Prepare the Exterior Crew for Interiors

When it’s too cold to paint outdoors, your exterior crew should move indoors.  Painting interiors, though, requires a different set of knowledge and habits.  Here’s a quick list of training topics to prepare the exterior crew for interiors.

• Cover or remove shoes to protect the client’s floors.  Check out E-Z Floor Guards for a neat alternative to traditional shoe covers – they’re adhesive!
•   Mentally prepare to be careful – there are more fragile objects inside a house than outside and more to protect.

Prep and Paint

• There are more surface types inside than exterior crews are used to.  Take time to train crews on the common surfaces and how to prepare them for painting.
• The age of the surface determines the prep method.  Crews need training to properly handle the lead-based paints that were used prior to 1978.
• Different surfaces require different primers!
• Ventilation isn’t a big deal outside because you’re outside.  Teach your crew how to properly ventilate an indoor space for their safety and the safety of the clients.
• More variety of surfaces, different prep and primer needs, extra care around the homeowner’s personal objects.  All this means more setup/clean up time each day.

Proper preparation will result in a great coat of paint.  Just like painted surfaces, prep your crew with the training they need to do interiors.  Success can be seen on the walls and on the faces of your happy clients.