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John’s Creek Residential Painting Specials

Autumn is officially here and with it comes the fun of holiday parties and family gatherings.  And with parties and gatherings comes house guests.

Don’t you want your house to looks its best when decorated for the holidays?

GreenWave Solutions is here to help.

Our painters in John’s Creek specialize using the next generation of paints and coatings.  These coatings are designed for superior application, even during the Winter months.  Since Atlanta winters are so mild, GreenWave’s painters are able to deliver the highest quality house painting in John’s Creek all year long.

Because we understand that the holidays can be expensive, we are offering 15% off all house painting services, including interior painting and exterior painting.  So don’t wait.  Call and schedule your free estimate today!

By: Daniel Macris, President of GreenWave Solutions, the best house painters in John’s Creek.

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House painted by our professional house painters in Alpharetta

Alpharetta House Painting Specials

As summer makes way for fall, the days get shorter and the weather gets colder and wetter. This doesn’t mean that painting season is over. It means that painting conditions change.

Many of the new coatings have been developed specifically for cold and damp weather application. When manufacturers design new products, they create products that can withstand the harsh winters of the northeast and midwest. Compared to those climates, Metro Atlanta seems like a tropical paradise. This is only good news for Alpharetta house painters.

Because these revolutionary coatings are designed for such harsh climates, GreenWave Solutions’ house painting crews are able to work throughout the entire year and still do the professional jobs that our clients expect.

So whether you are getting your house ready for holiday visitors or have just been putting off the paint job, now is the time to get this off of your “To Do” list.

We understand that the holidays can be expensive, so we are offering a 15% off special on all Alpharetta painting services.  Call today to schedule your free estimate!

By: Daniel Macris, President of GreenWave Solutions, the best house painters in Alpharetta.

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Professional interior and exterior house painters in Milton, Roswell, Alpharetta, John's Creek, Dunwoody, and Atlanta

Professional Painters in Milton

GreenWave Solutions is excited to announce that we are offering our painting services to the residents and businesses of Milton, GA!  Our painters in Milton are the same professionals that have been providing Atlanta with the highest quality painting services for over 8 years.

GreenWave Solutions specializes in high end residential painting projects and expects Milton’s residents to appreciate our professional painting services.  Some specialties we want to inform the Milton community of are our color consultations with a professionally certified designer.  Our designer graduated from the highly acclaimed Art Institute of Atlanta with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design.  She has 7 years of interior design experience including designing homes for some of the southeast’s top builders.  She is passionate about design and loves designing kitchens and baths and color consulting for all painting projects.

In addition to our color consultation services, GreenWave Solutions will be offering Milton residents the following services:

  • Interior Painting
  • Exterior Painting
  • Residential Painting
  • Cabinet Painting
  • Cabinet Staining
  • Cabinet Refinishing
  • Kitchen Remodels
  • Bath Remodels
  • Deck Staining
  • Pressure Washing
  • Wood Repair
  • And more!

Call GreenWave Solutions for your free estimate today!

GreenWave Solutions will be one the premier painters in Milton.  Our Milton painting services division is going to best in the city!

Mention this article and receive 15% off any painting service over $1200 (good through 2012).

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GreenWave Solutions has the most professional painters in Atlanta.

Interior and exterior Brookhaven painters and professional painting company.

Painters in Alpharetta and House Painting Services

GreenWave Solutions would like to tell the residents of Alpharetta that we are serving the Alpharetta area.  This means that Alpharetta now has access to the best painting company in Georgia.  Our Alpharetta house painters are the same skilled and experienced professionals that has made GreenWave Solutions one of the most trusted names in painting during the last 6 years.

GreenWave Solutions specializes in residential painting, commercial painting, interior painting, exterior painting, cabinet staining and painting, and more.  Call our Alpharetta painting division today for a free estimate.

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Mention this article and receive 15% off any painting service over $1200 (good through 2012).

Tannin Stain, Painting Company, House Painters, Atlanta, Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Buckhead, Roswell, Marietta, Milton, Decatur

How to Avoid Wood Tannin Bleed from Knots

We completed a project last week that gave us some trouble.  Because this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this problem, I felt that it warranted an article so others can avoid this problem.  The problem is tannin and resin bleeding through knots and “self-priming” stains and paints.

Many of the new paints and stains boast “self-priming” properties.  The selling point is that “it requires fewer coats and products to finish the job so you save time and money.”  While this sounds awesome, it is misleading.

No current product that says “paint and primer in one” or “self-priming” is going to perform as well as separate primers and paints.  For simple applications such as interior painting on previously painted substrates, these products perform fine; but when getting into applications in a more demanding environment, they fall short.

I specifically speaking about wood stains that say “self-priming to prevent tannin bleed.”  My instinct is to ignore these statements and use a stand alone alkyd wood primer or shellac primer on wood, but this time I went just with the stain.  We used package white.  The painters sprayed and back rolled the product per manufacturers’ specifications.  It looked beautiful at first and everyone went home.  When we went back the next morning, every knot on one side of the fence had bled through the stain.

