Pete Martin The Painter Gloucester, MA

A fresh coat of paint can change the mood of a room.

19 School Street Gloucester, MA 01930

978-559-9365

Pete Martin the Painter, Gloucester, MA; Pete Martin the Painter, Rockport, MA; Pete Martin the Painter, Martin the Painter, Manchester, MA; Pete Martin the Painter, Essex, MA; Pete Martin the Painter, Ipswich, MA; Pete Martin the Painter, Wheham, MA;  Pete Martin the Painter, Hamilton, MA;  Pete Martin the Painter, Rowley, MA; Pete Martin the Painter, Beverly, MA;Pete Martin the Painter, Salem, MA:

 

 

Paints

Generally, I rely on two paint companies for finish coats: Benjamin Moore and California Paints. They both make fantastic paints and both are sold locally. Benjamin Moore is sold at Home Decor (used to be Ben’s Wallpaper and Paint), and California (which is made in North Andover ) is sold at the Building Center in Gloucester

There are other good paints available, but keep in mind that any paint that is not available locally will have an added expense of the time it takes to obtain the paint. If you do find a color that is not made by California or Benjamin Moore, both companies have extensive databases of competitors colors. So, if you fall in love with a Behr or Sherwin Williams color, it can be made in a Benjamin Moore or California paint.

oil and Alkyds

Oil paints are paints that contain linseed oil, and alkyd paint are created with synthetic resins (alkyds)  If you have ever painted with either  you  know why water based paints have become the norm.  There are several drawbacks to oil based paints.  They smell (more of a problem if you are painting inside). This is a result of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Although, it must be noted that removing VOCs from paints does not translate into the paint having no smell. This is a misconception that I often encounter. Oil paints are also not as flexible as water based paints.  This is important to consider if you live in a region where the temperature fluctuates such as New England, which results in wood expansion and and shrinking.  If you see an old paint that is cracking a lot, you can bet is an oil based paint. However, it is important to note the best primer to use on exteriors, in my and many other painters opinion are oil primers. They penetrate further into the wood than water based. Finally, oil based paints are a pain to clean up.  They do have positives, which are that they are more durable than water based paints, and they take longer to dry, which allows to paint to have a smoother look, which is refereed to as leveling. Many paint company have been doing some chemistry magic and have created the best of both worlds (see Alkyd Modified below).

Water Based

There are two major selling points to water based paints.  They are easier to clean up, and they have much less VOCs than oil based paints.  This means that they are much better for the environment than oil paints and they smell a lot less than oil paints.  There are many paints that are touted as no VOCs paints.  However, you must remember that this does not mean that the paint will have no smell at all.  And if you use a custom made color unless the pigments are also no VOCs (which they usually are not) the paint will contain VOCs after they are mixed.

Not all water based are created equal

Simply put, the more acrylic in an water based paint, the better the paint. 

No VOCs Paints

No VOCs paints are paints that do not have VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).  There are many advantages to these paints.  Many individuals have reactions to the VOCs found in paints.  And, they do not smell as much (they do still have a smell) as paints with VOCs.  However, if you are using a paint without VOCs it is important to remember that if you use a custom made color (usually any color other than basic white and premixed black) that the pigments used might have VOCs.  Sherman Williams and Benjamin Moore are reportedly moving toward no VOCs pigments.  If you truly want a no VOCs paint, make sure that you ask the dealer where you buy the paint if they use no VOCs pigments. 

 

Alkyd Modified

The best of both worlds.  Many paint companies are making paints, polyurethanes, and stains, that are alkyd modified.  So far paint companies are only offering interior paints.  These paints are durable, go on very smooth (do not show paint brush strokes), but can be cleaned with soap and water.  You do have to rinse the brush, after cleaning, in mineral spirits or a paint brush cleaning solvent, to rinse out the alkyd resins.

Paint Companies

Not all paints are created equal.  Below are many, but not all of the quality paints that can be purchased on the North Shore area.  You may noticed that I have not put a link for Behr paint. In the past I was willing to work with Behr paint, but I am now to the point that I will add labor costs of the homeowner insists on using the paint. Many of the problems that I, and other professional painters, have found with it, is that 1) it does not keep the new, fresh paint look very long, 2) not keeping a fresh look for long means that it might require a complete repaint if an area needs a touch up due to damage (this is often not the case with higher quality paints) 3) it does not go on as smoothly 4) It drips and sags and 5) its ceiling paint is one of the worst that I have ever used. My argument for using a more expensive paint would be that if you are going pay for a professional painter you should spend the extra money for a high quality paint and the price difference is almost nominal when you are only painting a room or two.  This is especially true if you consider that you do not have to drive 20 miles to get some of the other paints.

 

California Paints is a local company.  Go figure--one would think that it is made in California.  However, it is made in Andover, MA.  It produces high quality paints for fairly reasonable prices. 

California Paint can be bought locally at the Building Center in Gloucester, MA. It can also be purchased at Tedford's in Ipswich, MA which is near the Ipswich Brewery. Home Decor in Gloucester, MA has also begun to bring in some California Paint, but it is limited to paints are not normally tinted such as primers.

Benjamin Moore offers a wide variety of products, and colors.

Locally, Benjamin Moore can be purchased at Home Decor (use to be Ben’s Wallpaper and Paint) in Gloucester, MA and Waters & Brown in Beverly, MA and Salem, MA. Ace Hardware in Rockport, MA and Gloucester, MA and True Value in Beverly, MA all carry Benjamin Moore paints, but not the full line up.

C2 paints uses 16 pigments, instead of the standard 12 pigments, when mixing custom colors.  They claim that this creates richer and more vibrant colors.  And, according to its website, it is the only company that uses real paint on its paint samples, which gives the consumer a better feel of what the room will look like once it is painted.

C2 paint can be purchased at Waters and Brown in Beverly, MA and Salem, MA.

I have not used Sherwin Williams paint a lot.  This is due primarily to the closest store being twenty-five minutes out of the way.  That being said, many professional painters love Sherwin Williams paint. 

Sherwin Williams paint can be purchased at Sherwin William stores.  The closest one to Gloucester is in Danvers behind Dunkin Donuts outside of the Liberty Tree Mall.