Along came easy-to-use water based paint. First used for interior painting it was soon developed for painting outside. Water based paint had many advantages. It was more flexible, held its color in Colorado’s bright sun longer and was less likely to peel. And of course it was easier to clean up after the day’s work. Water based paint was taking the country by storm.

Some problems became evident soon after water based paint’s use eclipsed that of oil base. Bonding to oil based paint could present problems if the surface wasn’t properly prepared by cleaning and sanding. Higher humidity caused some paints to dry too slowly and often with odd color patterns in the finish coats. Painting in hot weather made the paint dry too fast. Lap marks, brush marks, ropey finishes and dull and shiny spots became more and more common. Each of these issues was recognized and minor adjustments in methods of applications solved the problems.

But one big issue plagued Colorado painters for years. Water based paint couldn’t be, or least shouldn’t have been, applied when the air temperature was below 55 degrees. That rule of thumb pretty well shut down exterior painting from Thanksgiving until Easter. The main problem was that the paint wouldn’t coalesce properly. The paint job would look ok for awhile but cold weather created some hidden problems. The coating life was  shortened, colors would fade quickly, and odd looking peeling would start within a year or so. It was much better to be safe rather than sorry, so we just never painted outside in the cooler winter weather.

In the late 1980’s paint companies started to manufacture paint that could be used in what we called the “shoulder season”. Now the magic temperature became  35 degrees and above. We could safely paint many days in November and even some in December. Spring painting could now start in late February. The painting season was successfully extended to almost ten months of the year.

In the last twenty years paint technology has advanced to the point where low temperature paint performs every bit as well as “normal” paint. You can be assured that a job done during cooler weather will hold up just fine. In fact, at Jacobsen Brothers Painting, we now extend our industry leading three year warranty to all our exterior work, no matter when the work is done.

The days haven’t gotten any longer and we still have to bundle up and get to work just as when my dad and uncle were leading their crews, but nowadays  you can have all the advantages of high quality acrylic water based coatings just about any time of the year.

Located in Denver, Colorado, at the foot of the beautiful Rocky Mountains, the H. R. Meininger Company has been providing the best and largest selection of art supplies for over 125 years. Yes, this company had worldwide clients and lots of people knew about Meininger! The challenge now was how to bring new awareness to an already successful company.

The main store was looking a bit tired, and even though it was an interesting building, after some time it had became just part of the scenery along Broadway, one of Denver’s busiest streets. Enter McGinty, an interdisciplinary studio that integrates graphic design, traditional print graphics, web graphics, fixture design and architecture. Jacobsen Brothers Painting had worked with McGinty on a previous successful project in Boulder, so once again JBP was tapped to help bring new life to a local institution.

This was a very complicated job with lots of surface planes and many colors. A detailed color scheme was worked out with the customer. Everything had to work together and the colors had to be right the first time. Exterior colors, logo design, new signage and other marketing material had to complement each other. The color guide was used on the job site to ensure that each section of the building made the proper statement.

Once the job was started it was vital that the work proceed with a minimum of disruption to Meininger’s customers. Concern for customer safety and convenience was just part of the JBP supervisor’s job. PDCA standards were maintained from beginning to end.  Power washing cleaned the stucco walls by removing the inherent roadside grime that settles on any building situated on a busy street. Top-of-the-line exterior paint was used. Colors had to cover, be very color true, touch up if needed, dry fast and present a clean finished surface at the end of each day. Areas where the stucco walls had been degraded by moisture were coated with an elastomeric coating to improve moisture resistance.

This was a tall building that was situated right along a busy street – customers were streaming in and out all day long. Articulating lifts were used on the project, and scaffold and ladders were kept to a minimum to limit disruption to the ongoing business. Just a little over a week and sixty gallons of paint later the project was complete.

Henry Meininger was thrilled with the work done. The colors really stood out and the building was truly being noticed! People that had been driving down Broadway for years slowed down and were fascinated by the use of such bold colors to update a Denver institution!