Dynamic Colors, Inc.

expert home exterior painters

TAKING PRIDE IN OUR CORE VALUES
Professionalism      Customer Service      Trust
Quality        Honesty      Industry Knowledge

Exterior painting

The Science Behind Coating Exterior Surfaces

Posted by

In June Anthony recorded a podcast with Timothy Wojnar, owner of the Home Inspection Geeks to discuss the science behind exterior painting and coating. The interview covered a wide array of topics including:

  • The ideal conditions for applying exterior coatings to different types of surfaces.
  • What you should consider when painting or staining different surface types (metal, wood, concrete, etc.).
  • Why preparation is key to ensure exterior coatings last longer?
  • How reading the manufacturer’s instructions and verifying you picked the right coating can save you a lot of time.

[Read more…] about The Science Behind Coating Exterior Surfaces

Exterior and Interior Decorating with Spring Colors

Posted by

With spring in the air (I think) as of March 20th it’s time to start thinking about getting the interior and exterior of your home ready for spring (warmer…I hope) weather. Once again from our wonderful friends and contributors at Houzz I will provide you with articles to get your home ready for another spring season.

IMG_0849

The first article is a exterior home checklist to perk up the house after another long winter season.

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/62779344?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u2667&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery0

After the exterior of the home has been cleaned up it’s time to add some color to spruce up the look of the house. Below is an article with four great ideas on how to add some color.

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/15581384?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u2711&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery10

Now that we have addressed the exterior of the home let’s focus on the interior with some spring colors and overall decorating ideas. The first article has some great ideas on how to incorporate pastel paint colors and decorating ideas.

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/64151562?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u2711&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery3

This article has some fun ideas of how to add punch of green to your bathroom.

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/59693196?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u2667&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery3

Finally, if you are looking for some fun, green tropical ideas for you walls other than paint this article has some interesting wallpaper ideas.

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/62386240?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u2667&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery20

Overall a lot of different ideas on how to ready your home after winter and for what is hopefully another beautiful spring season.

Below is our exterior guide to help you hire the correct professional painting contractor for your exterior painting projects.

 

 

 

 

Exterior Restoration and Painting of a Victorian Home

Posted by

This Victorian home was newly purchased by the homeowners in 2014 but not painted in 25+ years and needed a lot of siding, trim and window restoration to ready for painting. The homeowner contacted me in July for a proposal, accepted the proposal immediately and scheduled the work to being the last week of September. The project was scheduled for six weeks to be completed on November 7th. The first four weeks were all restoration and preparation including: paint removal from siding, trim and windows. Along with the removal of damaged siding / trim and installation of new. The areas that did not need restoration were scraped, power sanded, cleaned, spot primed and caulked to ready for painting. After the restoration and preparation was complete it took two weeks to paint the entire house and was completed a day early on November 6th.

BEFORE:

Lake_Evanston_Before

The homeowner wanted the siding to be a soft green with a bold / vibrant accent color that would pop against the white trim. We sampled six siding colors and decided on Benjamin Moore, HC-123 Kennebunkport Green in Regal Select High Build flat finish. We were able to get the brick color in one sample and decided on a deeper green of Benjamin Moore, HC-121 Peale Green in Aura flat finish. We sampled four accent colors before settling on Benjamin Moore, 2059-30 Laguna Blue in Regal Select High Build soft gloss finish. The trim, doors and windows were painted with a standard Benjamin Moore white in Regal Select High Build soft gloss finish. There were metal surfaces on the house that were painted with Benjamin Moore Super Spec D.T.M. Maintenance coatings low luster finish. The back wood deck was stained with Seal-Once Waterproofer Total Wood Protector. All necessary areas were primed with Mad Dog and caulked with OSI Quad Sealant.

AFTER:

Lake_Evanston_After

This project was fun to work on with the homeowners in trying to find the correct color combinations that gave the house a suttle pop. I believe we accomplished that goal with limiting the accent color throughout to give it that suttle pop without over doing it. The homeowners could not be happier and love the end results.

Don’t hesitate to email to call me with any questions if you are thinking about painting the exterior of your home in 2016. I would be happy to help. 

The next blog will be about kitchen cabinet restoration.

Please be sure to sign up for the blog to continue to get valuable information to help you with your exterior painting projects and other general painting tips. 

Exterior Restoration of 1920s Duplex

Posted by

With the holidays right around the corner I’ve decided to take a bit of time off and make the next four post about two exterior restoration projects and two interior painting projects we completed within the last couple of months. I know winter (I think) is right around the corner and discussing exterior projects is not on the top of your mind. But I figured why not show you what can be done to restore the exterior of a home and get you thinking about the warmer weather and spring 🙂 Below are the pictures and description of a 1920s duplex in Evanston.

BEFORE:

1034_Michigan_Before

 

The right side of this home had not been painted in 20+ years and the trim, doors and windows needed a lot of restoration before the painting process could begin. The front bay windows, frames and trim along with all trim areas under the porch had the paint completely removed with heat guns and chemical remover to ready for further preparation. Since this house was built before 1978 all proper EPA Lead-Safe guidelines were followed during the restoration process.

Once the paint was removed the surfaces were power sanded with 60cc sand paper to level out all surfaces, cleaned, caulked, windows glazed and primed. The remaining trim on the entire house was scraped, power sanded with 30cc sand paper, cleaned, caulked and primed. All necessary trim surfaces were primed with Mad Dog and caulked with OSI Quad Sealant. The left side of the home had been painted within the last 5 years and did not need as much trim restoration as the right. There were many areas on both sides of the home that had rotten trim, fascia and soffit wood that was completely removed and replaced with new. The trim color is Sherwin-Williams Pure White that was colored matched in Benjamin Moore Regal Select High Build soft gloss finish.

DURING:

1034_Michigan_HalfDone

The siding of the home is cedar shingles which required less preparation than the trim. All surfaces were power sanded with 120cc sand paper and cleaned prior to staining. The home was stained in Benjamin Moore Arborcoat solid Amherst Gray.

The porch floors were scraped, power sanded with 30cc sand paper and cleaned prior to painting. The floors were primed with Mad Dog deck fix and painted with Muralo SuperTread urethane reinforced enamel. The color is Benjamin Moore Branchport Brown.

With this home being a duplex, it provided a little bit of a challenge to get both homeowners to agree and the same siding and trim colors. But we all worked togther to make the correct decion and once we did every part of the project proceed as expected. We finished on time within the 6 week time frame and both homeowners were extremely happy with the finished results.

AFTER:

1034_Michigan_After

 

Don’t hesitate to email to call me with any questions if you are thinking about painting the exterior of your home in 2016. I would be happy to help.

After the exterior project blog next week I’ll share some pictures and descriptions of a kitchen cabinet restoration and striping of a kids bedroom.

Please be sure to sign up for the blog to continue to get valuable information to help you with your exterior painting projects and other general painting tips. 

 

Choosing Exterior Paint Products for Specific Surfaces: Fence

Posted by

Fences can be painted or stained depending of the wood being used. If the fence is made of pine it will need to be painted since they not porous surfaces.

If the fence is made of cedar or redwood there are two stain options: solid or semi-transparent. Solid stain will penetrate the wood and provide a finished look of paint. Here is a link for solid stain:

http://www.cabotstain.com/do-it-yourself/steps/Staining-Exteriors-Siding-Fences.html

The majority of exterior paint products for specific surfaces have been addressed in this blog. Please do not hesitate to contact me regarding the different products for specific surfaces.