# Gonna post my Cabinet Painting Contract.



## jpcarr79 (Nov 20, 2014)

Gonna post my contract I recently wrote for cabinets. I'm going to add a "oak cabinet disclosure" for those w/ oak cabs. Those of you that have painted oak understand why. Curious for your feedback. Yes, it's not perfect and may need to be tweaked a bit. Yes, I use acrylic or acrylic/alkyd paint and in transferring this from my word doc to PaintTalk, it changed the format....thus looking like there are not spaces between points. I also have a doc called "What to Expect" to provide homeowners, so they understand what is happening each day, from beginning to end of their project. 




Joe Blow Painting 
Salt Lake City, Utah 
801-111-1234
joe [email protected]
Contract: Cabinet Painting 

This is a legally binding contract between the parties of Joe Blow Painting and Ann and Frank Hussein, 558 S. Dudebro Lane, Salt Lake City, UT, dated April 29, 2015. 

Payment
50% of project amount is due before start of any project. Remaining 50% is due day of completion/install.
Most projects require between 6-10 business days from beginning to end. If the cabinets require extensive patching, filling knot holes, etc., it’s best to add a day or two to this time frame. Much of the reason for duration of project is the multiple steps required to properly prepare doors/drawer fronts for primer/paint and then allowing ample drying time between coats (24 hours per coat, per side) and (24-48 hours) prior to transporting completed doors/drawer fronts back to customers’ home. 



Scope of Work/What to Expect
Doors and drawer fronts will be removed and taken to shop/paint booth to be sanded, prepped, primed, painted and allowed to sufficiently dry prior to being transported back to customers’ home. 
Masking, sanding, priming and painting of cabinet frames is completed in customers’ home, usually beginning 1-3 days after doors/drawer fronts are removed on the first day of the project.
On most projects, contractor removes doors/drawer fronts on first day of project and completes all work on drawers/door fronts at shop. Employee completes all work inside customers’ home.
Customer agrees to allow access to project area inside customers’ home between the hours of 8:30am - 5:00pm, Mon-Fri from the start of project through completion. Hours/days spent inside customer home can vary due to a number of variables. Employee and/or contractor may come and go (usually unannounced) during above hours/days, according to what is most efficient each day to complete the job correctly and efficiently. Since the project is split between work that is done at shop and in the home, very often, the doors/drawer fronts can take more time than the frames. Occasionally it is the opposite. 
Sanding, priming, painting in customers home can be messy. Contractor or employee will do the best he can to insure dust does not seep into areas outside of the kitchen, but in painting a kitchen, there can be very fine dust that is virtually impossible to stop 100% completely, so homeowner should expect to have some dust (usually very minimal) during and after project completion.
Customer must make sure all items are removed from drawers, cabinets, shelves, countertops, etc. by the first day of masking. 
If cabinets are natural wood (stained or never painted before), the texture of the finished painted product will not feel the same as the wood felt prior to paint. In addition, painted cabinets can show wear and be damaged easier (due to the nature of paint) than natural wood. In switching from a smooth urethane finish to a painted finish, contractor agrees to prep/paint cabinets to the best of his ability to insure as smooth of a finish as possible (within reason) and use premium products to further assist with smooth, uniform texture. 
No wood cabinet is perfect. Wood cabinets are usually made from multiple pieces of wood that can vary slightly in texture, grain, pattern, levelness, etc. due to the nature of wood. Paint is a very thin material that follows the contour of wood exactly. Painting cabinets can magnify any imperfections with the cabinets themselves that may or may not have been noticeable prior to painting them. 
Tape will be used to mask between cabinet frames and walls (part of masking process). Removing masking tape at the end of the project often pulls small amounts of wall paint from the walls. This is common and an easy fix. If homeowner has or provides matching wall paint, contractor will do minor touch-up to remedy this. 
Often times, due to use, age or improper installation, cabinet doors are not completely even prior to starting a job. Painting doors can magnify this. If hinges are adjustable (some are and some aren’t), contractor will attempt (but not guarantee) to straighten doors upon installation, to the best of his ability. 
Replacing old hardware with new hardware is not included in bid unless new hardware is provided by homeowner and exactly the same size and hole pattern as original hardware. Cost of replacement with new and/or filled holes must be discussed between homeowner and contractor prior to project start date. 
Nail holes, obvious dings/dents (within reason) will be filled/fixed by contractor during preparation process. More attention is given to cabinet door fronts than backs during this process.
Inspection of completed work will be done by customer according to PDCA Standards (Painting and Decorating Contractors of America) which states: 
“In order to determine whether a surface has been “properly painted” it shall be examined without magnification at a distance of thirty-nine (39) inches or one (1) meter, or more, under finished lighting conditions and from a normal viewing position.”
Customer is aware that they are paying for an aftermarket painted surface, not an original factory coated cabinet.
Cabinets are primed with an oil or shellac based primer and painted with a semi-gloss latex/acrylic or latex/alkyd hybrid depending on type of wood. We use premium materials, primer and paint on all cabinet projects. We do not use extremely toxic and dangerous (for humans and environment) chemical based products such as lacquer.
One coat of primer and two coats of finish paint will be applied to all painted surfaces. 
Caulking is not recommended on cabinet doors and certain parts of cabinet frames. Due to wood expansion/contraction caused by humidity/temperature changes, this can cause the caulked seams to crack over time. 
If during the process of a project, customer decides to change or add items to the project that were not agreed upon prior to starting project (by both parties), contractor will provide customer with a “change order” describing changes and cost for changes that customer is requesting. 
Minor touch-up at or near the end of a project is common and will be completed by contractor prior to project completion. 
Painted cabinets (although dry to the touch within 24 hours) can take up to 30 days to completely cure. Customer should be especially careful (while still being able to use cabinets) during the first 30 days after completion. 


