Preparation is one of the most crucial parts of painting and decorating, as you’ll well know. Here, Richard Palmer, Head of Trade, from Valspar Trade, explores the different innovations on the market, including solutions that combine multiple prep stages into one product, and how they’re enabling you to deliver a top-quality finish in all of your projects…
Any contractor will know that delivering a high-quality finish and ensuring a happy customer isn’t as easy as slapping some paint on a wall. It takes careful preparation – a stage which is arguably as important as applying the topcoat, ensuring you have a smooth and clean substrate, ready to bring the most out of your customer’s chosen colour and finish.
There are a wide range of preparation products available to meet differing needs, from primers and undercoats to knot blockers, with each performing its own unique role. For example, a primer helps provide a strong base for your undercoat or topcoat to adhere to, a knot blocker for wood applications and undercoats to prepare an even surface for painting.
It’s often the case that many contractors will use all three of these products on one job, usually before applying even one layer of the topcoat. This can become quite a time-consuming process, especially when you account for individual drying times. With this in mind, it’s worthwhile remembering that there are now products on the market which can help you tackle all of these stages in just one coat and with one product – saving you time and money!
Take combined primers and undercoats as an example, ideal for jobs where you’re applying a brightly coloured topcoat to a bare plaster surface. In this case, products that can be applied to a range of substrates – including bare plaster, walls and ceilings – can make your life that little bit easier. Tinted combined primers and undercoats can add further value, helping you to prepare for dramatic colour changes and achieve the optimal aesthetic in fewer coats.
As well as walls, any interior space will feature multiple wooden surfaces, fixtures and finishes, such as skirting boards, door frames or bannisters. Woodwork presents its own unique challenges from a prep point of view – in particular, the presence of knots. As well as being a different texture and colour, knots can absorb paint differently, making achieving true coverage tricky. There is also the potential for knots to leak sap, which can bleed through the paint.
Here, a high-quality wood primer is essential – such as Valspar Trade’s Knot Block Primer and Undercoat. Combining two functionalities into one, it provides a good base layer before applying your topcoat.
Moving outside and, with the exterior season returning soon, painting metal fences, gates or pipes will become more commonplace – jobs that are made trickier with the presence of rust. These metal surfaces are famous for requiring the right prep in order to achieve a high-quality finish. To help speed things along, look for products that can be applied directly onto such substrates, making this challenge a thing of the past. These emulsions are ideal for exterior surfaces like drains, pipework, radiators and more, allowing a smooth and high-quality finish.
At Valspar Trade, our focus is on making life easier for the applier – you. With a dedicated research and development team, we’re proud to offer a game-changing and expertly formulated range of high-quality trade essentials. Our Primer and Undercoat, Knot Block Wood Primer & Undercoat and Direct to Wood & Metal paint products have all undergone rigorous ISO testing to ensure they stand up to the expectations of the trade. Combining multiple performance features into one product, it means you can deliver the perfect finish, every time.
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