Author Topic: So You Want To Be A Painter...  (Read 27789 times)

Offline alexleonardme

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Re: So You Want To Be A Painter...
« Reply #15 on: September 14, 2010, 05:43:16 PM »
Being a painter is not as easy as most people will think, :'(

Offline Precision Painting

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Re: So You Want To Be A Painter...
« Reply #16 on: September 06, 2015, 05:24:29 PM »
So You Want To Be A Painter...

The meaning and requirements involved with that statement have changed quite a bit over the years, no more so than what it is becoming right now. There has always been a lot of people who believe that a box of brushes and a rag or two made for the instant "interim" career, side-business, even life-long pursuit. But for the serious, dedicated tradesman/craftsman, the words involve a commitment to education and training that goes far beyond a white van with a cool logo...

For centuries the system was patent and effective; A young man would be mentored and trained by the journeyman. Often a father-to-son passing of secrets and skills, that for the bulk of history did not only include learning to tint coatings (white was predominant), but to make them in the first place. The most tried and true form of teaching in human history, apprenticeship, served humanity without the need for curriculum, schedule of classes, or chemistry courses. The apprenticeship system, though still in existance in isolated instances, has only recently gone the way of the Studebaker, and sadly, did that not long after...My own apprenticeship ended in 1990, and I've hardly heard the term since, much less met anyone in the painting trade younger than I who claimed to have trained in kind.

There was a wild and crazy span of time between my journeyman certificate being signed and the late '90s where the demand was so high for journeyman painters that anyone with a brush and a story could easily (and mistakenly) be hired on the spot and paid wages that true tradesman spent years working their way towards. "Anyone can paint!" became a rally cry for the laid-off IBM and Motorola exec who had a BA in BS, and the way that painters came up through the ranks has still not recovered. A conscientious contractor trying to weed through the used car salesmen to find real painters found they were up against not only smooth talking hacks, but the nanny-state; the government developed rules and hiring requirements that made it more and more difficult to fire those who didn't measure up. In Arizona it became fashionable to hire illegals, most of whom were at least honest enough to admit they knew nothing of painting but were either eager to learn or willing to take simple laborer positions. There were more than a few advantages to the employer to take the risk of hiring illegals; For the most part, they did what they were told how they were told to do it--They trained well and fast. Rarely did they argue or risk their tenuous employment, and they made their employers a LOT of money by being paid under the table, bypassing the exhorbitant fees and tax-matching and paperwork that documented citizens required. But this post is not about illegals, only mentioning their contribution to the evolution of the trade...

There will always be the "Anyone can paint!" http://precisionpainting.ca/ mentality. Mostly because it is true. Put a loaded brush in the hand of a two-year-old and he will prove it to you right before your eyes...But not just anyone can fix what "anyone" paints. I've known self-trained painters who stuck with it long enough to actually know their stuff, but it took them twice as long to get to a journeyman level and a lot of their technique was questionable. The just-out-of-high-school summer house painting crews are, for the moment, still around, and the economy is convincing more and more potential customers to become their own painters, also a topic for another thread. Paint contractors aren't hiring right now, and I don't see that changing anytime soon...

My dad worked for the Bell Telephone system from the early fifties to shortly after the AT&T breakup. He was an electrical technician, and knew his stuff--For his time...One day they came up to him and said "Vern, you have two choices: Go back to school and relearn EVERYTHING YOU KNOW or take early retirement--We're going digital!" My dad took the retirement. The system the phone company was changing to was literally a new, completely different world. This is about to happen to the painting trade.

Without trying to get political, if you look objectively at the course of events the government has taken over the last thirty years or so regarding a vast number of industries, one can legitimately assert that our own government is effectively criminalizing EVERYTHING we do. Think about it; Rules, rules, fines, fines, rules and fines. Certification. They are dictating even the tools we must use. The fines they intend to impose can amount to more than a contractor's yearly income for one simple incursion. The sole proprieter is being pressured out. These rules will apply to the "college painters" and the handymen and the associated trades such as remodel specialists, window installers, etc. I am being faced with the same question my dad was all those years ago, and I'm afraid I have no desire to reinvest my entire life in order to prolong the inevitable. I am effectively retired as of this weekend. I cannot afford the tenets of a bureacrasy with no interest in my success or livelihood.

So you want to be a painter...

...The response no longer refers to skill or experience or education, but whether you can afford it...?

I am a sole proprietor house painter.
Our business has been servicing Vancouver since 1994. We are dedicated to deliver high quality painting services in the Lower Mainland.

Web: Vancouver Painters

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Offline soperfectpaint

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Re: So You Want To Be A Painter...
« Reply #17 on: September 08, 2015, 06:19:43 AM »
Great work you have done.There should be some rules and regulations in every work so that it can be done in a proper way.

Offline soperfectpaint

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Re: So You Want To Be A Painter...
« Reply #18 on: September 11, 2015, 05:49:35 AM »
Nice post  and thanks for spending time to post this information.

www.soperfectpaint.com

Offline soperfectpaint

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Re: So You Want To Be A Painter...
« Reply #19 on: October 19, 2015, 12:23:49 AM »
Nice article.Thanks for sharing this.EPA is not making any strong decisions.Corruption is increases day by day.Client will go their where is less money demanded and certified painters has limited amount of work today.

</a href="www.soperfectpaint.com">Atlanta Painters</a>