Choosing A Painting Contractor (Part 2) May 16, 2007
Posted by admin in : Painting Tips, Recommendations , 6comments
In the earlier post, we went through some basic considerations while looking for a suitable painting contractor. In this post, lets go through the process of hiring one, and some tips to sieve out the bad hats! Let us first go through the very first step - finding a painting contractor. There are several sources where you can get a painting contractor. These are:
1) Personal recommendations - This can be from relatives, neighbours, mahjong ‘kakis’, stockbroker etc. 2) Newspaper - In our main newspaper’s classified, it is listed under Category 112 House Cleaning / Painting. 3) Paint Dealers - Approach your trusted paint dealer for a good painter. 4) Paint manufacturers -The big ones such as Nippon or ICI will be more than willing to recommend one The advantage of having a friend or neighbour recommending you someone is usually that they’ve used the painter before. As such, they can give you a unbiased review of the painter. Unfortunately, such reviews are relevant to the non-technical aspects of the paint job, such as whether the painter is fast, friendly, punctual or takes frequent smoke or pee breaks. It usually does not tell you whether the painter is honest in applying the correct full system or whether correct techniques are adhered to. Let me give an example. A painter can be recommended for a speedy job but he can be fast by ignoring overcoating intervals. Overcoating interval is the time interval in between 2 coats of paint. This has to be followed to achieve the required film thickness, colour consistency and performance. If your main or only consideration is price, looking through the classifieds is one way to go. A few calls and you will get a rough idea how low your project can go. Otherwise, I would think that the better way is to approach a paint dealer for a recommendation. Paint dealers have an element of accountability that dealing with painter often lacks. Some painters have nothing more than a mobile phone number whilst paint dealers have a physical place business as well as years of reputation to protect. Paint dealers come in contact with painters both good and bad and will recommend those that will not give much problems in terms of after sales complaints. Paint manufacturers can also be counted to provide good painting contractors as well. Most of the time, these contractors have been pre-selected to provide good service and quality. A drawback is that prices tend to be higher than what market offers. Another more significant drawback is that contractors recommended by paint manufacturer ONLY use product of the manufacturer’s brand. We know that different manufacturers are strong in different areas. One may be strong in its exterior wall paint but may not have a great wood finish. Using one brand may not be in your best interest.
In Part 3, we will go into further details in selection of painters.
RAL Colours May 2, 2007
Posted by admin in : Colour Chart, Marine Paints , 12comments
I was going to post Part 2 of ‘Choosing A Painting Contractor’ but decided to post this first, since 2 emails received this past week asked what RAL colours were. 
RAL colour is simply a German colour standard. It gives a reference point for paint colours to be specified, not unlike British Standard colours or BS Colours for short. RAL colour standard is the work of the RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Certification. In 1927, in fulfilling its wish for a single unified colour range, the institute came up with a Colour Collection called RAL 840-HR. The numerical notations given to the individual colours in this standard allows for clear and concise specification and communication within and across industries.
This RAL 840-HR standard (also known as the Classic RAL Range) was set up in 1927. It gives each colour in its range a 4-digit number, eg. RAL 1012 for Lemon Yellow or RAL 5019 for Capri Blue. Initially, this standard had only 40 colours but it has risen over the years to more than 200 today. The colours in this standard are used widely in many industries and differs from other colour standards with its inclusion of safety and signalling colours. For example, RAL 3001 is Signal Red and RAL 1023 is Traffic Yellow. The RAL colours can be viewed on several websites. Examples are: http://www.indfinspec.demon.co.uk/ral_colour_chart.htm http://www.themeter.net/ral_e.htm The colour fanbook can be purchased from : http://www.ral.de/en/ral_farben/farbkarten/index.php
RAL colours in the RAL 840-HR Classic range can be tinted by some tinting machines. Contact me if you have such requirement.
