The Arizona Painter

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The Arizona Painter Owner | Paint Contractor | PCA Member & Contributor
Real-world painting education
Tools • processes • jobsite truth
Helping the next generation of painters

10/02/2026

David and the crew at G. Concrete knocked this one out.

We removed the old wooden privacy fence between my property and the neighbor’s and replaced it with a custom CMU block wall, while keeping the three front sections open with wrought iron panels so the properties still feel connected and neighborly.

Friday was demolition, layout, digging, and footing prep.

They took Saturday off, came back Sunday, poured the concrete footing, set the first course directly into it, and used that foundation to keep the wall moving efficiently.

Good prep made it possible to get a lot accomplished in one day.

Clean layout, solid footing, good sequencing, and a finished wall that gives us privacy without completely closing things off from the neighbors.

Appreciate David and the G. Concrete crew for the work. 👊🏼

09/30/2026

Week 1 on the mountainside custom home is in the books. Abraham and his crew (nephews) are killing it with the preparation and production

We’re sitting at roughly 75% complete and, based on production so far, we’re currently tracking about a day ahead of schedule.

That comes back to the prep, sequencing, and keeping the crew moving from one area to the next without unnecessary downtime.

Of course, Arizona weather gets the final vote. Rain is showing up in the forecast this coming week, so we’ll adjust the schedule as needed and make sure conditions are right before we keep applying coatings.

A schedule matters, but protecting the quality of the work matters more.

So far, so good. Keep following along for Week 2 and the final push.

09/28/2026

There’s knowing the business of painting… and then there’s knowing the work.

I believe both matter.

Sales, marketing, systems and growth are all important parts of running a successful painting company. But there’s another side of this industry that deserves just as much attention: production.

Prep. Repairs. Access. Masking. Coating selection. Application. Sequencing. Weather. Crew management. Quality control. And solving the problems that inevitably show up once the job starts.

There’s a lot that happens between selling the job and successfully delivering it.

That’s the part of the conversation I’ll continue bringing to the table.

09/27/2026

A repair isn’t finished just because it looks good the first day.

We had a crack come back in an area of stucco that was repaired about a week ago, so I called the stucco crew back out and had them address it before we moved any further.

Now we’ll give it a few days to cure, inspect the area again, and make sure there are no additional failures or returning cracks.

We also wet the repaired stucco several times during the curing process. Keeping cement-based stucco damp during the early cure helps it hydrate properly and can reduce the chance of premature cracking.

Once everything has cured, been inspected, and passed, then it’s ready for primer.

This is why you don’t rush the process.

Repair. Cure. Inspect. Then coat.

09/26/2026

“Someone say Sip 🍷 & Paint 🎨?”

I think we just discovered a new application method: the faded technique. 😂

A little horizontal. A little vertical. A little trying to stay upright.

Definitely not one I’ll be teaching at the next conference.

09/25/2026

Wind changes the game.

The crew had the fascia metal trim masked off, but on a windy day overspray can still travel upward and find its way onto surfaces you thought were protected.

We caught it, addressed it, and I showed the crew how adding plastic above the tape line gives us a much better barrier moving forward.

Sometimes a little extra material during prep saves you a lot more time in cleanup later.

That’s also part of project management — catching small problems early, correcting the process, and keeping production moving without letting quality slip.

For this one, we cleaned the overspray afterward with Pretty Boy Products Cleaner and microfiber rags.

Times like these are exactly when having a good cleaner on the truck comes in handy.

09/25/2026

Everyone loves talking about how “profitable” the painting industry is.

Gross margins. Scaling. Revenue. Franchise models.

But that conversation gets misleading pretty fast when nobody talks about what it actually costs to produce the work.

Labor is not the only expense.

There’s marketing, vehicles, insurance, office expenses, rent or mortgage, utilities, software, equipment, management, callbacks, warranty work, supervision, and all the other costs that come with operating a real business.

And even more importantly, what does production look like?

Who is actually doing the work?

What quality standard are they being held to?

How often are crews going back to fix problems?

Because every callback, every warranty issue, and every production mistake comes directly out of that “great margin” everyone likes to talk about.

Revenue is not profit.

Gross profit is not net profit.

And scaling a business without controlling production and quality can just mean scaling your problems.

That’s the part of the conversation I think gets left out way too often.

09/24/2026

When you’re masking over paint that was applied less than 24 hours ago, tape choice matters.

For this one we’re using 2” Blue Dolphin Premium Washi Tape across the tops of the freshly painted baseboards and door casings before moving on to the next stage.

The reason I like using a premium washi tape in this situation is control. You want enough adhesion to hold your masking in place, but you also want a tape that’s designed for cleaner removal and is less aggressive on a fresh finish than a heavier-duty masking tape.

That matters when the coating underneath hasn’t had much time to cure.

Good masking isn’t just about getting a straight line. It’s about protecting the work you already finished.

Right tape. Right surface. Right timing.

That’s part of the process.

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Apache Junction, AZ

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Wednesday 7am - 5pm
Thursday 7am - 5pm
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