Industrial tanks inside a Nova Scotia facility cleaned by O'Brien's Faster Blaster ahead of coating
Commercial NS ยท Residential HRM

Paint prep and stripping

Paint tells on you. Whatever was left on the surface when the first coat went down shows up later as flaking, blistering or a finish that simply lets go.

The coating is only as good as what is under it

A coating does not stick to dirt, chalk, algae, mill glaze or old failing paint. It sticks to the surface. Every one of those things is a layer between your new finish and the thing you are trying to protect, and every one of them is a place for the paint to release from later.

What stripping and prep involves

  • Taking old failing paint and coatings back off the surface
  • Removing chalking, the powdery layer old paint leaves behind
  • Killing and removing algae and growth so it does not keep working under the coat
  • Cutting grease, oil and release agents off steel and equipment
  • Leaving the surface clean and dry enough for the coating to actually bond

Steel, equipment and industrial surfaces

This is not only a house painting job. Equipment and industrial steel going in for a recoat need grease and contamination off first, and that is closer to what we do every day on the commercial side than most painters want to take on.

Timing matters

Prep and paint want to be close together. Leave a stripped surface exposed for weeks and you are partway back to where you started, especially outdoors in this climate. If you have a painter lined up, tell us when they are starting and we will work back from that.

Drag the line

Real jobs, not stock photos.

House siding before washing, heavy dirt build up House siding after washing by O'Brien's Faster Blaster BeforeAfter

House siding

HRM home
More of what we wash

Everything else on the truck

Straight answers

Questions we get

Why does paint need the surface washed first?
Because paint bonds to the surface, not to what is sitting on it. Dirt, chalk, algae and old failing coating all become a release layer, and the new paint eventually lets go along with them.
Can you strip old paint off siding or wood?
Yes, stripping old and failing coatings is part of this service. What the surface is and what is on it determines the approach, so it is worth us seeing it.
Do you do paint prep on equipment and steel?
Yes. Cutting grease, oil and contamination off steel before a recoat is close to our everyday commercial work, which is why we take it on.
Where do you do paint prep work?
Commercial and industrial prep anywhere in Nova Scotia. Residential prep inside the HRM, same as the rest of our house work.

Point us at something filthy.

Tell us what it is and where it is. We will get you a straight number, no runaround.