Becoming a professional painter takes years of hard work, and training. Most of all, it involves constantly learning about new products, tools and techniques. In fact, it takes years to develop painting techniques and prep such as patching, caulking, property protection. Of course there is more to the trade than learning new skills. Painting is a career option that helps put food on the table for thousands of people. As we enter uncertain economic times, having trade skills is an advantage during an economic downturn. We are happy to share our knowledge with both our painters and community.
Drywall Repair and Taping Event – A Free Hands On Demonstration. June 10th at 10 am
Learn How to Patch and Tape Drywall
Once again we are sharing some of our knowledge with the community.
Erna Raghubir is a Drywall Finishing professional. She will be available for Ecopainting and will be sharing her skills and experience with us.
- Patching tools
- The differences between patching compounds
- The differences between mesh, paper and the new Fibafuse tapes.
- Professional patching tips
- Hands on demonstration (get your hands dirty)
This is a Free Event, open to the community and to our recently hired painters. You don’t even need to bring any supplies with you, we will provide the supplies for the demonstration. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.
Date: Saturday June 10th at 10 am.
Location: 1345 Morningside Avenue Unit 20 in Scarborough.
If you’re interested in attending, please let us know at 416 733-7757
Meet Erna Raghubir, the trainer for the program
Erna graduated from the Toronto School of Drywall.
She first worked for Ecopainting as a painter in 2005 and still occasionally works with us. When we needed drywall work we could always count on her amazing skills and hard work.
She is the owner of her own business, ER Interior Wall Finishing and she is very busy servicing her many customers in the GTA.
Erna’s contact information.
email: intrhome@gmail.com or
phone: (416)825-8896
Older Event: Introduction to Painting. A Free Training Program – August 2015
This is a three day, hands on program.
Class 1 – August 17. Half day (9 am – 12.30 pm)
An introduction to paints and materials: different primers, paints, compounds, and tools.
Class 2 – August 18. Half day (9 am – 12.30 pm)
Basic preparation work, with some hands on experience for prep.
Class 3 – August 19. Full day (9 am – 4.30 pm)
This will be a full day of hands on painting. Bring clothes you won’t mind getting paint on!
Training material is based on Ecopainting material and other resources from the painting community.
You don’t need to worry about bringing any supplies with you, we will provide the supplies needed for the classes.
We will be providing free t-shirts and a free paint brush to each trainee.
By the end of the training classes you’ll have knowledge on which primer to use to cover stains, how to caulk, remove wall plugs, patch, repair cracks in walls, and how to sand properly. You’ll know the different tools painters use and what they are for. You’ll also be taught how to cut in with a paint brush (without using masking tape), how to properly roll a wall as well as a bunch of tricks of the trade.
If you’re interested in attending the class, apply online and we’ll let you know if you’ve been selected to attend!
Here are a few notes taken directly from “This is how we do it here at Ecopainting”
“General Painting Terms and Techniques
Picture Framing: visible paint brush marks left behind at the junction of the brushed and rolled areas.
Cutting-in: Painting the corners of a room, the perimeter of walls, ceiling and adjoining trim components with a brush prior to the roller application of paint to the walls and ceiling.
Dry Rolling: Incomplete application of paint, when the roller sleeve does not have sufficient paint on it.
Wet Edge: The edge or end of a wet, coated area that is still workable and will blend easily.”
“Surface Preparation/ Patching
There should be no ridges, skips, bubbles or voids from patching compounds that would be visible after the final coat.
The area should be free of visible sanding marks.
Substrate should be stable so as to prevent further cracking.
After the priming is complete, the repaired area should not be obvious.
No gaps should be visible between paint trim elements an adjacent walls and ceiling.”
Meet Erin Stillaway, the trainer for the program
She started as a painter for Ecopainting three years ago while getting her BA at York University. We could tell right from the start she had a great eye for detail. She has helped train a few of our own employees and has coached gymnastics in the past, so she’s not afraid to teach people how to do things. She showed interest in estimating and now she is our estimator for the west side of the GTA.