If your a property owner or manager, you may want to consider getting your curbs painted. After all, this is a fairly inexpensive way to add a ton of curb appeal to your property. Many of our customers use curb painting to add some last minute appeal to their properties before a big event starts or visiting executives come into town. Whether you plan on doing this in house or hiring a professional, consider these basic do’ s or don’ts for curb painting.

Do’ s  & Don’t s of Curb Striping

Do: Always prep your curbs before painting. If they look pretty good with little to no flaking, then go ahead and just hose them off with a garden hose or pressure washer. At the bare minimum, take a broom and sweep them well. This helps insure the bond between the paint and the curb. If the curbs are showing medium to heavy wear then consider scraping those areas till no more paint flakes off. If the paint continues to come off during the scraping process then you may want to have them sandblasted. When paint is already flaking from curbs and you add a coat of fresh paint to them the drying process often causes the old paint to peel and flake even more.

Don’t: Use the wrong paint over existing paint. Always be aware of what paint was used on the curbs before. Curbs should always be painted in a water based product. The reasons for this are based on two factors. First, is when you use an oil base paint, future striping contractors are more than likely to use the water based paint. Once water based paint goes over oil base paint the chances of paint failure skyrocket. When in doubt, do a small test area.

Do: Consider using high end paints on curbs, however be aware of the increased cost, increased dry times and increased technicalities.

Don’t: Forget when considering a enamel based paint for curbs that these paints are slippery when dry and even more so when wet. If you do consider a enamel based paint then you should consider a non skid additive thrown on the top part of the curb for a non skid finish. Though this process can be expensive, the cost involved doesn’t come close to comparing to the cost of a lawsuit. Trust me on this as I’ve served as an expert witness on several cases of curb painting related slip and falls, and it rarely ends well for the property owner/ manager.

Do: Use signs, barricades, string and ribbon on EVERY FOOT of freshly painted curb at your facility. This is the one I can’t recommend enough. Don’t count on common sense because often it is not there. In the last twenty years of working in this industry, I have seen at least a hundred times where people will walk up to you and ask “hey what ya doing?” then proceed to walk through your wet paint never being aware of what they just did. Its not that they are completely clueless as much as the information doesn’t process fast enough to stop them. Some are completely clueless.

Don’t: Be afraid to warn people about a wet paint even if you feel that they are aware. People don’t mind the reminder, just don’t be rude about it. Saying something like ” Sir, this red paint is still wet so please be careful near it” should be enough to get across the message. In California with our diverse population, we have learned to say Wet paint in 15 different languages . Just kidding!  However, visual cues can help when there is a language barrier. Like pointing to the sign or fresh curb painting.

Do: Call a professional if your having any reservations about painting your own curbs.

Don’t: Be afraid to try painting curbs if you feel it will save you some money or just like having the control of the project in house. Consult with a paint rep and take proper cautions around the general public.

If you have any curb painting projects that you need a proposal for or any questions that you need answered, please feel free to contact us here.

You’re at home when suddenly there is a knock on the door. It is someone standing there asking if you’d like to have curb painting done in front of your home. They only want to charge you $25 or so and, since it seems like such a slight amount of money, you decide to agree to have the curb painting done and pay the fee. The person promises to put you in the books for tomorrow morning. But when tomorrow morning comes and there’s no one there. What happened?

You have likely been scammed. There are a number of scam artists who have decided to start telling home owners or business people that they will be doing curb painting in their area and charge each home money. In one neighborhood they could earn a few hundred dollars or more, never letting on that they are scamming the people who live there. So, how do you avoid this? To begin with, never agree to let someone who contacts you, do your curb painting. Instead, go to someone that you trust and that you hire for your curb painting needs. This way you will never have to worry about being scammed.

Curb painting sounds like an easy business to get into, but there have been those who discovered that it was not as easy as it looked. In 2006, residents of Oakland, CA, discovered that they were lucky to not be in trouble. They received fliers in their mail boxes by a company that was offering to repaint curbside house numbers. Something, however, seemed strange, so the residents contacted the local police, who said that they were right to contact the police.

The fliers that offered the curb painting services was not from a genuine curb painting company, but was instead from a company that was looking just for money. The flier asked residents to leave a donation by the curb and that the curb painting would be done and the donation picked up. There was no contact information and it was discovered that, in Oakland, you needed to have a special permit in order to paint the sidewalk. This is why curb painting is not something that just anyone can get into, and needs to be done by a qualified company.

Not many people have the ability to work at home, but  few who do, find that it is like nothing else. They love being able to work in their pajamas or to take a few hours here and there to do their errands. One of the problems with having a home business, however, is that you may have a hard time getting delivery people or customers to find where you live. When you’re in an office, you never have to worry about that. Living and working out of your home, however, can make things much difficult, which is why curb painting is often a good idea for a person who works at home.

When you have curb painting done, you are essentially painting the curb of the street with the number of your house and possibly even the name of the street. This allows those who are driving by you to be able to tell easily which house you have and exactly where you live. Curb painting, however, should be done by professionals, as there are a number of rules and tricks of the trade that only a professional would have knowledge of.

