O Gee Paint Co

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Everybody needs a little help once in a while. Some days everything seems to work out just fine and other days a little something extra is all one needs to get the job done. For old folks it might be a dietary supplement that puts them right. For house paints, there is a world of additives to help give a little extra something to make things feel right. O-Gee has recently placed a number of new additives in stock since getting access to Coronado’s and Insl-x’s paint line. These products are used to adjust the working properties or to add a special feature to a coating. Working properties include characteristic features such as dry times, viscosity, and surface tolerance. Special features include texture, mildew resistance and insect control.
For modifying dry times you’ll find specialized items for both slowing down and speeding up a coating’s time to harden. Lacquers dry so quickly that the rapid evaporation of their solvents often drops the temperature of the surface below the dewpoint. As condensation develops the surface turns white and dull resulting in a condition known as blushing. The answer is to slow the evaporation of solvents with Lacquer Retarder.
Likewise, oil-base and alkyd products sometimes dry too fast and need to be slowed down to improve their flow and leveling. Although adding thinner might help to some extent, Penetrol from the Flood Company gives excellent brushing properties without sacrificing viscosity.
Water base paints can also be slowed to improve their brush out. Coronado’s Latex Retarder is a thin blend of special solvents that, unlike water, works on the emulsified droplets of paint to remain soft until they coalescence into a paint film. Floetrol from Flood also helps eliminate brush strokes but its heavier viscosity makes it less suitable for spraying than the Latex Retarder.
Speeding up drying times can be just as important, especially when downtime is an issue. Lacquers and water-base coatings don’t really need to speed up as they dry to the touch so fast anyway, alkyds on the other hand can be a real problem. Traditionally, japan drier is added to speed the uptake of oxygen into the paint for more rapid curing. Lately there is another player on the scene to help oil-base paints dry faster. Insl-x has a product called Alkyd Accelerator that assists in getting an alkyd to harden in a much shorter period. Benjamin Moore’s Urethane Gloss and Hardness Enhancer #76-85 is formulated for their Industrial M20 Rapid Dry Gloss Enamel. (It has, however, proved to work in other oil base paints with good results.) It is important to not over do these products as they can make paint harden in the can.
Set times of many industrial coatings can also be adjusted. Thermoset coatings can be adjusted with temperature. Simply simply putting the mixed material in a cooler of ice can attain longer pot life. On the other hand, since epoxies set slower in cold conditions, accelerators are often used when they are applied during winter months. The same accelerators can be used in warmer temperatures to speed setting for less downtime.
Another working property that can use some adjustment is surface tolerance. This means that a coating is less affected by a defect of the surface or preparation. The best example is in the world of lacquers. Contaminants present on a surface cause an effect known as fish eye. Coronado’s Smooth All added to a lacquer coating will eliminate this defect and allow the coating to flow smoothly over the surface. It works by lowering the surface tension of the coating along with special solvents to increase compatibility with contaminants. In car paints, a silicone modifier is used to eliminate fish eye. Flood’s Easy Mix E-B added to a latex paint will give it some ability to penetrate into porous and chalky surfaces. This is accomplished with emulsified alkyd resins – much like Benjamin Moore’s alkyd modified house paints. Easy Mix E-B also includes wetting agents to better soak into a chalky or porous surface. Adding thinner to paint will, of course, allow it to soak into a surface but it may take the binder with it leaving a weakened film on top. Adding Easy Mix E-B gives latex paint additional resins to soak in while minimizing binder loss.
Additives used to add the special features of texture begin with Bondex’s Roll-A-Tex line of graded perlite for simulating sprayed stucco. Any of the three different grades of fine, medium or coarse are added directly to liquid paint to produce decorative effects or help obscure surface defects. Skid resistant materials, such as Bondex’s Skid-Tex and Benjamin Moore’s Anti-Slip Aggregate M67, are spread into wet floor coatings then back rolled to help prevent slipping accidents.
On a microscopic scale, Coronado’s Flattening Paste is adds a super fine texture to lacquer finishes that changes their sheen level. Depending on the amount added, you can vary from a gloss to satin or flat and anything in between.
An additive to control insects or mildew growth is a special feature that works by dispersing a poison throughout the paint film. Because of their toxicity they are limited to exterior use only. Insect control is desirable in covered carports and garages where spiders enjoy setting their webs. Other insects that dwell on the faces of buildings will also be eliminated. Mildewcides work with great effect but any area that stays constantly damp, a dripping air conditioner unit for instance, will overcome its abilities to hold back organic growth.
Additives can change the working properties of a coating or to add a special feature by simply stirring it into the product. Some are simple dispersants while others may react with the chemicals that constitute the paint film. Since all of these alter the formulation, manufacturer defect warranties may be compromised and care must be taken on the part of the consumer to ensure that the additive and the paint can be used together. A paint manufacturer like Coronado that supplies additives will have tested their products for compatibility. Other generically similar products may work well with a particular additive, but not necessarily. Testing is recommended prior to full scale use to determine if there are any negative effects. Unusual aromas, increased brittleness, a change in opacity, decreased spread rates, induced pot life, and difficult brushing are all possible side effects from use of certain additives. Over adding may also create its own share of problems.
A variety of additives should be a part of every painter’s tool box. Paints are made and tested in a controlled laboratory setting but are applied in the real world where environmental conditions change day to day. The label might say that paint X is good for both metal and wood, however, the same paint applied on a metal door during a windy hot dry day will seem like an entirely different product on the wood trim in a damp, cool restaurant. The use of the appropriate additives will help even out the differences and provide the right working properties for the working conditions.

