Flux Nexometers and Water Stains

Posted on March 21, 2011August 6, 2019

Well, I’ve got a flat tire. Right now. In fact, I’m writing this from the lobby of the tire repair shop. And of course, to be perfectly honest, I’m kind of half-expecting someone to walk over to tell me, “Sir, the tire’s all fixed and ready to go, but we decided to take a look around and noticed that that motor’s leaking all kinds of Chromascopic oils and your Magnesium Regulator is completely empty. On top of all that, your Obstingent Flux Nexometer is completely shot.” (I’m not a car person, so as intelligent as I sound, I just want you to know that I’m making up names…)

Anyway, the point is, I’m half-expecting someone to tell me about all that bad stuff and then follow it up with this: “Now, the good news is that we can do all that. In fact, Obstingent Flux Nexometers are our specialty. The bad news, for you, is that all told, it’s probably going to run somewhere between $400 and $7000 dollars. We’ll know more when we get under the hood….”

Yeah, I’m half-expecting that to happen–not because I’m a pessimist, but because I’m a realist. I know how my life works. And that Nexometer thing wouldn’t surprise me at all.

Anyway, the point is this: I’m sitting in the lobby, thinking about a good way to spend my time and I decided to write a blog entry for RepcoLite.

But what to write about? Hmmmmm. My eyes drifted around the room and settled on some very noticeable water stains in the ceiling. And suddenly, I had a topic.

These water stains are everywhere. Homes have them, businesses have them, churches have them. And often, when folks find them in their place of business or in their basement, they’re confused as to how best to repair them and get their ceilings looking good again. And while I don’t have a clue how to go about locating, much less changing an Obstingent Nexometer, I do know a thing or two about paint.

So, if you’ve got water stains on your ceiling or on some ceiling tiles, here’s what you need to do to get things looking good again:

First off, you need to fix the source of the problem. This is absolutely a no-brainer, but believe me, people forget this all the time. Repainting and sealing your water stains on the ceiling will be an exercise in futility if you don’t first find the source of the problem and repair it. Get a roofer out to your home if necessary. Tighten your plumbing connections. Install some heat tapes on your roof if the leaks are from ice backup. Whatever you need to do, find the source of the leak and fix it.

Secondly, after you’ve fixed the source of the water problem, now it’s time to tackle the issue from a paint perspective. And the place to start, is with a good primer. We recommend Zinsser’s BIN Stain Blocking Primer. It’s a little expensive, but it works. Everytime. Period. And that makes it worth it. At any rate, pick up a quart or a pint or whatever and spot prime all those rusty areas.

Once the rust spots are primed, it’s just a matter of painting your ceiling. Don’t waste your time trying to save time by touching up just those spots–that never works and you’ll end up repainting the ceiling anyway. So skip the “time-saving step” and go straight to a full paint job of your ceiling. And for this, we recommend you use a good, waterbased ceiling paint in a finish of your choosing.

And that’s it. That’s all that’s necessary to painting over rusty water spots on your ceilings–whether your ceilings are plaster, drywall or even those drop-ceiling tiles. It’s a quick project and it will make a huge improvement in the look of your home or your business.

*** UPDATE ***

Just after I finished the post, the gentleman came out to tell me that my tire was fixed. When I got to the counter, he told me “We took a look at everything else and noticed that your brakes are failing. You should probably get it in soon and we’ll get them fixed up.”

I asked him, “Uhhh, how much does that typically run?” I tried to be cool and hip–to act like money didn’t matter and that I was just asking because I like to know things, but my voice broke and I sounded like I was starting to cry.

He looked up–startled–and quickly said, “Oh, it could be anywhere from $150 to $600. We won’t know until we start looking.”

I drove away a little depressed, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I should just be happy that my Obstingent Flux Nexometer is still working.

The Little Old Man Who Blended In

Posted on July 8, 2010August 6, 2019

OK, years ago, I was working at the Lakewood RepcoLite and a lady came in with her husband. She pulled him–nearly dragged him–to the color chip rack and started holding up color chips to his face.

Well, this isn’t something we usually see and so I watched for a second, trying to figure out what was going on. One after another, she’d hold up a chip and then look at it, squint, turn her head from side to side and then toss the chip aside in disgust. Over and over.

I watched for a few seconds, still completely confused about what was happening, and then I walked over and asked if I could help.

Well, the little old man kind of put his head down like he was embarrassed, and his wife launched into a long explanation. And slowly, as I listened, things started to make sense. On a very limited scale–but still, at least I understood what was happening.

See, apparently, this poor little old man had just had his study at home remodelled and repainted. And unfortunately, the new paint blended in perfectly with . . . him. Yes. I’m not making any of this up. The paint blended in so well with the little old man that his wife told me she could never tell if he was sitting at his desk or not. He simply blended away into the wall color.

Well, I listened to her and then looked at the little old man. I think he was doing his best to blend in with the color behind him right then.

But the woman wasn’t done yet. She carried on with her story and concluded by telling me that she needed to find a color that accented him–a color that complimented and coordinated with her husband without blending in with him. And then, she dropped the big pressure bomb on me. She said, “That’s why I came to RepcoLite. Because I want the right color.”

Well, suddenly at that point, I was thrust into a much more complicated scenario than I’d previously realized. I had to find a color that would look great with a little old man. I had to stand in the store and hold color chips up to his little, wrinkled, humiliated face. Do you know how embarrassing that is? How awkward? For both of us?