Non-Payment
Customer agrees to pay entire remaining balance owed for project on the day of completion/installation. Failure to do so will result in 10% weekly late fee for first six weeks and 18% monthly interest fee from six weeks (added to balance owed), until paid in full. Customer will also be responsible for all attorney/ legal/court/lien fees paid by contractor to collect payment. 




Signed by:
Joe Blow
Owner


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

One recommendation I would make in the section on hardware. Offering to replace with new hardware that's the "exact same" is risky. I've got to where any hardware change from original is an extra to be done hourly. Even if it's "the same" it's often not the same. Did the right size screws come with the new knobs? The new hinges that are the same aren't adjusted like the old ones were potentially causing extra labor to get them to work right. 

Hardware changes have killed me in the past. The potential problems are almost unlimited. Things you would never think of can be a huge PITA. 

I spent most of today installing 3" center pulls on 37 drawer fronts that previously had single pulls (holes were filled), I didn't know at first that they were recessed, requiring some specialty drilling. Good thing it was hourly work.


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

Great post overall. Covers lots of bases. Brings back memories of "learning experiences"!


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

I think it's a pretty comprehensive list. 2 minor suggestions:

1. Especially when dealing with oak, might wanna do a sample door to have them sign off on it. In the event their expectations are higher, it's that much easier to introduce a revised bid which includes grain filler. This way, you can be absolutely certain that you understand their expectations, rather than waiting til completion and hoping they understood your description of the final product. 

2. Check interest rates in your area to be sure you are not falling in the category of usury, since, depending upon the area, could potentially void your claim to recover costs.


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

Wow, I would be scared to sign such a big contract. Perhaps you should shorten it by 2/rds mate. And another comment, a 50 % deposit payment is ridiculous. Perhaps a 3rd maximum.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

Jmayspaint said:


> One recommendation I would make in the section on hardware. Offering to replace with new hardware that's the "exact same" is risky. I've got to where any hardware change from original is an extra to be done hourly. Even if it's "the same" it's often not the same. Did the right size screws come with the new knobs? The new hinges that are the same aren't adjusted like the old ones were potentially causing extra labor to get them to work right.
> 
> Hardware changes have killed me in the past. The potential problems are almost unlimited. Things you would never think of can be a huge PITA.
> 
> I spent most of today installing 3" center pulls on 37 drawer fronts that previously had single pulls (holes were filled), I didn't know at first that they were recessed, requiring some specialty drilling. Good thing it was hourly work.


