How Is a Professional Painter Different From an Amatuer?

Professional painters are some of the coolest people you can meet. They spend years becoming experts at a task many of us feel we could do with one lesson. So what is the real difference between a professional painter and an amateur painter? Today, we’ll briefly discuss what makes a pro painter a professional, and a few things he or she may do differently than a non-professional. We won’t get into technicalities like licensing and insurance, but rather how they think differently about their tools.

How Do Professionals Paint So Quickly?

Most professional painters are like any other professionals that require tools for their professions. If you’re a race car driver, you take care of your race car. Pro painters use their tools every day, and they usually use nice ones for the same reason. Professional painters need to do a better job than an amateur, so they give themselves an edge with the best tools.

One of those tools is a paint sprayer. Most amateurs would have little need to invest in a sophisticated sprayer, but the pros use them like paintbrushes. Professionals know every tool at their disposal and just when to use each one, because they’ve had years of practice. Not to say that amateurs cannot also do a great job with practice, but that’s one reason why professionals are very fast at their jobs.

Another reason professional painters are so fast is credited to their efficiency and working as a team. A well oiled painting crew wastes very little time or effort because their processes have been honed to a sharp edge. Many crews can paint an entire home in a single day, while many amateurs may spend a day just setting up.

Professional Painters Don’t Make a Mess

Although an amateur painter may make every effort to avoid spills, overspray, and drips, they tend to cause themselves more work than they need to. For example, a common painter’s complaint is having to paint around the mulling strips (also called grids) on a window. Most modern windows avoid this problem, but many older windows will require a steady hand to paint them.

An amateur might spend half a day carefully applying painter’s tape and paint guards to avoid getting the paint on the glass. An experienced professional will likely know that it is many times faster to simply do the best job you can, but if it gets on the glass, it is not a problem. The pros will just keep painting, and after the paint has dried on the glass, they’ll spend a couple of minutes removing it with a razor blade.

Professional Painters Perform a Job In Stages

Professional painters will not usually tackle a project unless they are confident they can perform it within a given time frame. For example, if there is a chance of inclement weather, the pros will usually prefer to paint one entire side of a home, as opposed to starting all of them simultaneously. That way the work they perform will have time to dry and become effective even if they are required to suddenly stop working.