New York's best home painters - the difference a trained eye makes.
We’re known for being discriminating. We pride ourselves on meticulous prep (and cleanup) and notable finishes. And we don’t cut corners, period. We’re asked all the time, “what makes you different?” Or more directly, “why do you cost more?” Our trained eye is just one of many reasons—what kind of painter do you want in your home? Someone whose eye is on the bottom line, or one who truly cares for craft and results?
Anyone can paint, but mastering the techniques of good painting is what craftsmen spend their lives doing.
Many, many elements separate the work of a craftsman from a “guy with a brush.” Critical to our craft:
- High-intensity lighting from multiple angles to find (and fix) imperfections.
- Up to seven grades of sandpaper for different degrees of work on different kinds of surfaces.
- Brushes toned to reduce splatter.
- Extensive pre-planning, including sample boards with different qualities of drywall for comparing colors and finishes.
- Expert preparation, including custom-tinted primers (not as simple as merely mixing in 10% of your color).
- On-site oversight of all work.
For example, for this green room, special precautions are needed to ensure that the colored walls and white ceiling are fine and meet perfectly.
We’re experts in oil-based trim. No matter how beautiful your home is (trust us, it will be!), trim takes a beating. Shoes, fingerprints, kids being … kids. That’s one reason to apply glossy paint, which is easier to clean than matte. But for the best, longest-lasting protection, oil-based glossy paint is the way to go. Trim painted with an oil base cleans quickly with a damp cloth; stains, scuffs and dust disappear. True, oil-based paint is more difficult to work with than latex—it takes longer to dry, can smell worse initially (open windows work wonders!), and is tougher to clean up during the project. But that’s not your problem—yet it’s not ours either, because we’re experts. Here’s what you should know:
The right pro can pump up the jambs. Semigloss or high-gloss trim complements matte-painted (flat, eggshell, satin) walls and can “frame” and room and elevate its look tenfold. Even so, in the hands of the wrong professional (let alone an amateur), glossy paint will show imperfections in the surface.
Sponge sanding beats paper. Sanding to the original finish not only smooths out imperfections in the trim; it enables the paint to better adhere to it. Even so, we only use sponge—not paper or flat—sanders on trim. The simple reason is that sponges form to the shape of the trim, enabling us to create a smoother surface throughout.
Oil and latex don’t mix. This is especially true if the current paint is latex, which doesn’t react well to moisture. Primer is critical in this case—oil and latex paints expand at different rates, so if the latter covers the former alone, the oil-based paint will fail. (And unless you like to watch paint peel, don’t even think about applying latex over oil-based without a double dose of primer—and luck!)
Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation. Call it the first rule of oil-based paint, which takes about 8 hours to dry enough for a re-coat (vs. 2 hours for latex). The reason: Oil-based paints have more VOCs (volatile organic compounds) than latex. Yes, VOCs smell worse, and they can be unhealthy in high concentrations. But open windows can do wonders. The real trick is to use a paint that offers an optimal combination of high performance and low VOCs. It’s a fine line—which is why you want the fine home painting expertise we provide.
Meet the owner
Jody Finglas brings European elegance and craftsmanship to every home. He is not just the owner of Finglas Painting, he is the mentor to a team of highly skilled painters that are looking to continue a tradition of artisanship. Jody honed his skills under just such an artisan and then took over the business to carry on the tradition. European painters are known for this philosophy: A “good job” isn’t enough. An “excellent job” is what we strive for in a project.