When we are doing new hardware we have an assortment of machine screws. We use the longer screws and cut them to the length needed with a pair of pliers for cutting machine screws that won't damage the threads. :thumbsup:


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

straight_lines said:


> When we are doing new hardware we have an assortment of machine screws. We use the longer screws and cut them to the length needed with a pair of pliers for cutting machine screws that won't damage the threads. :thumbsup:



I was wishing I had a set of those pliers yesterday. The screws I had worked for all but 4 drawers that were different than the rest. If I could have cut 1/4 inch off the screws it would have worked fine.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

Another mistake I made in this set was not marking all the hinges. I wasn't on site the day they took the doors off. My helper knows how to mark doors but I hadn't went into the necessity of marking hinges. By the time I thought of it and called them, they had %60 of the doors off. At least some of them got marked. Have a feeling I'm going to be adjusting doors for a good while tomorrow.

This set is a monster. Large kitchen, desk area, and two upper and lower mud room cabinets. 43 doors and 37 drawers.


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

Jmayspaint said:


> Another mistake I made in this set was not marking all the hinges. I wasn't on site the day they took the doors off. My helper knows how to mark doors but I hadn't went into the necessity of marking hinges. By the time I thought of it and called them, they had %60 of the doors off. At least some of them got marked. Have a feeling I'm going to be adjusting doors for a good while tomorrow.
> 
> This set is a monster. Large kitchen, desk area, and two upper and lower mud room cabinets. 43 doors and 37 drawers.


We've done a passel of study rooms in Greek houses, typically with 100+ doors in total. One lesson we learned was to take off the doors, leaving the hinges in place on the face frames. We finish the doors, re-hang them, and then remove the hinges from the face frames.

These have been mainly old-style Amerock hinges and they've been tweaked over the years to make them fit. We found that approach to be a handy way to keep the hinges in the same place. We don't need to take this approach with Euro-style hinges, since the adjustments are easy.

The other thing we do is keep a stash of replacement Phillips screws on hand, since a lot of the cabinets that we do still have slotted fasteners.


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## Repaint Florida (May 31, 2012)

For me .... we put each hinge in a baggie with door number

A for top hinge
B middle hinge
C bottom hinge

they go back to same spot everytime :thumbup: 










we also have a "kit" with us with different screws, parts, tips, bits, ect 
so if a screw is needed we have it. Many times the screws on new drawers don't fit so we have then if needed. 

this pic show it a little empty but we restock it every job


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## richmondpainting (Feb 24, 2012)

I can see why I saw someone talking about $16,000 cabniet painting job the other day. That's a long list of the scope....


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## Repaint Florida (May 31, 2012)

jpcarr79 said:


> Gonna post my contract I recently wrote for cabinets. I'm going to add a "oak cabinet disclosure" for those w/ oak cabs. Those of you that have painted oak understand why. Curious for your feedback. Yes, it's not perfect and may need to be tweaked a bit. Yes, I use acrylic or acrylic/alkyd paint and in transferring this from my word doc to PaintTalk, it changed the format....thus looking like there are not spaces between points. I also have a doc called "What to Expect" to provide homeowners, so they understand what is happening each day, from beginning to end of their project.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No disrespect meant ... but 90% of that should be left out of contract
my impression as a homeowner after reading that would be to shop for another painter, you seem to be telling them everything can go wrong 

Bring a sample oak door at estimate and show them a finished door

post all the info on dry time on your website along with the basic of cabinet painting

keep the contract simple for the HO to read & still insure you'll get paid

not many HO want Employee and/or contractor may come and go (usually unannounced) during above hours/days

Set solid times you'll be at their home and learn to trim the time 6-10 business days is way to long for both you & them, if your spending that time on 1 kitchen you could do 3 a month. Can you make enough doing that?

