# Help! Veteran Residential Guy Needs to Paint Strip Mall Exterior (Why? Don't ask..:)



## putlotson (Feb 22, 2012)

If you know the exterior commercial painting business I could use some guidance. I'm a residential painting veteran with a little commercial experience. Although this job is outside my comfort zone I would like to help out the property owner. Recently I moved my business from a major center to a small city where life is simpler. Back in the "metropolis" I had connections with other painters who specialized in our respective "arenas". In this new spot (Kelowna BC Population 130,000ish pickins are slimmer. Painters here are more defensive. Go figure?... I don't think they trade projects much.... I was recently marketing my residential work and was referred by a paint company to a commercial project. It's a strip mall exterior. It's in a VERY high traffic area. Parking lot full and a sidewalk width from a major throughway. Most of the work is vertical metal cladding.. I think the panel ribs are about 4" wide by 2" deep. Hasn't been painted since built so the metal has a lot of soot on it from the auto traffic. As well it is faded by the intense heat we get here in Kelowna. Lot's of exposure. The metal may reach 100degrees f by 2pm on the south and west side. 

I'm taking time to consider this because I like the building owner. that's it. I could fit it in to my schedule. I'm thinking maybe 2 weeks for myself and a helper. As well I'm new in town and he knows everybody. the more I help him find a C painter the more I think he wants me to paint it. I've attached a picture of the metal. To me it's a spray job but I may be wrong. I'm thinking of cleaning and painting a 100 sq ft before I submit a bid. 

I'm thinking clean it with a degreaser like TSP. Pressure wash it. Then 2 coats of DTM. 

What do you think? I'm attaching a picture of a corner of the building. 

Any input on this would be much appreciated!

Thank You!
Wayne
Maglio's Prime Painting


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

no pics showed up


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## putlotson (Feb 22, 2012)

chrisn said:


> no pics showed up





















Thanks Chris! Yes having a little trouble inserting the images!


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## Stretch67 (Oct 7, 2013)

putlotson said:


> Thanks Chris! Yes having a little trouble inserting the images!


Have done quite a bit of it. Yes its spray work. When practical, we sandblast. Actually just gave a proposal for blasting and painting a similar mall yesterday. However, we have had good results cleaning with Extra Muscle or similar. Make SURE you use a scrub brush, and get off as much chalk as possible. How well you remove the chalk is what determines if your paint will stick.

We look at plenty of these where the last guy just soaped and rinsed and then sprayed the paint on. Trust me it falls off in less than a year. Then we get to sandblast em at 8x the price.

Waterborne epoxy has been giving us the best adhesion. Topcoat with acrylic. Expect some fading.


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## putlotson (Feb 22, 2012)

*Strip mall*

Thanks for the tips! There are the parked cars that can be regulated but as well there is a busy highway on the north side. Do you think the right kind of crew team would be 2 painters, a helper and a scissor lift?

Thank You


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

putlotson said:


> Thanks for the tips! There are the parked cars that can be regulated but as well there is a busy highway on the north side. Do you think the right kind of crew team would be 2 painters, a helper and a scissor lift?
> 
> Thank You


Yup.

I would use either Pitt tech or devoe from Dulux. Weatherguard is a great product too, but not sure how it would last in your environment


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## putlotson (Feb 22, 2012)

*Strip Mall*

Thank you journeyman. Devoe was the coating I was planning to use. Nice to have you recommend it!
Considering the cleaning needs most of the attention can anyone give me a ballpark for total man hours for prep and spray? Just a guess on my part but with 2 painters and a helper with one lift I'm thinking 12 to 15 working days. It's just the metal.... Am I way off? Here's a couple more pics..