A friend of mine lent me her copy of “World War Z” a book documenting the oral history the war against the zombies as told by the survivors. It is a well executed novel and has me dreaming of exploding heads and such right now but those visions will pass. I must say that I don’t really get the whole gestalt of the zombie horror culture; there are books and movies and video games and lord knows what else, probably doggie costumes and cupcake mix. Zombies are persistent if anything. I guess the whole idea of the massing of uncountable numbers of slowly advancing unthinking undead creatures that demand death or assimilation appeals to a certain crowd.
Friday we received some samples of Benjamin Moore’s new ADVANCE waterborne alkyd paint. It has some good points. It covers well, it’s glossy, it tints with the new Gennex tints and has super low odor. Like all the samples we get I spread some out on a sample card with a 3 mil plastic drawdown bar and set it aside in the office. Sunday afternoon the paint was still so soft and tacky it could be scratched apart like the silvery wax on a lottery ticket. Maybe it’ll harden to alkyd like expectations in a couple more days. Maybe we should have added tint to it though I didn’t see a disclaimer saying that it had to be tinted like AURA says on its label. So far, it dries too fast and cures too slow. But it cleans up with water for the first few minutes; isn’t that a good thing?
I’m thinking of coming out with an additive for paints that makes it zombie proof. The lawyers will probably insist that we claim 99% zombie resistant, especially since we don’t have any zombies to test it against. We already sell paint to monkey zoos and no paints are gorilla proof but, with a little secret snake oil, your paint can be zombie proof – guaranteed.
It seems the paint industry, if not the rest of the world has it’s own set of zombies steadily creeping up, moaning away with that horrible keening. Global climate change, embedded lead poisoning, benzene rings, Chinese drywall, toxic mold, V.O.C.s, H.A.P.S., governmental regs. Wwwooooooooo must eat brains. Ben Moore is doing whatever they can think of to bring to market a comprehensive set of waterborne paint and tint systems to provide usable solutions for the future.
There was one tale in the book, as told by a soldier who was part of the US Army assembled at a valley choke point, ostensibly to wipe out as many of the zombie horde as possible, and yet they could not stop them from advancing. Devastating weapons, soldiers with full armor and real time electronic communication, they had all the latest devices the army could think of to stop another army. And the unthinking zombies kept coming, not caring, undissuaded, moving forward.
Right now, Advance seems like a solid body shot in the zombie war. Maybe, after years of reformulating their best paints to take the alkyd out of the resin, Moore now will have the technology to put it back in. Remember the Alkyd Modified labels; people used to wonder about how come you had to wash your brushes first with water and then mineral spirits. The paint industry is assembling the weapons, but somehow I think we’re still going to be over run at some point. Get your Zombie proof paint – Only at O-Gee.

Join us Thursday evening at the Bird Road location for a get together featuring Robert Creel from Seal-Krete. He will be displaying and demonstrating some of the terrific Seal-Krete product available. These include wonders like Seal-Krete Original, Garage Floor finish, the Wet Look and EZ Floor-Tex.
The evening start about 6 p.m. and will last a couple of hours. Refreshments will be provided

