ONLINE EXTRAS

Why Choose Sherwin-Williams?

These 3 attributes make Sherwin-Williams the best choice for your next job

As a painting contractor, your relationship with your paint supplier is important. Your paint supplier is an extension of your business, helping provide the products you need—when and where you need them—to get the job done. Your supplier must also be a partner you can rely on to lend expertise and provide cutting-edge solutions to increase your productivity and profitability. Continue reading Why Choose Sherwin-Williams? →

ONLINE EXTRAS

How to Break Into the Commercial Sector

Gulf Coast Premier Painting’s owners share 5 things they wish they’d known when they started taking on commercial jobs

Cody Edwards and Matt Fruge, co-owners of Gulf Coast Premier Painting (GCPP) in Houston, Texas, remember the nerves they felt the first time they took on a commercial job. As contractors who had primarily worked in the residential space before, handling a large commercial project was intimidating.

“I remember it well,” Edwards says. “It wasn’t in Houston, so we were on the road. It was going to be an eight-week job: 22,000 square feet of texture on top of painting 142,000 square feet of surface. I don’t want to speak for Matt, but I was scared.” Continue reading How to Break Into the Commercial Sector →

ONLINE EXTRAS

5 Essential Prep Tips for Repainting Cabinets

Following this process will help ensure success on your next job

Preparation is the most important factor when it comes to the success of your cabinet repaint job. Failing to properly prep can result in peeling, chipping, or cracked paint—and a strong likelihood of a costly callback. Continue reading 5 Essential Prep Tips for Repainting Cabinets →

ONLINE EXTRAS, PRODUCTS

Does Your Painting Equipment Need a Spring Checkup?

These tips will ensure you’re ready for exterior season

Spring’s just around the corner, and like many painting businesses, you’re probably beginning to prepare for exterior season. In all your preparation, don’t forget to perform an annual checkup on your equipment. Now’s the time to make sure your gear is still performing well and to upgrade or replace any tools or equipment as necessary.

Here’s a quick checklist to help guide you through some of your most important equipment maintenance decisions. Continue reading Does Your Painting Equipment Need a Spring Checkup? →

ONLINE EXTRAS

Eye on the Industry

Nick Slavik highlights 4 industry trends every painter should know

As a painter, it’s important for you to keep an eye on developing trends in the field. After all, it can help you make better recommendations for customers and keep your business one step ahead of the competition. Continue reading Eye on the Industry →

ONLINE EXTRAS

A Quality Finish for Cabinets

Gallery Series™ wowed this veteran painter and her clients

Kitchens are often go-to spaces for homeowners craving a new look. But a full remodel can be expensive and take a lot of time. Repainting kitchen cabinetry offers potential clients a more time- and cost-effective solution to achieving a fresh, modern look.

Give your homeowners the best possible finish by offering a high-end premium coating designed specifically for cabinets, trim, and millwork. This professional painter did exactly that by using the new Gallery Series™ Waterborne Topcoat from Sherwin-Williams, a hard-wearing, professional-grade coating designed to help painters achieve a flawless factory-like finish. Continue reading A Quality Finish for Cabinets →

ONLINE EXTRAS

Get the Most Out of the Sherwin-Williams PRO+ Program

Run your business from anywhere with digital tools designed for you.

Owning your own painting business means wearing a lot of hats. While you may not know what unique challenges today will bring, you can be prepared for anything with the digital tools available through the Sherwin-Williams PRO+ Program. Continue reading Get the Most Out of the Sherwin-Williams PRO+ Program →

ONLINE EXTRAS

Caring for Your Applicators

Tips for cleaning and extending the life of your applicators

An easy way to save money is to extend the life of your brushes and roller covers. With proper cleaning and storage, a good roller cover can last you multiple jobs, and a good brush can perform at a high level for years. Continue reading Caring for Your Applicators →

ONLINE EXTRAS

Above and Beyond

This New Jersey-based painter credits his Sherwin-Williams team for helping solve some of his biggest challenges

