Robert Cagnetta: How to polish your painting technique

I recently attended a conference with some of the most diverse international artisans in the world. But what they all have in common? A desire to learn and exchange business knowledge and technology. The goal was to learn and do their best for each position, every time. There are good people there, it's just a matter of finding them.

Like all skilled trades, some aspects of the paint can be picked up fairly quickly, but can take a lifetime to master. I spoke with many painters, and the consensus was that you could not write enough techniques, you have to do and learn from someone who knows.But there are some basic techniques that can make every job look better, longer and in the end, less expensive.

Preparation

Same Old Song, good painting is all in the preparation.

Sanding - The glossy surfaces should be sanded with at least 100 grit sandpaper or a sanding block. There are certain chemicals that kill the shine, but should be reserved for painting soft or peeling paint when you sand. Bosses of sand or scrape, brush marks or bad drops.

Fill the holes - there are hundreds of charges, depending on whether the product is indoor or outdoor use, holes large and small, fast or slow to dry, before or after the primer.If you have a hole in wood, larger than a coin, move up to a load in two parts. For small holes, I like the "fluff" spackle in one step, because it shrinks less, and dries quickly. Have a variety of loads by hand or you'll end up using the same everywhere, which can not be good. Plaster should be repaired with plaster, not drywall compound.

Caulk - Inside caulk wherever trim meets the wall. It looks good and joints moving air. Outside, be more careful, because it keeps water out better than he keeps.Caulk exterior vertical seams, the top horizontal pieces, but always leave the bottom open for drainage horizontal. If the difference is greater than 1 / 8 ", stuff a sausage in the seam, then caulk over. It prevents wasting caulk, and provide a better link. Cut the tube end to free as much as you need, wipe them with a finger or a damp cloth, then wrap a damp cloth in a putty knife flat and square off the edge.

Prime - Primer is required on all bare wood and finishes suspect. Primer is designed to stick to a surface well prepared. The paint finish protects.

Traco Stardard SuperSealer (SS) I-Bar Shrink Wrap Machine Video ...

I have been asked my many entrepreneurs and start-up businesses what the best way is to package items such as DVDs, CDS, small boxes and other products for retail sale. My answer is always, “try using a shrink wrap machine.” One of the most reputable shrink wrap machines we offer is the Traco Standard SuperSealer (SS) shrink wrap machine . We use this same machine in our warehouse and I have had many opportunities to use it, including filming an informational video demo.

To begin with, Traco has been around for 27 years and manufactures a variety of I-bar machines, L-bar sealers, shrink wrap systems and offers a wide range of shrink wrap film. I like their products and consider them to be of a good caliber.

The Traco Standard SuperSealer is an I-bar sealer / shrink wrap machine. It is sometimes referred to as a straight-bar sealer. This is because it utilizes a single bar for cutting film, whether it be shrink wrap backs or centerfold shrink film. It includes a heat gun, which is used to complete the shrink wrap process.

This is a video demonstration of me using the Traco SS-24SS SuperSealer.

Overall the results look very professional. The only downside to using an I-bar sealer is that it is very manually involved. You have to manually flip the product to seal the sides (which isn’t difficult). I would estimate 1-2 minutes to package a product, perhaps faster if the operator is experienced. This isn’t slow, but can’t be used for high-volume packaging purposes either.

I have used the SuperSealer shrink wrap machines with PVC and Polyolefin films. PVC is typically ideal for CDs, DVDs and boxes where Polyolefin is great for food, fruit baskets, etc. The included heat gun works very well and quickly shrinks the film down in seconds.

I personally consider the Traco line (both Standard and Delux SuperSealers) to be high quality products. The only other I-bar sealer that I would consider to be of equal quality is the AIE I-bar sealer found here . The AIE machine comes with a starter roll of film, which is pretty nice.

You can find the Traco Standard SuperSealer (SS) shrink wrap machine here and our entire selection of shrink wrap machines here .

Package engineering

Food manufacture

Packaging

Mechanical handling

Package engineering including Modern packaging