Big changes are sweeping across the land.
August was a busy month in the fact that there were some huge sweeping changes going on that we are still catching up with. The biggest is probably the jump to a completely different computer system for everything from receiving to sales to billing and, after 30 years of the previous one, it is good to get an upgrade. But it is different and it is taking some time to reprogram my fingers and brains to get the info out of it. Like playing piano but with some weird keyboard where all the keys are in the same place but now they make different sounds. And I want to play the same tune as before.
Benjamin Moore raised prices in August after about 2 years of doing well to keep costs the same. They also put out a list of discontinued products at the same time that slices out ready-made colors, oil base stains and containers of 2 or more gallons are being reduced. See ya deuce! The amazing almighty Aura Interior which HAS to be tinted is losing the medium, deep or accent base in fives and will only be available ONLY in gallons and quarts. It’s gonna be boxing night in the big house!
Going going gone are the ready made colors in Regal. Later, Linen. Nite, nite Navajo. Adios, Dove White. Do Svidaniya, Decorator White. the same goes for the Premium Exterior line colors as well. Actually they have all been on their way out but now it seems to be somehow more official. These colors will all have to be mixed. And Boxed. I wonder if there’ll be problems with covering, durability, surfactant leaching, tint float or dry times with these superdeep colors like chrome green, tudor brown and cottage red. Nothing like $20 bucks in tint to kill a margin
Also eliminated is Ironclad 163 and Latex Ironclad 363 Low Lustre Wood and Metal enamels. I believe this has more to do with labeling issues than anything else as they have been crossed over to Super Spec HP P23 and P25 respectively. These products are not on the Benjamin Moore website – heck they aren’t even in our new price lists but we’ve cans wrapped in the label.
If you were a fan of the High Gloss Impervo line, all the colors are discontinued out of there as well. That is less of a big deal because the prices had gotten so high on Impervo it won’t sell anyways and the colors were odd, not like they matched anything. Not OSHA and not particularly coordinated with the other products either. There are no substitute colors of course, everything will have to be mixed except it won’t be mixed, customers will have to go to P22 for alkyd gloss readymade reds and yellows or to a different manufacturer entirely.
I really believe that soon alkyds will be gone altogether or there will be consequences for evildoers who paint their wood with the enamels now labeled “for metal only”. Just like the Superbowl advert with the green police arresting the guy with filament light bulbs. Wanna get back at your neighbor? Tell the green police he used solvent laden air pollutin’ oil-base enamel on his 40 year old wood doors. And he prepped them without a lead dust proof barrier, too. Bwaa haa ha haha.
I figure the goal is to get rid of the existing technology and start over with waterborne, that’s Moore’s plan. Make the solvent based stuff so contemptible and hard to get that the consumers willingly abandon it. Move over for gennex, all hail gennex tint. It is going to take some getting used to.
Products such as Advance Waterborne Alkyd Interior (only) Gloss or Satin finish is now shipping but I haven’t tried it yet. It comes in white and bases in gallons and quarts. I just wonder if these waterborne alkyds will be more like latex or more like alkyd when it comes to adhesion to the surfaces and flow-out when brushed. Spraying will be a new sport too.
Arborcoat, the gennex tinted exterior wood stain, also uses waterborne alkyd technology. Other companies like Flood’s CWF-UV has used waterborne alkyd tech for years so Arborcoat seems to come late to the party. The best results I’ve seen are from acrylic transparent stains such as Dyco’s dock and deck.

We here at o-Gee Paint have now brought in Ralph Lauren’s superior performance, exceptional quality interior paints. Not only do we stock the Broadwall Color System that coordinates perfectly with the Ralph Lauren’s fabulous home accessories but also in our store are the Regent Metallics, Faux Techniques Glaze and tools to create gorgeous painted effects throughout your home. These paints are formulated and color designed to make your home the kind of showplace that friends will talk about with glowing words of admiration.
With the current state of the economy, many people are relearning that paint is one of the least expensive and most visible statements for decorating. Colors can change a rooms appearance and mood to suit. Ralph Lauren’s paints are reasonably priced and extremely well made compared to so much tacky bric-a-brac found in home furnishing stores.The sophisticated colors and depth of tone add a higher level of elegance to any home.
The paints are available in Flat, Eggshell, Satin and Semi-Gloss finishes in quart or gallon size containers.

Painting & Wallcovering Contractor Magazine has buckets of information for everyone who make painting their career choice. The have regular FREE webinars featuring a diverse set of methods, technology and environmental concerns. If you happen to be in on a webinar you listen or ask questions directly to the host or guest expert about the topic at hand.

On deck to discuss the rules is Mark Henshall with the Lead, Heavy Metals and Inorganics Branch (LHMIB) in the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics with the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington. LHMIB is responsible for all of the regulatory development for EPAs lead program.

GREEN PRESENTATION CANCELLED Thursday June 10th 2010, join Benjamin Moore Paint’s Rudy Forjan for a presentation about environmentally friendly GREEN paints and procedures showcasing Ben Moore’s Gennex platform of products. Included will be the ECO-Spec, Natura, Aura and Super Spec Green paint lines.
You will learn :

Woo-Hoo! Its Earth Day. Folks all over are turning out their lights for an hour or recycling some trash. For painting contractors, it is a new opportunity for the government to get in your business because today marks the first day of enforcement for the new Lead Safe rules. The rule states that contractors who perform renovation, repairs, and painting jobs in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities must, after April 22, 2010, be certified and to use lead-safe work practices. To become certified, renovation contractors must submit an application and fee payment to EPA.
Get your application HERE
Find a trainer provider HERE
Before beginning work, contractors must provide owners, tenants, and child-care facilities with a copy of EPA’s lead hazard information pamphlet.
Get your pamphlet HERE

Tell your client what lead-safe methods you will use to perform the job.
Learn the lead laws that apply to you regarding certification and lead-safe work practices beginning in April 2010.
Ask your client to share the results of any previously conducted lead tests.
keep records to demonstrate that workers have been trained in lead-safe work practices and followed lead-safe work practices on the job.

To make record keeping easier, you may use the sample record keeping checklist
Homeowners, property owners and managers, and anyone performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes, child care facilities and schools can follow THIS LINK to learn more about lead-safe work practices.

The buzzer-beaters, Cinderella stories and unbridled college basketball excitement are here, and you can be a part of it from the opening tip to the final buzzer!
Introducing theMy Titan Sports Bracket Breakdown where your task is to pick the winning teams all the way through to the national championship game! Once the tournament teams are announced on March 14, make your selections, then sit back and watch as all of the drama unfolds.
Our game affords you three opportunities to win:

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