Again i am not trying to be a  just trying to help, we easy do 2 sets a week with 3 painters, i am the home 2 days total , 1 removing and 1st coat on frames and another day painting 2nd coat on frame & hanging doors

out of 5 jobs i pick up 3 more from referrals and make solid money 

good luck & if you need any help or have questions post and i'll try to answer or PM me

PS ... DITTO ON CHECK LATE FEE your stepping on legal issues here make sure you've talked to a attorney


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## Oden (Feb 8, 2012)

Brian C said:


> Wow, I would be scared to sign such a big contract. Perhaps you should shorten it by 2/rds mate. And another comment, a 50 % deposit payment is ridiculous. Perhaps a 3rd maximum.


Yeah.
I dunno. But Joe blow lost me when I read he thinks I'm gonna give him half the project cost before he did one thing,
Nothing after that line matters. Here. 

More power to anyone if they got it that way, I'd have to know you but really well. And you'd have to be low....I mean but low on that price....cause the funniest thing, in short order ur gonna have my money and possession of my cabinet fronts too? 
And not for nothing but it is a constructive criticism beleive it or not, before the contractors all get their feathers ruffled. 
This is why
Joe blow his price is $1600, he wants half, $800, as a down payment
Jimmy James his price is $2000. $2200 even say. COD.
All things even. References or whatever, I'd go with Jimmy James.
And I'll pay him. Jimmy James. He can charge me more. Cause I don't have to worry about my money, I know he'll get my job done and ASAP.


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## SemiproJohn (Jul 29, 2013)

Oden said:


> Yeah.
> I dunno. But Joe blow lost me when I read he thinks I'm gonna give him half the project cost before he did one thing,
> Nothing after that line matters. Here.
> 
> ...


I'm not doing cabinets as I don't have a shop, but I would think requiring a deposit for materials would be appropriate. I was wondering how all you cabinet specialists handle this deposit aspect of the job (or if you require anything at all up front).


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## jpcarr79 (Nov 20, 2014)

Good feedback. I used to not charge anything up front...and still don't like that I have to ask for 50% upfront. What I've found is that it simply gives me peace that I won't eat a job. I had a customer that was completely unreasonable a year or so ago and it freaked me out. I had materials, labor and time involved and was scared that I wasn't going to get paid. I did get paid...but had anxiety that I wouldn't. Here in Salt Lake City, it's pretty common to get 50% up front. That's splitting the risk. As far as turn time, I am trying to get project time down. I think I over analyze and prob spend more time on projects than need be. I need to trust my products more. I often re-sand and re-paint when I don't need to. I have to remind myself that I am applying paint...not creating new cabinets. I've just had a couple of super anal customers get in my head. This is why I have such a detailed contract....to make sure everyone is on the same page as far as expectations. I don't want to rip anyone off and want to make an honest living. I appreciate all of your feedback. I will take your advise and adjust it based on your input. That's why I posted the contract. If anyone want's to share their contract, feel free. I sorta went out on a limb by posting mine.


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## jpcarr79 (Nov 20, 2014)

Amen to that Richmond. There are a lot of steps to insure they are done properly. I don't know how these guys are knocking them out so quickly. I'm jealous. On the jobs that I busted out, I get callbacks. On the ones I've done 100% correctly, I don't make enough money. Repaint Florida seems to have it down.


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## jpcarr79 (Nov 20, 2014)

Thanks for the feedback buddy. I appreciate it. Just to clarify...you REALLY don't use primer a lot of the time? I am trying to fig out the logistics of only being in the home for 2 days. In the home: It takes us a day to mask/prime. Next day we sand primer, paint 1st coat. 3rd day we paint 2nd coat. 4th day, we remove masking, touch-up. 5th day we re-install. That's a best case scenario, without filling holes, scrubbing with mineral spirits, etc. Are you rolling the boxes or is PPG Breakthrough really that cat's meow and primer is not needed? I'm sold if this is the case. I think I'm gonna buy some Breakthrough tommorrow and test it on some oak doors I have at the shop.


