Posts for Tag : paint

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Why Does My Exterior Paint Job Fail?

A paint job can only be as good as the surface we are painting over. Many layers of misapplied paint result in massive failure. All paint manufacturers and industry analysts agree that preparation on an existing painted house normally takes about 70% preparation and 30% painting, most painters and homeowners do quite the opposite.  We are in the progress of removing all the paint from this home in North Oaks, Minnesota due to this problem. Preparation, preparation, and more preparation is the key to a long lasting paint job and that’s exactly what Lake Area Painting does!

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Cabinet Refinishing, what are your options?

If the cabinets in your home are worn out, peeling, fading, soft, gummy or spotty, you have many options for making them better. The list for fixing them is long and ranges from completely replacing them, to replacing the doors, to re-varnishing or painting.

The least expensive option and often the smartest option is simply to re-paint or re-varnish.

The three most important parts of refinishing are preparation, preparation, and more preparation. Most paint and varnish manufacturers have been trying to make products that are user-friendly for years. They are making self-priming and no-sanding products. The problem with cabinetry is as follows:

There is perhaps no other wood surface in your home that gets the same amount of abuse. Cooking oils, hand oils, cleaning products, fingernails, rings on your fingers and constant use.

So, your new coatings must stick. This means you must prepare. This means you must do the following and be diligent.

Wash all surfaces with a strong cleaner like TSP, rinse to remove residue. Re-sand to raw wood at damaged areas to allow the wood to accept new stain or primer. Custom mix stains to match your existing finish and apply spot stain. We use gel stains to allow for darker coloring. Spot apply with an oil-based sanding sealer at damaged areas. Caution — don’t move to the next step until the finish looks uniform. Re-clean with a solvent like paint deglosser and start your varnishing.

Coating compatibility is a problem. Oil-based varnish, water-based varnish, polyurethanes, epoxies, and lacquers react differently with each other. You can’t just willy-nilly apply one over the other. Your safest and easiest coating to use over any existing varnish is just good old fashioned standard oil-based varnish!

If this is something you would rather not tackle at this time, call Lake Area Painting & Decorating.  We love to restore kitchen cabinets.

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Bar & Table Top Refinishing

New table tops at Tom Reid's City Pub in St. Paul, MN

New table tops at Tom Reid’s City Pub in St. Paul, MN

Yes, at Lake Area Painting it is a specialty. We are very good at making an old beat up table top or bar top into a new extremely hard varnished finish. The final finish can be a mirror-like gloss finish or a hand-rubbed satin finish. Bar tops and kitchen tables take an enormous amount of abuse, which is why we only use high-solid content polyurethane or epoxy in these situations.

The most incredible part of our system is you will not need to close your bar or restaurant! The complete system can be achieved within 24 hours! That’s correct we can come into your restaurant and/or bar at 9pm on a Sunday night and by Monday night the smell will be gone and you will be looking at a perfectly smooth varnished surface.

What is involved? All adjacent surfaces are covered and protected. All existing coatings are removed including a very fine layer of wood. All surfaces are sanded smooth and we apply 2-3 coats of varnish.

We have several types of finishes to choose from, we can use lacquers, polyurethanes, or two-part epoxy. All are extremely tough and designed for long-term daily abuse.

Call today 651-429-1778 for a no obligation estimate.