Thanks


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## akrause (May 18, 2010)

putlotson said:


> If you know the exterior commercial painting business I could use some guidance. I'm a residential painting veteran with a little commercial experience. Although this job is outside my comfort zone I would like to help out the property owner. Recently I moved my business from a major center to a small city where life is simpler. Back in the "metropolis" I had connections with other painters who specialized in our respective "arenas". In this new spot (Kelowna BC Population 130,000ish pickins are slimmer. Painters here are more defensive. Go figure?... I don't think they trade projects much.... I was recently marketing my residential work and was referred by a paint company to a commercial project. It's a strip mall exterior. It's in a VERY high traffic area. Parking lot full and a sidewalk width from a major throughway. Most of the work is vertical metal cladding.. I think the panel ribs are about 4" wide by 2" deep. Hasn't been painted since built so the metal has a lot of soot on it from the auto traffic. As well it is faded by the intense heat we get here in Kelowna. Lot's of exposure. The metal may reach 100degrees f by 2pm on the south and west side.
> 
> I'm taking time to consider this because I like the building owner. that's it. I could fit it in to my schedule. I'm thinking maybe 2 weeks for myself and a helper. As well I'm new in town and he knows everybody. the more I help him find a C painter the more I think he wants me to paint it. I've attached a picture of the metal. To me it's a spray job but I may be wrong. I'm thinking of cleaning and painting a 100 sq ft before I submit a bid.
> 
> ...


Without seeing the pics, first off I would say this sounds like a good candidate for night work. If you can get over the initial suck factor of changing your internal clock around, you'd be amazed at how much less overall hassle there is when you've got free run of an entire facility and don't have to worry about spray mist and cars...etc.
With regard to product and system, I *ALWAYS* recommend a rep from your local manufacturer/supplier write a spec for that specific job. Let those guys earn their sales! My reps constantly write specs for me even when I know exactly what they'll spec and they know I know. It's a great selling point for the customer and it takes all the guess work out of it. If there is a failure (which is unlikely), you'll at least get materials comp'd to you if you were going off the spec. Labor is doubtful.


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## putlotson (Feb 22, 2012)

Thanks Akrouse Those are both great ideas that also illustrate differences between residential and commercial approaches. Although at my age I despise start times before 8 am your night work idea makes sense. Due to the nature of the site there is a lot of lighting there. Not sure if it's enough but it would lessen the need for a lot of rentals. As far as the "spec sheet goes" that's a good point too. Thanks.


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## putlotson (Feb 22, 2012)

The pictures are there now.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

putlotson said:


> Thanks Akrouse Those are both great ideas that also illustrate differences between residential and commercial approaches. Although at my age I despise start times before 8 am your night work idea makes sense. Due to the nature of the site there is a lot of lighting there. Not sure if it's enough but it would lessen the need for a lot of rentals. As far as the "spec sheet goes" that's a good point too. Thanks.


On the other hand, you can look at from the perspective of being done for the "day" before you normally would even be on the job. 

Doing commercial at night, if you can swing it concerning dew points and such, is a good way to go. I'm sure you can handle the time adjustment for the time it will take you to complete this job.


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## putlotson (Feb 22, 2012)

Thanks RH. A lot of topics are getting covered . I absolutely agree that some of this building could be done at night. For newcomers to commercial work that is a strategy that could be useful. In this case the building front or highway side is the main artery through wine country and surprisingly busy at night. You would not believe the expense of some of the cars, oops, I'm drooling.

When I spray residential exteriors I use wind indicators.. tree leaves moving or a bra waving at me from the neighbour's clothsline. Just sayin', I know where my overspray is headed. Kelowna is in an arid valley. Instant gusts are common. The face of the building is 6 feet from the main throughway. I'm not sure I could judge overspray headed for traffic below here at night. that also solves the heat issue as it is too hot after 2pm. degrees.

Considering the small amount of substrate on the build front I would be tempted to cover the awning and then mini roll just that limited stretch on highway side. I can hear you chuckle "mini roll?" ... however it would reduce the risk to zero. Vehicles passing by 7 or 8 feet from the lift would have no visual on a guy waving his sprayer. I like that. No hate mail. What do you think? The vertical metal strips are 4"across 2"deep with a 4 " recess in between. I'm thinking Purdys jumbo mini roller for that stretch over the street. 

Graveyard Shift is not for everyone. 
I have to disagree with RH that everyone can adapt to graveyard. Employers need to realize some crew may have limitations when it comes to sleep. Sleep deprivation can jeopardize safety and productivity. I simply cannot sleep during the day. Period. It's not something new. I'm 60 and I have spent many years as a travelling musician. I never adapted to sleeping in moving vehicles of any kind nor to sleeping during the day. Often I was forced to perform after massive sleep deprivation. I was the drummer. I'm likely the BEST guy to say that working under sleep deprivation is a recipe for disaster. There is also the drive home from a project to consider even if you don't trigger the gun accidentally. 

