These Professional Techniques are sure to translate into an improvement to your company’s bottom line! These techniques are taken from the Craftsmanship Operating Procedures (COP’s), which were developed by the PDCA Craftsmanship Forum.

COP’s establish a benchmark for how painting is done, at a craftsman level, so that individual paint­ing companies can customize them for “their own brand of craftsmanship”. From jobsite set up, to painting trim, to cleanup and closeout, these COP’s constitute a ready-made tool to help you standard­ize craftsmanship practices within your painting company and help train your people in consistently delivering the quality you promise your clients.

A Series of 20 Residential Interior COPs can be purchased from PDCA by going to PDCA’s on-line store or by visiting the Forum’s website at www. pdcacraftsmanshipforum.com. On the Forum’s website, you can also find information on how to participate in the development of future COPs.

Professional Techniques RI-GL-3

Masking/Dust Protection for Interior Furnished Areas

·         Note any damages on surfaces not to be painted.

·         Test masking tape on surface prior to masking to prevent damage to existing coating.

·         Remove hardware, put in a zip lock bag and label it with the area name on it. Put all bags in secure area.

·         Cover walls not to be painted, including wallpapered walls, with static charged plastic sheeting. This plastic will usually adhere to the wall without the use of tape.

·         When moving a refrigerator, be careful not to damage the water supply line.

·         Be careful with floors when moving heavy furniture or refrigerator. Use masonite, thin plywood, furniture sliders or a clean folded dropcloth.

·         In lieu of taping plastic over wall coverings, use push pins to secure plastic sheeting.

·         Use blue booties on smoke detectors to keep dust from setting them off if allowed by local fire regulations. Be sure to remove them at the end of every work day.

·         When covering furniture with plastic, spray adhesive may be used to secure plastic to drop cloth or protective paper.

·         Mark drop cloths for top and bottom to prevent placing soiled side down.

·         It’s a good idea to photograph a room before you begin to work so you can return everything to its exact  location.

·         Rather than masking door hinges, replace hinges with temporary hinges.

•   To prevent paint from seeping under tape, try burnishing the tape edge.