• Color Box Painting LLC

    Licensed | Bonded | Insured | (503) 989~7415
  • Color Box Painting LLC

    Licensed | Bonded | Insured | (503) 989~7415
  • Color Box Painting LLC

    Licensed | Bonded | Insured | (503) 989~7415
  • Color Box Painting LLC

    Licensed | Bonded | Insured | (503) 989~7415
  • Color Box Painting LLC

    Licensed | Bonded | Insured | (503) 989~7415
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Color Box Painting LLC Blog

Color Box Painting LLC - Portland, Oregon based Painting Contractor's Blog.

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No Brush Marks

Do-it-yourselfers who use top quality paint are often amazed to see brush and roller marks virtually disappear as their paint job dries. But it?s no surprise to the chemists who formulate the paint.

What is at work when quality paint dries to a beautiful, smooth finish are ingredients with the technical name ?rheology modifiers.? These special additives help keep the paint thin enough to flow freely and level out during application. . .yet thick enough so they don?t sag and leave unattractive drip marks on walls and other vertical surfaces.

It isn?t important for do-it-yourselfers to understand all the nuances of paint chemistry, but there are important practical takeaways for anyone who picks up a brush or roller:

While you are working, keep your brush or roller fully loaded with paint. Quality paints take on the best appearance ? smooth, even, and sumptuous ? when applied in a heavy coat. Never re-brush or re-roll an area when newly-applied paint has partially dried. Allow the paint to perform as intended and level out naturally as time passes. Never apply extra paint to touch up partially-dried paint. The time for touch-ups comes after the paint is completely dry.

Follow these guidelines and you?ll get the full benefit of the special ingredients in your paint. More importantly, you?ll help ensure that you end up with a great-looking paint job.

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Paint sheen with high gloss paint

There?s more than meets the eye when it comes to paint sheen.  Sure, looks matter, but gloss level affects paint performance, too.

?Gloss? or ?high gloss? paints are highly reflective, but they also are extremely tough, have superior stain-resistance, and are easy to clean if they do get dirty.  So, they?re ideal for high traffic areas. . .or if you have little ones around.  But be sure your walls and woodwork are in good shape ? glossy paints tend to highlight imperfections in the surfaces you paint.

?Semi-gloss? paints are another good choice if you have young children.  They?re somewhat glossy, with good stain resistance.   They, too, are easy to clean.

?Eggshell? or ?satin? paints have a little luster, so they impart warmth and depth to the surface.  They provide more stain resistance than flat paints, but not as much as glossier paints.

?Flat? paints have one big advantage:  Being non-reflective, they tend to conceal imperfections in the painted surface.  If your walls are irregular or a little banged up, this is the sheen level for you.

Whatever level of sheen you choose, be sure to use a top quality 100% acrylic latex paint for the best overall paint performance.

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Colorful Houses

It seems as though every year, more consumers pay attention to the green benefits of top quality latex paints.  But there is one aspect of the environment that is important to anyone painting his or her home exterior:  the color environment.

Unless you?re living out on the plains or in a wilderness area, your home doesn?t exist in isolation.  It?s probably part of a neighborhood.  As such, your ideal exterior color scheme will not only enhance the appearance of your home, but also the look of the entire neighborhood.

Designers of townhouse communities and condominium complexes have long recognized the importance of house-to-house color compatibility ? so much so that many new communities have strict rules concerning the colors you may paint your home.

Even if your home is located in one of these neighborhoods, you?ll probably want to paint your exterior in a color scheme different from those to your right or left.  But if you live elsewhere, it?s critical that you take your surroundings into account when making your color choice.

Before going to your paint retailer to look at color cards and certainly before developing any preconceived ideas, walk up and down your street and take an inventory (literally, take notes) of the colors on the homes.  Don?t just jot down the colors, note where they are used.  A house painted brick red with dark green shutters and trim looks a lot different than one with green walls and brick red accents.

When your inventory is complete, visit your local paint store and try to find color cards that match what you?ve seen on your neighbors? homes.  Line them up in the order of the homes on your street, leaving a gap for your home.  Then see how different paint colors would look on your home in relation to your neighbors?.  This is a great way to picture what architectural designers call the ?streetscape?, and see how your home fits in.

What other factors should you take into account when selecting an exterior color scheme?  Your home?s architectural style, for one.  A Greek Revival home screams for a white exterior, while playful Victorian homes, with all their fretwork and gingerbread, can be painted in a rainbow of colors.  Do you live in a bungalow?  Here, too, you have a lot of leeway, but cheery colors, perhaps repeating colors from your garden, seem to work best.

Every once in a while, you?ll see a home that ?goes against character? with an architecturally un-characteristic color scheme, but choosing an unconventional color scheme is risky, so proceed with care!

