Perfect Match

SMITHFIELD, VIRGINIA - First colonized in 1634, this city of 7,000 people in southeastern Virginia is getting a colorful update thanks to Chappelle Painting. The Portsmouth, Va.-based firm is painting several houses in the historic section of the city.

Chapelle Painting worked closely with the Smithfield Sherwin-Williams store to match colors and coatings for each of the houses, including the Gwaltney Home pictured above.

"All colors were custom matched at the store to the original colors used for the house when it was built in 1903," says Richard Mortland, Sherwin-Williams Smithfield store manager. SuperPaint Exterior Latex Gloss was Chappelle Painting's choice for this project.

Are Performance Reviews Passe?

As they're traditionally done, employee performance reviews do more damage than good, says Samuel Culbert in his book Get Rid of the Performance Review! How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing and Focus on What Really Matters.

Typical annual reviews are a flawed process that waste enormous amounts of company time and force bosses to focus on employee weaknesses and likability, Culbert says.

A better way is to cultivate a straight-talking relationship where the focus is on results, not personality – one where the boss is held accountable for the success of the employee. "If you're a boss, and your subordinate isn't succeeding, something is broken here," Culbert writes. "Doing more of the same isn't going to cut it. It's now time for you to ask, 'What do you need from me to deliver what we are both on the firing line to produce?' And just as important, it's time for you to listen to the answer."

Bicentennial Bricks

LISBON, Ohio – Old buildings are full of surprises. That was certainly the case during the recent repaint of Ohio's oldest brick building. To preserve the character of the Jacob Picking building, built in 1803 and now part of the Lisbon Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a brick mason was brought in to analyze the substrate before the restoration work was begun.

Sandblasting was too aggressive for a structure of this age. Working with the local Sherwin-Williams store, preservationists and contractors chose a system of environmentally safe Peel Away stripper to safely expose the substrate. Duration Exterior Latex was used on the wood trim to provide the best coverage and longest-lasting finish.

"It was important to us to use a product that would not only remove 200 years of paint, but the first coat of color which was animal blood," says Stevie Halverstadt of the Historic Lisbon Corporation. "Peel Away helped us reveal the historical beauty in an environmentally conscious way."

A wintertime photo of the repainted building by local photographer Jerry Tyson (above) will be used on future Christmas cards.

SEE MORE PHOTOS of historic Lisbon at LisbonOhioPhotos.com

We've Got Your Back

Miss an issue of Professional Painting Contractor? Looking for that article on historic renovation from the Fall 2007 issue? The most recent color trends story? No worries. Back issues of the magazine are available at the click of a mouse on the Sherwin-Williams website. Visit ProfessionalPaintingContractor.com to view and download articles from our library of articles and features.

Museum Expansion

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - It originally opened in 2000 as the National D-Day Museum. It was renamed the National World War II Museum in 2006, after its designation by Congress as the country's official World War II museum. A new $300 million expansion is now underway that will quadruple its size by 2015.

Rufino's Painting & Construction, Inc., has been the painting contractor on the project since the start. The Gretna, La.-based company spent seven months applying about 2,000 gallons of Sherwin-Williams paint on the original site. They were back last year applying about 1,000 gallons of Sherwin-Williams Dryfall Flat Black and another thousand of interior coatings to the new additions including Builders Solution primer and ProMar 400 Interior Latex Flat.

SEE MORE PHOTOS at nationalww2museum.org

PDCA Elects New Board Members

The Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA) has announced the election of two new members to the association's Board of Directors. Joining the board in 2010:

STEVE HESTER. "When my father started the business, he hoped that Hester Painting & Decorating would be known as 'the best painting contractor around,'" says Hester, president of the Skokie, Ill.-based firm. "The PDCA members are – without a doubt – the top professionals in our industry, so I'm thrilled to be working with the board to serve our fellow contractors – providing them with resources for improving their business and craftsmanship."

STEVE REVNEW. The Vice President of Product Development at Sherwin-Williams, Revnew currently serves as Chair of the National Associates Committee and has been a frequent presenter at the annual PDCA convention and promoter of its Contractor College training courses. "Sherwin-Williams has always been committed to improving the expertise of painting contractors," he says.

