Frequently Asked Questions

About Us

I’m Ivan Fox, a Licensed Contractor, licensed to do most anything in your home interior and exterior (no electric, plumbing or HVAC). The state of Michigan no longer requires painters to be licensed so I upgraded to a Builders License. I carry liability insurance, $1 million and workmen’s comp.

Excellent service! The Painting came out beautiful! The team was very professional and efficient! I highly recommend them.

Ivan Fox

Meet The Team

Fully-licensed and insured Painting expert with over 30 years of experience

Ivan Fox

Journeymen Painter, Owner

Brianna Grant

Founder and Co-owner

Mark Grant

Floor Technician

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to the questions we receive the most about our services.
If we missed anything, please do not hesitate to contact us. We’ll be happy to help

I let the customer decide witch brand and product line they feel confortable with.When I give a estimate I send over a copy of a non profit consumer reporting magazine, and let them decide.

Walls

  1. Measure the length of each wall in your room
  2. Add them together
  3. Measure height of your wall (from floor to ceiling)
  4. Multiply it with the total length of the walls
  5. Minus openings, doorways and windows
  6. This will give you the sq. footage of the walls

 

Ceiling

  1. Length of your room times the width of your room
  2. Will give you the sq. footage of the ceiling
  3. Most paint covers approximately 400 sq. ft. per gallon as stated on the back of most cans. However, that’s laboratory conditions (like cars whose sticker states they get 30 miles per gallon city and 40 miles per gallon highway). Coverage is affected by the texture (porosity) of the surface and the humidity level. If the surface has flat paint and hasn’t ever been primed, and there is low humidity, you’ll need more paint per sq. ft. for coverage. If the surface has been sealed, has a high gloss and there is high humidity, the paint must be applied thinner to avoid runs, drips and sags (even if you sand the walls and or use a de-Glosser).

Self-priming paint. Paint manufacturers want you to believe that there paint does not require use of a primer prior to painting bare walls or wood, or walls previously painted with semi-gloss or high gloss finishes. In my opinion that simply isn’t true.

Self-priming paint doesn’t actually contain a primer along with paint in the can. The manufacturer believes it has the ability to act as if the surface was primed due to its enhanced coverage. My experience tells me you’ll probably be disappointed if you think a coat of self-priming paint will cover stains or raw substrates like drywall or wood. There are many instances that you just can’t replace the right primer.

 

Primers have several purposes:

  1. Primer is an undercoat, it provides a base for a uniform topcoat, it ensures better adhesion of paint to the surface, increases paint durability, it provides additional protection for the material being painted, and helps with coverage.
  2. To encapitalize one surface from another, usually stains (water) and odors (urine).

3 Most Common Primers for Residential use are.

Zinsser 123, Water Base, used on most interior/exterior applications, blocks tough stains, I recommend this for most applications. Dries to touch in 30 min. (Will raise the grain of wood and the fibers of drywall)

B-I-N, Shellac-Base Primer sealer, Great to encapitalize stains and odors, for almost all interior surfaces. This dries amazingly fast in usually 45 min. it doesn’t have time to raise the grain in wood or drywall fibers. Alcohol based which means you need alcohol to clean up with alcohol (has odor and VOC admissions, it’s temperature sensitive, interior use mostly, good for sealing knots on the exterior.

Kilts, Oil Base Primer sealer, powerful stain blocking formula that blocks most heavy interior and exterior stains. Takes longer to dry and is harder to sand. (Block certain stains like smoke and water stains, hardens with time and raises the grain of wood and drywall, it’s very hard to sand)

Why Acrylic Paints                                                                               

Basic rule, You can apply latex over oil but you can’t apply oil over latex.

100% Acrylic Latex Top Quality Paints: Most water-based paints are built with on “latex” technology, which employs a tough plastic-like material as binder which holds the pigments together in a continuous film once dry. Different types plastic like material used: most latex paints in North America have either 100% acrylic or have vinyl-acrylic(also called PVA).

  1. Benefits of 100% Acrylic: 100% acrylic latex binders are more expensive than other types, but formulators choose to use them, particularly in more demanding applications because of higher performance. In properly formulated, high quality formulation, these features are available relative to vinyl-acrylics:
  2. High adhesive under wet conditions; benefits include:
  3. Resistance to blistering caused by moisture
  4. Minimized chance for peeling and loss of adhesion
  5. Stand up to cleaning, moist conditions
  6. Water resistance: dry out quickly following rain, dew, etc.
  7. Minimized tendency to grow mildew
  8. Reduced tendency to collect airborne dirt
  9. Resist softening when cleaned or soaked
  10. Resistance to high alkalinity(high pH)
  11. Less chance of burn on damp or relatively fresh masonry
  12. Stand up to alkaline cleaners

 

  1. Other features of Top Quality 100% Acrylic Paints:
  2. Suitable levels and types of pigment are used without high levels of “extender” pigments. This provides a high degree of hiding power, while not compromising durability and resistance to cracking and flaking. Quality products are not made with proportions of porous extenders that foster chalking or will cause the paint to absorb stains.
  3. A high solids content helps provide a thick dry film which in turn is important for key properties including hiding, resistance to cracking and mildew, and general durability.
  4. Generous portions of ingredients that enhance particular properties. Such as mildewcides that control mildew growth in interior and exterior applications, and titanium dioxide that maximizes hiding and whiteness.

The higher the sheen level and the quality of paint the better the paint will hold up.

The less sheen and less quality of paint probably won’t last.

What normally happens is the paint will burnish under high use. 

Don’t try to save money with cheap paint. It will cost more in the long run.