Alameda Residence, a set on Flickr.
These photos were recently (last week) taken at a job site in Alameda. We have begun the task of stripping the woodwork, which will be then be stained and finished. Walls and painted trim will be painted. The ornately decorated ceilings will be left.
Four Seasons, 25th Floor, a set on Flickr.
One of our recent jobs at the Four Seasons Residences. Beautiful place to work, assuming one doesn’t get lost staring out of the windows at the views….WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO PRODUCE EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS?
GHOST!?
Actually, that’s Roberto, working inside a containment in one of our current jobs at 1960 Broadway. It was build to keep the lead dust created by prepping old paint from spreading throughout the house. He is fashionably outfitted with a HEPA respirator, tyvek suit, gloves, and booties. In addition to using “wet sanding” techniques to minimize the creation of dust, he cleans everything up with a HEPA vacuum.
Sexy Paint? Yes indeed. Recycled just makes it that much hotter….
Actually, this is a very good article about a (woman owned) company that repackages left-over paint. A noble endeavor.
I just read an entry from the English paint consultant/historian, Patrick Baty (whose work I have referenced in previous posts), regarding a problem a complaining client presented to him.
Patrick’s discussion of the symptoms and his “due diligence” in determining the causes of this problem are very educational. As well as being rather humorous in the way that only the English can be.
The post can be found here:
http://patrickbaty.co.uk/2010/12/07/green-paint-red-face/
Here’s a photo of what this condition sometimes looks like:
It’s a very familiar sight to almost anyone who paints exteriors (and sometimes interiors, especially bathrooms) here in the SF Bay Area (and no doubt somewhat familiar to all painters everywhere). As Patrick eloquently delineates and describes, this is “surfactant leaching”.
It is furthermore stated in his post that this condition can be avoided by taking careful consideration of:
relative humidity
dew point
wind speed
the weather
the fog
and by not painting early nor late nor from October through March
However, surfactant leaching is, in our 35 years of experience, virtually unavoidable. If we were to follow these directives, it would leave we painters here in SF with maybe only 10 paintable days per year. And those 10 days would still be a crap shoot.
Fortunately, it does not effect the integrity of the paint, only the appearance. Also fortunately, it can be removed by mild cleaner and water (mostly, usually).
FYI - the LINK to any article, etc., cited in my blog entries is often contained in the HEADING for that entry. For example, if you click on the header of today’s earlier post: ”EPA -RRP, The Videos” , you will be taken to where the videos reside. In some cases, the header doesn’t link, in which case I include the link in the post.
FYI 2 - sometimes clicking on the photos in the entry will take you to our Flickr site, where many such photos reside. Apparently, I can’t avoid this “feature”. However, you are welcome to peruse the various collections of Magic Brush photos that live there.
Just wanted to clear this up.
Thanks,
Robert
This series of 7 short videos (4 to 6 minutes each) is an excellent introduction to the EPA’s Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) rules regarding lead paint hazards. It covers the certification process, the regulations, the training, the general procedures, documentation, etc. Produced by Home Depot (but you only have to view one 15 second “ad” in order to see the series), it is actually very clear and concise. Highly recommended.
Imagine this: a paint manufacturer makes certain claims about one of their new products (advertisements, marketing), and then some apparent users of the paint feel it “falls short” of those claims, and, of course, then the lawyers arrive on the scene shortly thereafter.
What, “marketing” doesn’t always match up with “reality”? Surprised?
Lawyers become involved? Surprised?
Actually, this post is not about all that.
Regardless of the validity of the claims and whether they warrant a “Class Action Lawsuit” or not, this article reminds me of a field trip I took maybe 15 years ago with a group of fellow PDCA (Painting and Decorating Contractors of America) members to tour a paint manufacturing facility.
Aside from receiving many very interesting impressions of how paint is actually manufactured, we were told that an initial user of any new product is indeed somewhat of a “guinea pig”. That is, despite extensive lab testing, etc., they know they will receive both positive and negative feedback once the paint hits the market. They expect it.
(I doubt this is any different for any manufacturer of any product - ever hear the warning not to buy a new vehicle during it’s introductory year?)
The article states the paint was soon reformulated after release (due to the negative feedback, no doubt), which I’ll bet is more common than not.
(I don’t think the lawyers had anything to do with that. They came later…..)
Very interesting article on the restoration of the decorative finishes in Doris Duke’s “Shangri La” home in Oahu. (Nobody knows this, but my great uncle was her business manager. No, she did not leave us any of her $$$.)
1198 Fulton, a set on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Westerfeld Mansion
aka “The Olde Russian Embassy”
View a bit of San Francisco history!
Photos taken Before, During, and After the 1983 Restoration by Magic Brush.
This project involved extensive stripping (most of the South front and the tower was stripped, and about 50% of the West side, as well as miscellaneous stripping elsewhere).
This was also one of the very first jobs on the West Coast to be repaired using epoxy fillers (instead of the then prevalent “Fix All” and “Durham’s Patch” - powder fillers - or “Bondo”, which was then considered state-of-the-art).
This is the front and back of our “35th Anniversary Postcard”.
(Links to our social media pages are located at the top of this blog.)
Greetings.
We’ve been uploading a number of our older job photos (let’s call them “historical”, and some are even hysterical) to our account at FLICKR.com. Not to worry, you can peruse without having to sign in or any of that stuff. Please enjoy them along with shots of more recent projects, like:
Another very interesting post from the English colour historian/analyst/consultant, Patrik Baty.
One of our current projects….(interior and exterior).