Founded in 1884, PDCA is a trade association that represents the interests of more than 15,000 owners and managers from more than 2,000 painting and decorating firms.

MORE INFO AT PDCA.ORG

Rockabilly Mural

SELMER, TENNESSEE - The Rockabilly Highway is a 55-mile stretch of Highway 45 in Tennessee. A 120-foot-long mural in downtown Selmer called the Rockabilly Highway Mural is one of its most colorful attractions. Painted by Nashville artist Brian Tull, the public art landmark was created with the backing of Arts in McNairy, the Jackson Arts Council, the Tennessee Arts Commission and the McNairy Regional Alliance. Crump Electric donated the use of a lift for the paint application.

"This was my first mural and it's all Sherwin-Williams paints and concrete stains including the sealer to finish it off," Tull says. A fine artist represented by GalleryOne in Nashville and the Haen Gallery in Asheville, N.C., Tull has previously used black Sherwin-Williams concrete stain in his paintings.

For the mural, Sherwin-Williams stores in Corinth, Miss. and Brentwood, Tenn. supplied the exterior paint and solid color stains in colors including Forsythia, Black Swan, Fireworks, Red Obsession, Invigorate, Honorable Blue and Exuberant Pink. Waterbased H&C Concrete Sealer Wet Look was used to preserve the mural.

YOU CAN SEE MORE of Brian's work at briantull.com

Hand-held Sprayer Debuts

LOOKING FOR THE ultimate portability on the job? Try the industry's first hand-held cordless, airless sprayer, manufactured by Graco and sold at Sherwin Williams stores.The lithium battery-powered ProShot Cordless Airless Sprayer fits in the palm of your hand, with a comfortable form-fitted handle with a prime valve for quick priming and easy clean-up. Designed for both interior and exterior work, ProShot allows you to spray oilbased paints, primers, stains, varnishes, latex paints, acrylics, enamels and urethanes. Graco's ProSpray Technology provides a consistent, even spray pattern for one-pass coverage. With Sherwin-Williams Color To Go compatibility, you can use ProShot as a simple and quick method to apply a color sample on a customer's wall.

Graco's ProShot Cordless Sprayer is available at Sherwin-Williams stores.

FrogTape Wins Innovation Award

FrogTape has been awarded the 2010 Innovation Award by Sherwin-Williams.

As the nation's largest paint distributor, Sherwin-Williams strives to provide its customers with the most innovative products for better results and increased efficiency. FrogTape's patented PaintBlock Technology uses a superabsorbent polymer that reacts with latex paint to form a micro-barrier that seals the edges of the tape. That prevents paint bleed and helps contractors achieve sharp, clean paint lines.

The award was also based on FrogTape's consistent, high-quality product, sales and service performance and overall marketing support.

Stop Leaks, Help Customers Save Money

With warm weather comes the potential for increased energy usage. For both economic and environmental reasons, many homeowners are concerned with their energy consumption and the associated costs.

"According to the EPA, air leaking through tiny holes and cracks can account for 25 to 40 percent of the energy used to heat and cool a typical home," says Becky Tesar, Assistant Product Manager for White Lightning products.

You can help by sealing homes with products like White Lightning 3006 Ultra All Purpose Elastomeric Sealant, Silicone Ultra Window and Door Sealant and Season Seal Removable Weather Stripping. These products also keep out moisture, noise, dust and other pollutants. White Lightning products are available at Sherwin-Williams stores.

Showcase Your Work

You're proud of the work you do. Now you can share your best project with hundreds of thousands of your peers in the U.S. and Canada through Professional Painting Contractor magazine. Email photos and a little bit about what made the job special to ppcmagazine@gmail.com. Or, mail prints or a photo CD to: Professional Painting Contractor, 21420 W. Greenfield Ave., New Berlin WI 53146. Be sure to tell us which products you used.

Health Care Reform: How Does it Affect Your Business?

How does the recent federal health care reform legislation affect your business?

The Small Business Administration has complete details including hypothetical case studies, links to the IRS' frequently asked questions, and a form to determine your eligibility for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit.

Visit sba.gov/healthcare to find out everything you need to know.