Want to get the job done faster? Want to save money and time with services and tools that make your entire business run smoother? Want to build your business with the services and tools you need today plus cutting-edge solutions for tomorrow? PRO+ductive Solutions is an ongoing initiative started by Sherwin-Williams to help contractors save time, complete jobs quickly, and save money to generate more profit.

The latest additions to this part of the company’s PRO+ program include a time- and labor-saving pressure washer, virtual color consulting resources for homeowners and an advanced weather-adaptive paint that helps you be more productive on exterior projects.

Avoid weather delays and extend your painting season^* with weather-adaptive Latitude™ Exterior Paint

Weather is a major factor in scheduling exterior jobs. It can cause delays and limit your productivity when rain or high temperatures are in the forecast.

Latitude™ Exterior Acrylic Latex helps you keep projects on schedule with advanced weather-adaptive technology that resists early moisture and maintains high performance standards despite temperature extremes.

The secret is ClimateFlex Technology™, which enables Latitude to resist moisture in as little as 30 minutes – twice as fast as most exterior coatings. That means you can paint with confidence even when rain or heavy dew is forecast.

“This is extremely beneficial in areas where the rain can come quicker than expected,” says Scott Martell, owner of Pro Experts Painting in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “It allows for more dependable production timelines.”

In addition, Latitude is formulated to apply smoothly and with a level finish even when air, surface and material temperatures reach as high as 120°F (49°C) – or as low as 35°F (1.67°C).

Best of all, all these advanced features don’t mean you have to compromise on quality.

Latitude’s durable finish protects against peeling, cracking and dirt pickup – to keep the finish looking fresh longer. Its excellent hide and coverage saves time and materials and boosts all-season productivity. That makes it easy to achieve a nearly flawless finish so you can deliver stunning results that will keep your customers satisfied.

Latitude is available in three sheens. With the flat, you get a non-reflective appearance that helps hide surface imperfections. With its slight gloss, the satin finish offers the benefits of a richer look. The lustrous, durable finish of the gloss sheen is great for windows, doors and trim or any area that you would like to highlight.

Available in a wide range of bases and finishes, Latitude can also be tinted in VinylSafe® colors. VinylSafe technology gives you the freedom to choose to choose from 100 color options, including a limited selection of darker colors formulated to resist warping or buckling when applied to a sound, stable vinyl substrate.

 

*Latitude Exterior Acrylic: Based on Sherwin-William Advisory Board Research panel (n=360) professional painters surveyed estimate they have stopped painting between two and three hours early due to the impact of high temperatures.

 

Use the Mi-T-M Job Pro^® 4000 Pressure Washer to remove paint, mold or mildew and cut cleaning time nearly in half^‡

When it comes to pressure washing, what is the best way to be more efficient and increase your profit? Cleaning Units is the answer.

A Cleaning Unit (CU) is a measure of power. It is calculated by multiplying PSI (pounds of pressure per square inch) by GPM (gallons per minute). The higher the CU, the quicker you clean.

With 14,000 CU, the Mi-T-M Job Pro® 4000 Cold Water Pressure Washer enables you to get your jobs done faster.

To take one example, let’s say it would take eight hours to complete a job using a pressure washer rated at 7,680 CU (3200 PSI at 2.4 GPM). With labor figured at $80 an hour, your total labor cost would be $640.

With the 14,000 CU Job Pro 4000, the job could be done in four hours, for a total labor cost of $320 – or half the time and expense of using the less powerful pressure washer.

Lightweight and powerful, the Job Pro 4000 is an excellent choice to remove old and peeling paint or mold and mildew from any surface. Mi-T-M recommends it for a multitude of cleaning purposes from old paint and graffiti removal to restoration projects and maintenance on multi-unit properties.

The Job Pro 4000 is powered by a performance-proven 389cc Honda GX390 OHV (overhead valve) engine with low-oil protection. The pump is equipped with Mi-T-M Pressure Relief Start and features a stainless-steel and brass unloader, thermal relief valve, adjustable pressure and a quick-connect low-pressure detergent injector with nozzle.