Often, curb painting and lettering seems as though it is very boring. It doesn’t look like something to get excited over, but in reality, it can be something that not only makes life easier, but that can help you out immensely.

Curb painting:

• Allows your delivery driver to see you. This way if you have a delivery from FedEx, DHL, UPS, or even if you have a new postal carrier, they will be able to find your home.
• Makes it easy for you to throw a party! How annoying would it be for your friends and co-workers if they had to search for ever to find your house. Curb painting makes it quick and simple for the party to get started.
• Gives the garbage man an easy day. Sometimes the garbage man gets the wrong garbage. If you have your curb painted, or even if you go a step further and have your garbage cans done as well, your garbage guy will always be able to take away the trash.
• Makes it easy for your food to find you. If you’ve ordered take-out, your driver will have a much easier time finding you with your curb painted.

•Makes it easy for police and ambulances to find you. In a worse case scenario, even seconds can mean the difference between life and death. Well painted red curbs and number addresses can make all the difference.

Trueline striping not only paints curbs for residances but for business parks as well.  Call today for more information.

Have you ever put black against gray? It is a bit noticeable, but may be hard to see, especially if you’re looking at things that are stenciled. Here is a frequent scenario:

A homeowner decides that he wants to have some curb painting done in front of his house, to make it easier for his friends and family to see his home. He purchases an “all inclusive” kit and begins to paint. A short while later he realizes that he can’t even tell what the numbers are when he’s five feet from them, much less if he were to be speeding by in a vehicle!

This is a common problem and is another reason why it is so important to have a professional do your curb painting for you. Without the proper background, the numbers and letters are impossible to see. Once the right background and letters are paired together, the address is easy to read and can even be seen in the dark! If you do not want to find yourself with a messed up curb, it is vital that you speak with a curb painting professional, who can help you to make your home look exactly the way you would like it to.

There are a few websites online that are not advertising selling the “complete package necessary for curb painting”. This package, on the outside, looks good. It often includes differently sized stencils, paint, and some ideas as to how to go about painting your curb. There is, however, a problem with this.

Curb painting is not done easily by someone who has never done it before. To begin with, it is very difficult to get your curb painted evenly, especially the first time you are doing it. It is also difficult to make sure that the spacing is correct. If you have the letters spaced too closely together, it is impossible to read the word or the numbers. If you have them spaced too far apart, it looks like a different word entirely. The problem, however, is that it takes practice to get it right, and when you’re painting the curb, you only get one chance. Curb painting is not as easy as it looks, and before you order one of these all inclusive kits, it is a good idea to remember that it takes quite a bit of practice before you can perfect your technique, and that once you make a mistake on the curb, it is next to impossible to make it look normal again.

Curb painting is a brilliant idea. It allows people to see exactly where your house is, making it easily identifiable for not only the 911 crews who may have to find your house, but also for any delivery crews who are going to be dropping things off at your residence. It is especially a good idea if you have a business in your house, as it makes it easy for business personnel and customer s to find your house.

The problem, however, arises when people try to do curb painting on their own. They believe that they can simply buy some stencils and spray paint and that they will be able to recreate the work of a true curb painting professional. Unfortunately it’s a bit more complicated than it looks, and often those who try to do their own job wind up with a botched sidewalk and with a lot of frustrations. When you’re looking to have your curb painted, always look to a professional, who will keep the curb looking neat, easy to read, and professional. The more professional the outside of your residence looks, the more professional you look.

Have you ever had a package that was supposed to be delivered Fed Ex or UPS go missing? Have you had a friend try to drive to your home in order to pick you up to bring you to work who was delayed because they were unable to find your home? If you live in a busy area, especially one where the homes are built roughly the same, these things may have happened to you. They can be frustrating and can cost you time, and possibly money, to have to deal with.

Curb painting can help you to avoid all of these situations. When you employ a professional to do your curb painting, you will be able to get a striking looking painted curb that will not only look good, but will help you in a number of different ways. You will no longer have to worry that the delivery driver was unable to find your home, as you will have the curb painted so that it is simple to find. Your friends will be able to tell exactly which house is yours quickly, no matter whether it is night or day.

Do you live in a place where all the houses look alike? This is one of the latest trends in the housing market – to create cookie-cutter homes that all look alike so that you can sell them more cheaply. This can be a great alternative for someone who is looking to buy an affordable home, but it can cause problems when you are trying to tell one home from another. Homes that are decorated alike, and look alike, and are built alike, can be hard to differentiate between, especially by a someone who is looking to find your specific house. Curb painting is one way to make your house stand out from the others on your street.

Curb painting is a very inexpensive way to make your home stand out from all the rest. A professional who has done curb painting for a number of years can come to your home, show you the different lettering options, and can have your curb painted in a very short amount of time. Curb painting not only allows your visitors to be able to find your home much more easily, it makes the job much easier for anyone having to respond to a 911 call.