality just by spraying; you get quality by the preparation you put into it.”
Putting learning into practice
After a short break, attendees are then given the opportunity to use Graco 9.5 HVLP spray unit themselves for the first time. Matt starts by demonstrating both effective and ineffective ways to spray various surfaces – including, doors and bannisters – to show how best practice techniques achieve excellent results. Attendees then take it in turns to spray these surfaces, with Matt providing encouragement and guidance to help everyone improve their individual skills.
After a delicious lunch supplied as part of the course, the focus shifts to airless spray. Matt breaks down the basics of how airless spray differs from HVLP, showing how individual parts of the airless unit and spray gun are used to draw up and pressurise paint before application. He also goes into detail about the different tip sizes and filters used in airless spraying and how each of these can be used optimally to adjust for different fan widths and various types of paint.
The course concludes with another practical session covering airless spray, with attendees using everything they’ve learnt over the course of the day to spray walls and other areas such as cornices and coving, before a final Q&A session covering equipment maintenance, spraying accessories and any outstanding queries.
At the end of the session, all attendees received a certificate – that they can use to showcase their experience and expertise to customers.
“A really enjoyable course”
Speaking to the decorators after they have successfully completed the course, the feedback is overwhelmingly positive, with many highlighting the quality and professionalism of the training and expert advice that they can instantly apply to their own work.
Russell Webb of Webb’s Services in Uxbridge said he recently purchased a spray gun and had initially seen strong results with it when coating walls and ceilings. However, he had been struggling to create the same quality finish when spraying woodwork, which had led him to the Dulux Academy. “The course today has given me some strong pointers and tips, and I’m really pleased with what I’ve learnt. It’s a really enjoyable and informative course, and the techniques I’ve picked up here have taught me how to spray correctly and achieve a better finish with less overlapping, which will also help me save money on materials in the future. I’ve got another lad who works with me and now he’s coming to learn at Dulux Academy, so you can see how good the course is.”
“It’s been really good. I’ve come to this course not knowing much about spraying and we’ve all learned about new techniques and all the different equipment. Matt’s been really good, really professional and knowledgeable, and we’ve had a nice atmosphere and great people, so I’ll definitely be back for more Academy courses.”
Justin Bailly, JB Painting Decorating & Carpentry, Lewes
“The course has been very enjoyable. I’ve been to the Academy before for a painting course and was very keen to come back. It was useful to learn more about the HVLP equipment as I’ve just picked up a machine that we’ll mainly using for kitchen cabinets and front doors to give a high-quality finish. Matt is very knowledgeable and makes the whole thing fun. After just a few hours here, you pick up so many tips that could take you months or years to learn elsewhere. I’ll definitely be back for more.”
Nick Cansdowne, Painting Brighton, Brighton
Course details
Course name: Spray Introduction
Location: Slough
Trainer: Matt Gray
Reasons to attend:
“The course gives decorators a greater understanding of what spray unit is best suited for the jobs they do on a daily basis, from painting furniture to kitchens and ceilings. We can advise them on the best unit to suit their business, so that they can invest in the right piece of equipment for the work they do both now and in the future. The course also covers how best to mask up and the best materials to use for this, meaning preparation prior to spraying is done in the right way and protects surfaces that are not being painted from damage or contamination.”
Matt Gray, Dulux Academy Skills Development Consultant
For further information on the Dulux Academy visit: https://academy.duluxtradepaintexpert.co.uk/