The frame is constructed of lightweight, corrosion-resistant aluminum with a convenient gun/wand holder and 13-inch flat-free tires. The Job Pro 4000 comes with a 50-foot x 3/8-inch non-marking high pressure hose and 0°, 15° and 25° quick connect nozzles.

^‡Mi-T-M Job Pro 4000 Pressure Washer: Comparison cleaning time vs entry level Pro washer as measured by cleaning units (GPM x PSI).

Start painting faster with a Virtual Color Consultation designed for your homeowner

“Choosing color is the homeowner’s number one pain point when it comes to painting their home, and when a customer, or potential customer, can’t decide on color, it can quickly become your biggest pain point too,” says Christine Rich, Sherwin-Williams Residential Repaint Marketing Director.

Here’s a great solution to this age-old challenge: Virtual Color Consultation, a free, 30-minute consultation with a color expert via text, email, phone or video chat, will help homeowners choose color, so you can get to work.

Best of all, it couldn’t be simpler. Just use the Color Toolkit in your Sherwin-Williams PRO+ App, the free all-in-one tool for pro painters for iPhone or Android, to schedule time with a Sherwin-Williams color expert. (The Color Toolkit can be found on the Tools tab when you log in to the PRO+ App.)

The color consultant will contact the customer by email within two to three business days to schedule the consultation.

In addition to ordering 2×3 inch color chips online to be sent directly to your customer’s home, they will receive expert color advice and product support, a digital color palette created using the ColorSnap® Visualizer app and color recommendations listed by space and room.

Consultations are first come, first served, so it’s a good idea to share this opportunity with your customer as soon as you start a new job.

“We’ve delivered over 100,000 virtual color consultations to homeowners since the start of the program in 2020,” Rich says. “From post-consultation surveys, customers tell us they feel more confident in color selection^† and end up painting more rooms than they planned to as a result of the virtual color consultation.”

Bottom line: instead of color being a hurdle to navigate, Virtual Color Consultations for homeowners are a great way to add value to a successful painting project and differentiate yourself in your local market.

 

^†Virtual Color Consultation: 93% of homeowners who completed a 30-minute Sherwin-Williams Virtual Color Consultation reported their level of confidence in selecting color for their project increased as a result (n=15,090). Results may vary.

 

More solutions

Here are five more time- and labor-saving PRO+ductive Solutions:

• Free jobsite delivery service: Save wait time, drive time and mileage with the free and convenient jobsite delivery service offered offered in-store, online or through the Sherwin-Williams PRO+ App
• Werner® LeanSafe X3 ladder: One ladder that does the work of three, changing seamlessly between step, straight and leaning ladders.
• Purdy® 14-inch Roller System: can help you increase your painting productivity by 55 percent, compared to the completion time using the same Purdy 9-inch roller and frame.
• 3M™ M3000 Hand-Masker™: This prep tool turns the two-step masking process into one, for up to five times faster masking than traditional paper or poly methods.
• Emerald® Urethane Trim Enamel: Want a luxe finish with fewer coats? This best-in-class enamel allows you to turn jobs faster with up to four times faster dry-to-recoat time.

Dry-to-recoat time is defined as the time it takes for a coating to dry prior to applying an additional coat of product. Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel dry to recoat time of four hours based upon actual testing conducted by or on behalf of The Sherwin-Williams Company. Select competitor dry to recoat times based on product information found in publicly available Product Data Sheets (PDSs) for similar Alkyd Urethane Enamel products with stated, average dry to recoat times between 4 to 16 hours (sheen dependent).

Learn more and get started

PRO+ductive Solutions is part of the PRO+ Advantage for professional painting contractors.

Learn more about the benefits of opening a PRO+ account

This article was published in the Summer 2023 issue of PPC magazine. ©2023 Randall Reilly. Get more information about products and equipment that will help you increase your productivity and efficiency in the PPC magazine archive.