BEST PRACTICES

The shed looks great!!!.....

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….And then the Mule rubs against it, or a limb hits it, or somebody lets the ladder fall down the side of it. Now what??!!!

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When painting of any kind, “touching up” is part of the process. In shed manufacturing it is a very important part of the process. As we visit shed manufacturers around the country, “touch ups” is a common topic of discussion. Our next 2 issues of the Tool Shed will cover some of the best practices for improving the touch up of your sheds. In this issue, we will cover touching up solid color sheds and in the next issue we will discuss the BIG challenge of touching up semi-transparent urethane sheds.

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Touching up the paint on a shed is not an exact science. There are many variables that can affect the appearance of paint when it dries, such as temperature, method of application, batch differences and other factors that may or may not be within your control. That being said there are some best practices that will improve the effectiveness of your touch ups. Below is a list of the most common practices related to touching up a solid color shed…

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1. PROPER MIXING---Before painting the shed the first time, thoroughly drill mix the paint. Then drill mix again before touching up to help insure that you have the true color when you first paint the building and the same color when you touch it up. If possible, try to use the same pail of paint for the initial painting and for touching up.
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2. KEEP THE SPOT SMALL---If you have a small scratch or ding on the surface, then try to apply paint only to that spot. You can use Q-Tips, artist brushes, or another fine tipped tool. A common mistake is to use a paint brush/roller and brush/roll out or “feather out” a large area when only touching up a small spot.
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3. PAINT TO A VISUAL BREAK—When you have larger spots to touch up you can paint up to a visual break, meaning an edge of the board. (e.g. a groove in the LP/Duratemp, or up to a trim board). This will help hide where the touch up paint stops and the original paint starts.
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4. HIGHER FILM BUILD AFFECTS APPEARANCE—In most cases, the first time the building was coated the paint was sprayed on. Touching up with a brush/roller results in an area with more layers of paint than the original. This thicker section can tend to have a higher sheen, so although the touch up spot disappears when you look straight at it or close up, you’ll see it if you stand at an angle. Adding a little water to your touch up paint to dilute and lighten the coat can help with this problem.
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5. PAINT CORNER TO CORNER—When you’re away from the shop and at the customers location or at a dealer’s lot, it may be more efficient to paint corner to corner on a wall rather than to touch it up and hope it matches. This could save you a return visit.
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6. REDUCE THE NEED FOR TOUCH UP—Unfortunately, scratches or dings seem to be inevitable. To minimize occurrences look through your manufacturing and delivering processes to see if anything can be done to help reduce the need for touching up. For example, use foam or pads on scaffolds/ladders/Mules/forklifts so they don’t scratch the walls. When delivering, use pads or other protective barriers between straps and the surface of the building.

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We hope you will find this information useful and it will improve the quality of your paint process. Please reach out to your local Pittsburgh Paints Tru-Industrial Specialist to further discuss painting tips. If you would like to view past issues, please contact a shed expert at sheds@pittsburghpaints.com.