I agree with RH and Akrouse some of this project would be best done at night. Just not by me. Thanks to everyone!

Years ago I was once asked to paint a busy bar after hours across the street from my warehouse. I said no thanks. The owner went in at 4am to check the work in progress. Both painters were asleep on the pool table...


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## GreenReaper (Jul 18, 2016)

One concern. Biggest problem I've run across is *bugs* in the paint- attracted to the artificial lighting at night. I strongly suggest the utmost detail in your prep. Preferably wet abrasive blast with a compatible rust inhibitor. And BRIGHT inspection lamps, even if it's a really good flashlight, (torch) in some circles. It could be possible to prep and prime at night then top coat in daylight... unless insects aren't an issue in your area. 
Go for a slow stroll in the area about two hours after dark and evaluate your whole situation. Good luck, and may many good references flow from the project. <><


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## putlotson (Feb 22, 2012)

GreenReaper said:


> One concern. Biggest problem I've run across is *bugs* in the paint- attracted to the artificial lighting at night. I strongly suggest the utmost detail in your prep. Preferably wet abrasive blast with a compatible rust inhibitor. And BRIGHT inspection lamps, even if it's a really good flashlight, (torch) in some circles. It could be possible to prep and prime at night then top coat in daylight... unless insects aren't an issue in your area.
> Go for a slow stroll in the area about two hours after dark and evaluate your whole situation. Good luck, and may many good references flow from the project. <><


Thank you GreenReaper... That name is the best! Bugs... That was the last thing on my mind. Not that it hasn't happened. Used to be serious when oil was the preferred coating. Normally in Kelowna bugs are minimal. Just too hot. This year it's been unusually cold. Bugs are worth considering.

Here is how this played out. As some know this job doesn't scare me but frankly I'd rather be working on wood... Minds out of the gutter... Since the invite into this I have learned a lot from you commercial guys as well as have a lot of listeners. So thanks and kudos to you all. The update is to say that I prefer to stick with what I do best. I'm still trying to help the property owner find a capable company. I have since put him in contact with 5 commercial painters. I am relatively a newcomer here in Kelowna and am getting used to the " insecure cold shoulder" from other painters. LOL I'm 60 so they should be more afraid of me hogging the blankets! Anyway after a month not one of these companies recommended by "the best paint we have made so far" has provided an estimate. They recommended me in the first place which explains the connection and loyalty to both parties. You vets know what I'm talking about. The property owner called me again today in desperation. In the mean time I'm up to my ying yang in big houses... 
The saga continues...


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## kdpaint (Aug 14, 2010)

Rarely does sticking with what you do well, end up burning you. It's all well and good to go out and take on jobs outside your comfort zone, but you have done your due diligence and decided to let someone else do this job. A lot of people would have "winged" this job and maybe ended up losing money.


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## putlotson (Feb 22, 2012)

*All is not lost!*

:thumbup:


kdpaint said:


> Rarely does sticking with what you do well, end up burning you. It's all well and good to go out and take on jobs outside your comfort zone, but you have done your due diligence and decided to let someone else do this job. A lot of people would have "winged" this job and maybe ended up losing money.


Well spoken. If I was at a different point in life things would have motivated me to take it. It is still good knowledge that will come in handy. It's likely now the building owner who is well known around town will send me residential referrals for helping out. All is not lost!


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

putlotson said:


> :thumbup:
> 
> Well spoken. If I was at a different point in life things would have motivated me to take it. It is still good knowledge that will come in handy. It's likely now the building owner who is well known around town will send me residential referrals for helping out. All is not lost!


Personally, I have never found that it's ever hurt my business to be up front with potential customers (and myself) when it's come to assessing my professional limitations - I just wish there weren't so many of them to keep track of . I think that type of honesty is refreshing to many in an era of hype, hyperbole, and self aggrandizement.


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

To bad I'm in the lower mainland. I'd be all over that puppy. 
Maybe call DC38 and see if any of there outfits are interested


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## putlotson (Feb 22, 2012)

I'm in my office today and tomorrow. If there is an outfit here in Kelowna listening in feel free to msg me here. We can arrange to chat. I could even refer you a painter and a helper if you're shorthanded as another contractor I know has taken off on vacation. Thanks!


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