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## thinkpainting/nick (Dec 25, 2012)

What's the big deal just bid $100 an opening what most say they charge. I'm lucky to hit 1 out of 5 cabinet jobs most here are big time learning lessons for those who think it's easy to make money. Had a lady tell me Friday on a sales call she got a quote from 2 other professional painters from AG. They both told her $100-125 a door to include all draws and boxes. My first look at this job I was at $5500 those guys were almost half. I've been doing this a long long time no way there making money .


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

jpcarr79 said:


> ...Repaint Florida seems to have it down.





That he does. It has a lot to do with the product also. Breakthrough is such amazing stuff. I don't know of anything else that you could do a two coat system with such little prep and get results that good. Plus it dries so fast. I was able to flip doors and spray in a little over 2 hours. The stuff powders when you sand it after a few hours too and will smooth out great. 

No way you could make that kind of time with Advance or similar products. 

I did some more testing with it today on some sample doors. Trying to get confident in a two coat cabinet system. It can definitely be done.

I sprayed one laminate door two coats after a simple cleaning. It looks great, tomorrow I'll check adhesion. Going by previous tests, I'm betting it's bonded fine.


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## PRC (Aug 28, 2014)

Jmayspaint said:


> That he does. It has a lot to do with the product also. Breakthrough is such amazing stuff. I don't know of anything else that you could do a two coat system with such little prep and get results that good. Plus it dries so fast. I was able to flip doors and spray in a little over 2 hours. The stuff powders when you sand it after a few hours too and will smooth out great.
> 
> No way you could make that kind of time with Advance or similar products.
> 
> ...


 Breakthrough sounds great. Going to have to pick some up. Considering it's fast dry time how well does it brush and level? Anyone using it for things other than cabinets?


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

thinkpainting/nick said:


> What's the big deal just bid $100 an opening what most say they charge. I'm lucky to hit 1 out of 5 cabinet jobs most here are big time learning lessons for those who think it's easy to make money. Had a lady tell me Friday on a sales call she got a quote from 2 other professional painters from AG. They both told her $100-125 a door to include all draws and boxes. My first look at this job I was at $5500 those guys were almost half. I've been doing this a long long time no way there making money .



So you mean your looking for around $200 per door? What systems do you use?


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## Repaint Florida (May 31, 2012)

I am sitting in the airport waiting for a flight to Orlando but when I get back I'll take the time once again to write tha Advantage of breakthrough

Jmayspainti ... Please post the results on the laminate door for everybody to see 
I tell everyone it sticks to anything ... I'll be in in the painting trade 37 years and never seen something that bonds as good as it does


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## PaintersUnite (May 11, 2014)

jpcarr79 said:


> *Contract*.


It sounds like a self-written, very unorganized, and convoluted contract. :yes:

It this case, less is more!


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

Jmayspaint said:


> That he does. It has a lot to do with the product also. Breakthrough is such amazing stuff. I don't know of anything else that you could do a two coat system with such little prep and get results that good. Plus it dries so fast. I was able to flip doors and spray in a little over 2 hours. The stuff powders when you sand it after a few hours too and will smooth out great.
> 
> No way you could make that kind of time with Advance or similar products.
> 
> ...



My next day adhesion test on laminate was only ok but after 3 days was really good. Sanded 180'then 320.


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## Hines Painting (Jun 22, 2013)

I'm going to try breakthrough at some point. The only place I've found to get it is about 40 minutes away and doesn't deliver to my area. 

Their contractor price on it was 59.99, does that seem about right?


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## Repaint Florida (May 31, 2012)

Hines Painting said:


> I'm going to try breakthrough at some point. The only place I've found to get it is about 40 minutes away and doesn't deliver to my area.
> 
> Their contractor price on it was 59.99, does that seem about right?


i pay $38


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

Hines Painting said:


> I'm going to try breakthrough at some point. The only place I've found to get it is about 40 minutes away and doesn't deliver to my area.
> 
> Their contractor price on it was 59.99, does that seem about right?



I'm around $43-45 I think. I'll have to tell my rep they're selling it in Florida for $38!!