After 28 years of working in the painting industry, Wilber Vargas—founder, owner, and manager of Wilber’s Painting in Maplewood, New Jersey—says it takes a lot to surprise him. But he’s been happily surprised by how his local Sherwin-Williams team has committed to supporting his business. Continue reading Above and Beyond →

ONLINE EXTRAS

Why You Should Attend the 2024 PCA EXPO

Network, learn, and set your business up for success this year

The 2024 Painting Contractors Association (PCA) EXPO is just around the corner, taking place in Orlando, Florida from February 26 to March 1. It’s one of the biggest national events of the year for painters—a convention “designed by painting contractors for painting contractors,” according to PCA Executive Director Nigel Costolloe. Continue reading Why You Should Attend the 2024 PCA EXPO →

BUSINESS BUILDERS, ONLINE EXTRAS

How to Find and Hire the Right Job Candidate

Save time and energy with these hiring best practices

Few decisions are more important for your painting business than hiring the right employee. A good hire can maximize your business’ productivity, boost team morale, and lead to long-term growth. The high-potential newcomer you hire today could become a future leader for your company — or they could become a headache that quits on you a few months later.

It’s hard to know when you hire someone whether they’re the right pick, but experts point to three key best practices that can guide you. Follow these practices for finding and hiring job candidates, and odds are good your next hire will be the right choice. Continue reading How to Find and Hire the Right Job Candidate →

ONLINE EXTRAS

The Best Business Tips I’ve Ever Received

Veteran painting contractors share their business wisdom

Every successful painting business owner once started out as an ambitious painter with a dream. Establishing and growing a business takes skill, a bit of luck… and quality advice from a trusted mentor.

We asked veteran painting contractors to share the best advice they ever received when starting their business. Here’s what they said. Continue reading The Best Business Tips I’ve Ever Received →

COLOR

Better Colors for All Your Jobs: Colormix® for Commercial Spaces

The annual Sherwin-Williams Colormix® Forecast is not just a useful resource for your residential projects. As the company’s team of experts craft their color forecast, they hand-select key commercial colors and weave them into each palette. The result is Colormix® for Commercial Spaces.

From stunning blues and greens to dramatic darks and deeps, you can recommend these colors for your customers’ commercial properties with confidence. In this article, we’ll take a look at these curated picks as they apply to commercial, hospitality, education, healthcare, multi-family, new residential and beyond. Continue reading Better Colors for All Your Jobs: Colormix® for Commercial Spaces →

ASK US, PRODUCTS

Pros-Only Coatings: How Can I Use These to Up My Game?

Want answers to your most pressing painting problems? PPC’s Ask Your ProPartner™ columnist Dennis Fiorilli is here to help. The subject this time: high-performance coatings developed especially for use by professional painting contractors. Continue reading Pros-Only Coatings: How Can I Use These to Up My Game? →

PROJECTS, WHAT I'VE LEARNED

Large Commercial Projects Key to Growth of Carolina’s A&K Painting

Paint is definitely in the blood of the Robbins family. For four generations now, they have been doing award-winning professional painting work from their home base in the Charlotte metropolitan area of North and South Carolina. The current family business is A&K Painting, founded by Andy Robbins in 1994. Continue reading Large Commercial Projects Key to Growth of Carolina’s A&K Painting →

WHAT I'VE LEARNED

Contractor Q&A: Tim Conley on Property Maintenance, High-End Residential and the Challenges and Opportunities of Each

For more than 30 years, PPC magazine has been on job sites throughout the U.S. and Canada asking residential and commercial paint pros to share their stories. This issue we talk with Tim Conley of Conley Brothers Painting, Mishawaka, Indiana (pictured above right with Sherwin-Williams Property Maintenance Sales Rep Kevin Bell). Continue reading Contractor Q&A: Tim Conley on Property Maintenance, High-End Residential and the Challenges and Opportunities of Each →

PROFESSIONAL PAINTING CONTRACTOR