But regardless of all of that, I persevered. I asked questions I couldn’t believe I was asking. I asked him what color clothes he usually wears. I leaned in close and tried to determine his eye color. I wanted to ask if he was always this pale or if it was because he was just nervous. But before I could ask, his wife told me. “He’s not always this pale. He’s just nervous.” Then she hit his arm and told him to stop being nervous and start coloring up to his normal tone. “Or else,” she continued “we’re going to have the same problem as before–the color won’t be right.”

Well, we worked on it for a while and finally, I ended up just custom matching a color. We sent them on their way and I waited. I didn’t have long to wait. About a day or so later, I got a phone call from the woman. She was ecstatic. She told he that her husband was sitting at his desk right now–and that she could see him sitting there from the other room. All because the color of the wall behind him was perfect. It brought out the color of his eyes without blending too perfectly with his skin. She thanked me profusely and hung up happy.

And all that to answer some common questions folks have: namely, how do I get the right color? How do I know what is the right color? What can I bring in for a color match?

The answer to all of these questions is simple. You get the right color by coming to RepcoLite. You know what the right color is by talking with our color experts and letting them help you. And, in answer to “what can I bring in for a color match?” . . . well, I’d like to ask you to surprise us. We’ve matched cups of dirt, a handfull of leaves, flower petals, dining room chairs, magazine photos, sectionals from public restrooms, toilet seats and one embarassed little old man. See if you can come up with something crazier–we love the challenge and it always makes for a great story.

Little Changes, Big Impact: Paint Some Second Hand Furniture

Posted on May 27, 2010August 6, 2019

Continuing in our series about small paint projects that will have a big payoff, we’re going to talk today about painting furniture. But before we start by throwing out some examples, I want to first take a second and acquaint (or reacquaint) you with the creative home decorator’s greatest friend: the junk shop.

Lining the shelves in countless junk shops and mission stores throughout the country are treasures: unique dressers, end tables, lamps, flower stands . . . you name it. Sure, they’re not in the best condition all the time, but that’s the beauty of paint: it doesn’t matter what it looks like now; it only matters what it WILL look like with a coat of paint.

So, find the junk shops, the flea markets, the mission stores in your area and make a habit of swinging through them from time to time. Look for bargains and look with a vision for what’s possible. Remember that the piece doesn’t need to be flawless. Paint will cover over a multitude of sins. Look for interesting pieces, unique pieces, unusual pieces. And look for bargains.

And once you find them . . . snatch them up and start getting creative. To give you some food for thought, consider the following examples:

DISTRESSED TABLE

Here’s little table that’s easy to duplicate. It’s just a matter of stripping and staining the table top with a standard wood stain. After that, just apply a water based paint in your color of choice to the rest of the piece. Once it’s dry, do a little scuff-sanding to distress it and bring out the wood beneath the paint and you’re set. It’s easy to do and you end up with a furniture piece that could be a highlight in any room.

OLD DESK

Finding a piece like this at a junk shop is exciting as it gets. But putting the right colors on it and turning it into an interesting, exciting piece in your home is even better. The desk in this example illustrates the point that you don’t need bold, bright colors to make an impact. The colors used on this are very neutral, very natural tones. The highlights on the rings of the legs are simply a slightly darker paint than the rest. Remember: it’s not always about being bold and daring. It’s about choosing the right piece and the right colors–whether they’re bold . . . or muted and neutral.

BOLD, CRAZY FLOWER STANDS

Now, while bold, bright colors aren’t always necessary to make an impact, they sure do get the job done!

Maybe these are too bright for your particular taste . . . but don’t write the idea immediately off. The value of painting bright colors on something like this is that it gives you an easy way to bring a certain color into your decorating that you’d otherwise struggle to use. For example, look at the reddish orange on the stands. It’s not an easy color to work with. It’s hard to paint an entire wall that color and get away with it. But if the rest of the room is painted in a washed-out yellow or a chalky blue . . . introducing that orange in small doses–as is the case with these pedestals–can be a great way to use it in the room without overpowering the room.

The basic point is this: look for ways to bring some color and interest into your rooms via furniture you may have purchased at a discount or at a mission store or junk shop. It’s the perfect way to infuse your home with color, without going overboard or biting off too big a project. And, when you need a change, it’s as easy as a quick repaint . . . or moving the piece to your basement!

Little Changes, Big Impact: Paint Behind a Vase

Posted on May 26, 2010August 6, 2019

You don’t always need to completely overhaul a room to infuse some interest and excitement into your decorating. Sometimes you can make a huge impact with less than a quart of paint and in less than 20 minutes.

In this little blog-series, we’ll explore some simple ways you can add some “pop” to your decorating without taking a “hit” in your bank account.

Today, we’re going to talk about a simple concept: painting behind vases, pots or other art pieces you might have sitting in a corner or against a wall. These items sit in our rooms day in and day out and they usually add some color and some visual interest. However, over time, they fade into the background.

Well, an easy way to bring them back into the foreground is to paint an area behind them. Simply mimic the shape of the art piece, or paint a simple oval behind it in a complimentary or coordinating color.

It’s a quick project, will take you no more than a few “brush-fulls” of paint, and will usually take you all of 20 minutes (including clean-up!). But the impact and visual appeal it brings to your home is boundless.

Get creative . . . start thinking outside the box . . . and see what you can come up with. Next time, we’ll talk about another quick project.