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

SW has a great product to spray on oak and other open grained woods to fill the grain up. OEM cabinet manufacturers use it all the time. They use it to spray the edges of MDF to get them so smooth they look like melamine. To bad 99% of the SW store employees have never heard of it.


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## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

Proalliance coatings said:


> SW has a great product to spray on oak and other open grained woods to fill the grain up. OEM cabinet manufacturers use it all the time. They use it to spray the edges of MDF to get them so smooth they look like melamine. To bad 99% of the SW store employees have never heard of it.


What SW product is this? Sound interesting!


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## thinkpainting/nick (Dec 25, 2012)

Jmayspaint said:


> So you mean your looking for around $200 per door? What systems do you use?


I look at the whole job, the travel time, the customers additudes , degree of difficulty etc. Spraying onsite or off site, loading unloading doors, Un install re install. I don't look at a set of cabs then put a number in openings every time . I know RePaint Florida has his own system as most of us do. He does a great job . I've tried Breakthrough but not enough to really know the product. It's no easily available here anyway. 

I threw that number out cause I hear guys say they charge that and I think OK where did you get that number?? I'd rather know it took me 40 hours at my selling price an hr plus material and make my money. Sort of like floor sq footage bidding it doesn't always work out . Most times it's doesn't. Just my opinion.


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## I paint paint (May 4, 2014)

Proalliance coatings said:


> SW has a great product to spray on oak and other open grained woods to fill the grain up. OEM cabinet manufacturers use it all the time. They use it to spray the edges of MDF to get them so smooth they look like melamine. To bad 99% of the SW store employees have never heard of it.


Tease of the Day!!!

brought to you by Proalliance coatings.


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

I paint paint said:


> Tease of the Day!!!
> 
> 
> 
> brought to you by Proalliance coatings.



I'm pretty sure Straight Lines has posted about this product before. Might be in the KA line but not sure.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

I paint paint said:


> Tease of the Day!!!
> 
> 
> 
> brought to you by Proalliance coatings.



Yeah really, I want a name!!

That Masters finishing medium stuff is pretty cool, but other options would be nice. Especially if it happened to be cheaper than $55 a gallon.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Ok,Ok! Even though I'm not the one that's getting paid to tell you. It was in the chemical coatings line and it was called Sprayfil. I don't remember the number. We sold a low voc version in the 90's that would still be compliant throughout the country. I would be very surprised if they didn't have this product or an updated version of it still available. It was a two part product that had to be sprayed. Filled the grain and was fairly easy to sand. Came in a white and a gray. We sold it to cabinet shops all over San Diego county. Unless you can get ahold of a chemical coatings rep or go to a chemical coatings store good luck finding it though.

It could very well be in the Kem Aqua line now, but back then it was in the Polane line.


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## jw129943 (Apr 3, 2014)

Am I the only one who's surprised that you don't caulk? I've discovered more issues without caulking than I have with caulking. It just makes the job look more finished when it's all said and done - especially crown moulding on cabinet frames.

I require 40% deposit, but am thinking about shifting that down to 30% - although I've never had anyone gripe about it.

I may have to jump on the PPG Breakthrough bandwagon, or at least test it out. I love the Advance, but the cure time is definitely a time-killer.

Hardware is a thorn in my side - I hate installing new hardware, because like others have said, there are always unexpected snags that seem to drag it out. However, I do have a partnership with an online hardware provider and offer free hardware to my customers, which has proven to be a selling point. In exchange for the hardware, I feature photos of it once installed in the kitchen, on my blog. It's a Catch-22.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

Damon T said:


> My next day adhesion test on laminate was only ok but after 3 days was really good. Sanded 180'then 320.



I decided to wait an extra day to check adhesion on the door. It came off an old cabinet in a junk pile. Pretty sure it's regular Formica with PVC edge. It's bonded well, I can't scratch it off at all. Bonded to the edge banding too.


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## thinkpainting/nick (Dec 25, 2012)

Pretty cool video here. http://youtu.be/JKXdds-yMuc


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