12 Steps to the Residential Process for Turtle Coat Architectural Coatings
1. Initial Inspection
It is important that an initial inspection be done on the first visit to your property. Any visible surfaces that need to be replaced or repaired will be noted and included in the work order and total price.
2. Trenching
A trench of 3″-6″ will be dug out around the foundation if it is being coated to assume the coating film goes below grade. This eliminates moisture from sinking up and under the coating.
3. Pressure Washing
This step removes dirt, mold, and mildew. We first apply a mixture of a fungicide (bleach works well) and soap. This mixture kills mold spores and is blasted off using “moderate” pressure. Stubborn areas are treated again, until surfaces are clean. Pressure washing is NOT used to strip off old loose paint to avoid damage to the surfaces. (A second inspection for any wood that requires replacing is done during this step.)
4. Masking
All areas that are not being coated are masked off by taping and sometimes temporarily removing items such as house numbers, mailboxes, some light fixtures, etc. Special care is taken with shrubs, decks, lawns, etc. to manage over spray.
5. Caulking
This step is very important to seal around doors and windows, corners, over hangs, and other siding and trim areas. We are very thorough with this step of the process and use a commercial grade Elastomeric urethane sealant. The sealant we use for this will always stay very flexible so it will expand and contact with the house during seasonal temperature changes.
6. Patch & Repair
In this step, we fill holes, cracks, dings, etc. and work on minor cosmetic type of repairs.
7. Priming
Our Turtle Coat Adhesive Primer is applied to all areas that are being coated. This waterproof adhesive bonds very tightly , on an actual molecular level. This becomes a permanent surface of the substrate. In some situations, we will use special primers in addition to the adhesive. This would typically be to control rust or bleed through from knots or various types of wood that are prone to tannin. Tannin is a term used for Tanic Acid that can sometimes leach out of wood for years.
8. Application of the Ceramic Finish Coat
This is the color coat. This application is usually done with one coat, even if there is an extreme change from the previous color. The dry film thickness of Turtle Coat Finish Coat is an average of 12 times thicker than traditional house paint (depending on the surface it is applied to).
9. Turtle Coat Clear Acrylic Sealant
This is applied to wood ceilings to bring out the natural beauty of the wood.
10. Detail Touch-Up
After the Finish Coat is dry to the touch, a detailed touch up is done to ensure that all surfaces are completely encapsulated. Masking is removed and any parts that were removed for the process are re installed.
11. Clean up Job Site
We will keep the job site clean on a daily basis. After the job is completed, a final clean up is done and all debris from the job are removed from the property.
12. Final inspection
The crew leader will do a final walk around with the home owner to be sure that everything is complete and you are 100% satisfied. Our crews will be proud of the final results and will attend to handle any issues that may come up.