Alpha Omega Painting Blog

Painting the Great Northwest since 1973

Archive for category Seasonal topics

Surfactant bleeding

Nov 14

Posted by Doug in Seasonal topics, tips | No Comments

I recently asked a colleague to add a comment to my blog.  Warren is an experienced representative of a major national paint company. He chose to comment on a timely subject, that of surfactant bleeding or leaching.  Lets hear what he has to tell us. You will find his comment under “winter, to paint or not”

Thanks Warren E.

Power washing for winter?

Oct 30

Posted by Doug in Seasonal topics | No Comments

While I was shopping at Costco I met Ann serving up those great samples.  We got into a conversation about organic food which turned into a discussion about mildew.  This article is for her. Most of us like that fresh painted look that we receive after the repaint.  Well, Alpha Omega Painting can help you with that.

Regular cleaning will do more than simply that. The unsightly mold and mildew that we are accustomed to in the northwest is due in part to environmental dirt.  You see the dirt is food for the mildew, so add a little moisture and they are happy campers in unwanted territory namely your siding, concrete, or wood deck.  This is why we always wash a house prior to painting, with a bleach injection to kill the mold spores.  And since they are always present in the environment the only way to keep them at bay is to wash every say couple of years. If you have a shaded lot with lots of vegatation near then annually may be for you, similarly if you have much sun and little trees and shrubs then you may go three or more years.

I would suggest that power washing after the fall leaves would be best timing. Just to get the last slime from the leaves. There shouldn’t be much build up of dirt during the winter. All the rain will keep the air cleaner, and cooler or cold temps will inhibit the growth of molds.  The other good time would be the first of summer after that burst of spring pollen. Please keep Alpha Omega Painting in mind and call any time.

Winterizing Your Deck

Oct 25

Posted by Doug in Seasonal topics | No Comments

deckNow is a great time to get your deck ready to handle the soggy northwest winter. Taking a few steps to winterize now will save you time and money in repair work.

If you don’t want to give up your weekend to do it yourself, give Alpha Omega Painting a call. There are some products that I like. Flood makes an extensive line of deck and siding products. Whether you choose a solid latex or semi transparent oil, their products are excellent and have 2 to 5 year warranties.

Coating your deck now will keep water from penetrating it, and causing damage to the wood over the wet months, thus saving you future expense.

Winter: To paint or not to paint?

Oct 16

Posted by Doug in Seasonal topics, Winter painting | 1 Comment

Well, we all thought summer was over a month ago, but were still painting up a storm.  I have faith though, that fall will eventually turn into winter, and our outdoor painting days will be diminished. This doesn’t mean the end to outdoor painting, just fewer days in which to conduct them.

You probably won’t get to clean and stain decks, unless they are on the south side.  They will need all the sun to properly dry for stains and sealers. That’s the requirment for all painting any way. Surfaces must be dry, although remember most paints are water based. That being said if a small amount of moisture is present is must be able to dry along with the coating applied. There is a lot to paint chemistry. In the winter temperature is key since evaporation takes place better with warmer temperatures.  Chemistry to the rescue. Manufacturers have formulated paints to cure in lower temperatures (into the mid 30’s).  This low temp paint is good for painters and consumers both, since we both would like to be able to complete painting tasks all seasons. 

The bottom line is yes paint anytime.  As long as the conditions are favorable it’s not important what month it is.

Welcome to Fall

Oct 9

Posted by Doug in Fall, Seasonal topics | No Comments

Welcome to fall. We all thought we were going from summer to winter and skipping fall.  Slam! The rain came and that was going to be that.  Steve Poole said, “Well folks, that’s the last of the 80 degree days.” Well I wonder what he would say if we rewound the tape now.  We were sweating in those 80 degree days, busily painting those houses, not unheard of in September.  In fact, October is typically a good month as well. We will be keeping busy this month with exterior work.