Stronger Together

Why pro painters should join the PCA

Running a painting business may sometimes leave you feeling alone, like you’re on a remote island figuring out how to survive on your own—but it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s a community of painters ready to connect with you and elevate your business. If you’re not part of the Painting Contractors Association (PCA), you may be missing out on cost-saving resources and a network of fellow painters who want to support you.

PCA has come a long way from its 1884 origins as a negotiating arm of the painters’ unions and, later, as a kind of social club for professional painters. Today PCA is focused on equipping painting businesses with the resources, training, and personal support necessary to succeed.

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Use Color to Win

Turn color into your competitive advantage

Even though you may feel like more of an expert in products than color, that’s no barrier to helping your customers in their color journey. Thanks to a suite of innovative tools from Sherwin-Williams, you can direct your customers to find the color they’re looking for, learn which colors are trending, and meet virtually with an expert design team to find the perfect palette for them.

These three services can help you leverage color to succeed.

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From Flashing to Flawless Finish

How to make drywall patches invisible

How often have you run into this? The drywall has been perfectly patched, but even after multiple coats, you can still see the patch through the paint.

Whether you made the problem or you’re fixing someone else’s work, this issue—often referred to as “flashing”—can be a real problem for painters, acting as a literal blemish on your work. Thankfully, it’s easily repaired.

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Start the Year Right

3 proactive ways to build your business

A new year means a new opportunity to find fresh ways to expand and improve your business. Whether you have been running your own business for decades or you’re just getting started, you likely want to know how to take your team to the next level.

Thankfully, Sherwin-Williams offers several productivity-enhancing tools that can help you make 2023 your business’ best year yet, with unique services that can help contractors recruit talented employees, train them in best practices, and save time on the jobsite.

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Roll with the Changes: Historic Homes to Commercial Work, Canadian Painter Thrives on the Details that Bring it All to Life

Pro Experts Painting was first profiled in the Fall 2007 issue of PPC magazine. PPC editor Mike Starling caught up with Scott Martell, owner of the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based painting company, for the fourth installment of our Where Are They Now? series.

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Tips On How To Be More Productive On Interior Paint Jobs

Success on interior jobs doesn’t just happen. It hinges on using the proper prep and application tools and knowing the right paint for the job on walls, trim, cabinets and more. In this article, we’ll offer tips to help you maximize productivity with the appropriate coatings and tools. Continue reading Tips On How To Be More Productive On Interior Paint Jobs

The Pros and Cons of Taking on a Business Partner

Is partnering the right path for you and your business?

Adding a business partner may give your business an extra boost in revenue. After all, twice the brainpower and effort could add up to twice the productivity and profits.

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The Right Colors for Every Job: The 2023 Commercial Colormix® Forecast

Use the six palettes of the 2023 Sherwin-Williams Commercial Colormix® Forecast to help your customers in the color selection process. These palettes have been selected by the company’s color experts using the latest paint color trends for hospitality, healthcare, education and commercial jobs, plus new residential and multi-family properties.
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Are You Ready for Next Year? 2023 Business Planning Tips from the PCA

This article by Tom Reber is the fourth in a series from PPC and the Painting Contractors Association (PCA) designed to help you understand and prepare for the challenges of business growth.

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Addressing the Labor Shortage: Industry Leaders Work with Local Agencies to Develop New Painting Talent

As professional painting contractors are all too aware, there is an acute worker shortage affecting not only the coatings industry but the building trades as a whole. Now, some forward-thinking industry leaders are banding together to do something about it.

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5 Tips to Prevent Floor Coatings Failures

Proper prep will save you from costly callbacks

If you’re a painting contractor thinking about expanding your business into floor coating, then you’re not alone. Whether it’s bidding on a large-scale industrial project or staining a customer’s garage floor, contractors are increasingly expanding their services to include floor coatings.

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Keep Your New Sprayer in Day-One Condition

Get high-level performance for years to come

Buying a paint sprayer is one of the most significant investments you will make as a painting contractor. Thankfully, with a bit of proper maintenance and upkeep, you can keep your new sprayer performing at a high level for years to come.

Sherwin-Williams can help with that maintenance. It has over 100 Spray Source™ spray equipment service centers across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada that offer quick turnaround, on-site demonstrations, training, and more. Factory-trained technicians provide quality service for leading paint spray manufacturers, such as Graco, Titan, Mi-T-M, Champion, and Finishing Brands — Binks/DeVilbiss.

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The Benefits of Spray Training

How your team can master spraying techniques in no time

Talk to almost any painting contractor, and you’ll hear a familiar story: It’s hard to find good painters. Recruiting new painters remains one of the toughest challenges for painting business owners.

“It’s more difficult than ever to find tradespeople,” says Mike Collins, senior marketing channel manager at Titan. “Owners are now looking into new markets for hires. For example, hiring cooks because they’re detail-oriented, or former waiters or waitresses, because they’re personable and great at connecting with people. However, these are workers who have never painted before. They require training.”

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On-Trend Color Choices

Propose these stylish designs for homeowners

Have you been in this situation before? A potential client is asking for input on which colors to choose for their new home or repainting their existing home, and you don’t have any idea what to tell them. You’re not alone. Many painting contractors say they’re more comfortable recommending products than colors. And even if you’ve brushed up on your color theory, you may still feel uninformed about current design trends.

For contractors seeking resources to help their customers in the color selection process, the 2023 Commercial Colormix from Sherwin-Williams makes an excellent starting point. It offers distinct color palettes for contractors working in the commercial, education, hospitality, new residential, multi-family, and healthcare markets.

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PROFESSIONAL PAINTING CONTRACTOR