When your past comes back to bite you….

I have recently had two clients…. both from faux finishing jobs we did 7 years ago…. call me for touchups. One had a hole get knocked in a wall. The other had some house settling cracks (which all houses do) and a water leak.

Look at poor Joy. I think she was crying inside wondering HOW we would fix this without redoing THE ENTIRE WALL.

And let me just show you the size of these walls:

Lots of stairs and curves….not a task for the faint of heart. I remember how difficult the walls were to navigate with ladders 7 years ago… I certainly didn’t want to do them over either.

Here are the lessons I have learned lately:

#1) If you are a faux finisher…. always, always leave touch-up paint at your client’s homes. It will save your hide years down the road. The perfect touch-up containers for me are baby food plastic containers (glass ones can break). Or, use the little plastic Gladware containers that you can get from the grocery store. Be sure to write the room name on it. And if you are really feeling froggy…. put the product on it as well (for example… aquacreme + black + van dyke).

Have your client’s keep the containers wherever they keep the rest of their home’s touch-up paint. Preferably not in the garage where the temperature fluctuates a lot. I also try to write notes on my paperwork. I have every estimate I have given in the last 8 years… separated by year. So if you don’t have the product, you will at least have your notes.

#2) If you are a home owner who has hired a faux finisher (thank you for stimulating the economy b.t.w.)…. insist that they follow my suggestions above. Give them a little container if you have to. It will save you much grief when you need it down the road. Because more than likely, you will be charged for the touch-ups which includes being charged for the time it takes to remake the color. And in the event that the person you had doing the faux is no longer “doing faux”…. at least you have the right product and color for someone else to use.

#3) If you have faux finished, glazed, stained something in your own home…. I know it’s tempting to just throw a hodge podge of product and color together and toss it out when done. But, I really suggest keeping your extra product just in case. It can save you so much headache.

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My client knew EXACTLY the product and base paint color and sheen. We rolled that on first and let it dry overnight.

I guessed and prayed as to what I used on the wall (aquacreme + black + vandyke). It took me an hour of fiddle farting around trying to get it exact. Keeping in mind things dry a little different than they look when wet. You can see here that my color was too brown in the spot I was playing on.

But I got it adjusted and Jeri and Joy did their magic. Those girls ROCK! You can’t even see our patches now (excuse the picture quality).

In other news….. Ava discovered markers.

Many blessings,
Jennifer