To be fair, this was the side of the fence that had the sun hitting it from first thing in the morning until about 2pm.  This heat causes the tannin and resin to be more active.  However, the data sheet should have said something about this.

I told the home owner I was unhappy with the product’s performance and I wanted to prime and put another coat.  Our client obliged so it time to research.  I have heard horror stories of people applying 3, 4, and 5 coats to still have the knots bleeding through.  I didn’t want to have a story of my own so I got on the phone with technical support.  They told the “self-priming” properties are weak and that it is still advised to prime.

I went with what worked with even the most “knottiest” wood (get the pun? knotty vs. naughty).

Shellac-based primers are the best primers for sealing in stains.  Shellac comes from the lac beetle.  I don’t remember how they beetle makes it, but I am positive that all shellac comes from this little bug.

We see shellac in our everyday lives.  The easiest example is on pills.  The shiny coating on pills or the plastic parts of capsules are examples of “food-grade” shellac.  Now that I provided a visual of what shellac is, it should be simple to see why it is such an effective sealer.

When shellac primers dry, they effectively seal the stain beneath a layer of plastic.

What makes these primers such great sealers is the same thing that makes them ineffective primers for exterior house painting.  Because shellac based coatings create a solid, rigid coating, they are only specified for “spot exterior” application.  This is because of the movement that exterior substrates exhibits due to expansion and contraction from temperature fluctuations.

For this reason, we spot primed the problem knots with an aerosol primer and repainted.  If the bleeding was throughout the wood, we would have opted for an exterior alkyd primer designed for bare wood.

After everything was completed, the fence looked beautiful, our client was happy, and GreenWave Solutions did another good job.  This is why we are consistently rated the best painters in Atlanta.

 

Daniel Macris is the president of GreenWave Solutions for 8 years.  GreenWave Solutions is Atlanta’s First “Green” painting contractor.  We specialized in commercial and residential painting.  We are launching our Atlanta kitchen and bath remodeling division soon!

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Professional house painters and painting services, Sandy Springs, Atlanta, Alpharetta, Buckhead

Exterior Painting Application Methods

What is the best way to apply paint?

This is another one of those questions that can only be completely answered with the question, “What are you painting?”  In an effort to keep this article from turning into a book, I will answer this question for the homeowner who is getting residential exterior painting.  We will assume that the house is previously painted and the paint is not peeling, cracking or having any other coating failures that will require getting into primers and more advanced painting techniques.  The paint is just oxidized, faded, and it is time to repaint.

Houses are usually constructed from either wood, brick, siding, stucco or a combination of these compounds.  Despite a few exceptions, a high quality exterior acrylic paint will work on any of these substrates provided the existing coating is in good condition.  Paints designed for stucco are thicker and have more elastomeric qualities in order fill hair line cracks and allow for movement.  Some paints designed for wood are self-priming to prevent tannin bleed.

So what is the best way to apply paint to the exterior of your home?

Some painting contractors boast “all work done by hand.”  While this sounds wonderful because of the allure of “handmade” and “handcrafted”, it is not really the best way to have things painted.  Here are the pros and cons of hand brush application of paint:

Pros:

  • No over spray or mess
  • Get into tight areas without having to tapes or cover with plastic or paper
  • No need for respirator or mask
  • Fast, easy clean up

Cons:

  • Slower (higher labor costs or more time painting)
  • Thinner coating of paint (Will wear out and need repainting sooner)
  • Uneven finish (brush marks shows)
  • Manufacturers recommend spraying most coatings

 

The other option for exterior house painting is by using a professional spray machine.  I don’t mean a Wagner paint sprayer you get from Lowe’s for $100.00, I mean a professional Graco, SpeeFlo, or Titan machine that can cost anywhere from $1000.00-$30,000.00.  Spraying paint using the right machine, gun, and tip will render a smoother more even finish than brushing by hand.  In some instances, like painting stucco or applying wood stains, it is necessary to back roll the coating after spraying it on to push the paint into textured surfaces.  Here are the pros and cons of spraying paint (assuming that a skilled professional is using the equipment):

Pros:

  • Thicker layer of paint (lasts longer)
  • Smoother finish and appearance
  • Faster (saves labor costs)

Cons:

  • Creates over spray so protecting eyes, nose, mouth, and property is required
  • Uses more paint due to thicker coating and over spray loss

As a professional painting contractor, I encourage spraying paints whenever possible.  It just renders a better final product.  There are some situations where spraying paint is not feasible due to population, wind, laws, etc.  If you have any questions about painting send the professionals at GreenWave Solutions an email and we will be happy to help you.

 

By:  Daniel Macris

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GreenWave Solutions is the best painting company in Atlanta.  We specialize in interior painting, exterior painting, residential and commercial painting, wall paper removal, deck staining, cabinets and more!  Call us for an estimate.