Paintquality.com
Offers Expert Advice
Surveys
have shown that painting is the number one home improvement
project among do-it-yourselfers. Yet until recently, there was
no comprehensive on-line source for consumer information on
painting projects. Now,
the Paint Quality Institute, a leading authority on paints
and painting, has enhanced its Web site, www.paintquality.com,
to provide do-it-yourselfers and others with a wealth of paint
information. The site provides expert advice on the entire
painting process -- from surface preparation to drying time
-- and even offers a virtual way to experiment with paint
colors before starting to paint.
When
you go to the Web address, you will first select an appropriate
destination from the home page. DIYers would click on the
"Do-It-Yourselfers" icon to be taken to a page that will help
you manage your entire paint job. If you don't plan to tackle
the job yourself, this section offers advice on hiring a painting
contractor. Icons entitled "Contractors," "Paint Specifiers"
and "Paint Sellers" contain information that is customized
for that audience.
One
of the most exciting features on the Web site is an interactive
tool in the Design Center section. The "Visualize" section
will help you "see" what a room might look like when you apply
your own color scheme. In this section, you can choose and
place in the room the appropriate furniture, doors, trim and
windows, select colors from an extensive palette and see how
the completed paint job will look. You can also apply colors
to the furniture, drapes, floor -- even the bedspread -- to
mimic your existing rooms. This tool is helpful if you are
unsure of a color choice, or if you simply want to experiment
before deciding which color of paint to buy.
The
Design Center offers other helpful color and decorating advice
such as: decorative painting techniques, using color to create
the illusion of a larger or smaller space, and tips on the
psychology of color. paintquality.com offers other interactive
features. The user-friendly "Get Our Recommendation" database
asks questions about the nature of a job and makes a generic
recommendation on the type of primer and finish coat to use.
There is also a "Quick FAQs" section that lets you search
by keywords through a library of hundreds of paint questions
that have come in from site users, and the answers. If you
don't find the answer to your question, there's a link to
e-mail a question directly to a PQI expert.
Another
helpful feature is the "Cost Calculator." After inputting
the price per gallon of your paint, size of the area to be
painted, spread rate, and expected life of the paint job,
the calculator will instantly tell you the number of gallons
needed and the cost per square foot to do the job.
If
you have never painted before, paintquality.com can assist
you with some of the basics. The "Paint Encyclopedia" has
an extensive glossary of paint and paint-related terms, and
a tutorial that is designed to be a training tool about the
ingredients of paint and their effect on paint properties.
The "Problem Solver" section features photographs of various
paint failures, such as blistering or cracking; it will help
you diagnose the cause of the problem, and provide the solution.
There
's much more to see at www.paintquality.com.
But the best way to discover its capabilities is to explore
it at your leisure. Learn how to "sponge paint" a wall, ask
a paint expert a question or experiment with the Design Center
-- it's all there, just a click or two away!
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