Then there?s the matter of the ?fixed? colors on your home.  Do you have a partial brick façade or any exterior stone?  What is the color your roof?  The hue and tone of these (relatively) immutable elements should be factored into your color choice.  From curbside, the eye will take them all in at once.

Finally, pay attention to the ?real? environment around your home ? where the birds and bugs live.  Nature?s paintbrush is a great source of inspiration for color ideas.

Homes in a beach setting look great in oceanic colors like blue, blue-green, coral and turquoise, while those in the deserts of the Great Southwest harmonize seamlessly when painted in the natural palette of the region ? dusty gold, terra cotta, muted red and olive.  If your home is located in a tree-dotted landscape, think in terms of your local earthy hues ? greens and browns;  these colors work well in most parts of the country.

Whatever color scheme you ultimately decide upon, your home will look best when it harmonizes with the color environment, not when it fights it.

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Complimentary paint colors

When it comes to color schemes, a sure-fire ?crowd-pleaser? is the complementary system, which combines colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel.

Complementary color schemes can be used to great effect when doing either interior or exterior painting.  They work almost anywhere, because the paint colors tend to balance one another visually and somehow produce in us a positive psychological response.

Hues in the red and green family are a classic example.  These complementary colors work together beautifully in room settings, on home exteriors, and in the natural world (think bright red berries on holly bushes).  No matter which hue predominates, these colors just seem ?right? for each other.

Psychologically speaking, is it just a coincidence that most folks are happiest during the Christmas season, when complements red and green predominate?  Or do these beautifully harmonized colors contribute to the festive atmosphere in some Freudian way?  Whatever the answer, complementary colors work.

When creating a complementary color scheme, don?t think that you have to use only ?pure? unaltered hues.  Brick red and hunter green are slightly modified versions of basic red and green which look great together.  Likewise, raspberry and celadon, the vivid color of fresh celery, make a wonderful pairing.

Complementary colors purple and yellow are the building blocks for other popular color schemes.  Again, the pure hues work well together, but when given a twist, the results can be spectacular.  Violet and gold, for example, are the colors of royalty. Using those same hues can give a regal appearance to any home interior.

Knowledge of the color wheel, and of complementary colors in particular, can also be useful in ?correcting? a color scheme that has gone too far in one direction.  If a room seems overwhelmed by red, for example, introducing some green will quickly bring balance back to the space.

Likewise, the color wheel can be relied upon to help soften hues that look too bright or raw.  Simply identify the complement of the bright color and mix a small amount of it into the paint.  Voila!  The paint color that was once too bright will be transformed into a toned down version of its original self.  Problem solved.

When it comes to color, a picture is worth a thousand words.  If you aren?t familiar with the paint color wheel, click (here) to see one.  The color wheel is a great place to begin planning any paint job.

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Green Eco-Friendly Paint

With many purchases, you are forced to choose between costly, eco-friendly items. . . and less expensive products that exact a cost on the environment. Not so, when you are buying paint. Years of technological advancements have produced a ?green? paint that also offers consumers great value and cost-savings opportunities: top quality 100% acrylic latex paint.

You may remember the time when every paint job produced a characteristic paint smell that lingered for days or even weeks. The cause of the strong odor? Volatile organic compounds (aka ?VOCs?), which are ingredients especially prevalent in oil-based and alkyd coatings. These compounds evaporate during the paint drying process and can contribute both to paint odor and air pollution.

But today?s top quality 100% acrylic latex paints are a breed apart, one that is much safer for the environment. These advanced paints have extremely low levels of VOCs. As a result, they have little odor, making them more pleasant to work with and ? when doing interior painting ? permitting you to put a freshly-painted room back into service almost immediately.

Since top quality 100% acrylic latex paints are water-based, there is no need to use harsh solvents during cleanup. Instead, you can clean brushes and rollers with plain soap and water ? another plus for you, your wallet, and the environment.

The remarkable thing about these eco-friendly interior and exterior paints is that they also offer performance that is superior to ordinary paints because of their use of 100% acrylic technology. The acrylic in these paints makes them highly durable, so when you use them, you won?t have to repaint as often ? saving the cost of repainting and conserving the resources that would otherwise be needed to produce more paint.

Top quality 100% acrylic latex paints conserve cost and resources in other ways, as well. Because they are formulated to have better ?hiding? capability, they can usually cover and conceal even dark colors in just one coat. The best of these paints even serve double-duty as both primer and paint. So, even though they may cost a little more than low-tech paints, you?ll typically need less paint when you use them.

It?s nice to know that in these stressful economic times, you don?t have to choose between being a good steward of the environment and a good manager of the family budget. With top quality 100% acrylic latex paints, you can be both!

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