Any commercial painting professional worth their salt knows that whether painting steel or indeed any surface, it needs prepping for the best and smoothest finish. That’s not really a topic up for debate, but what isn’t perhaps so well-known is the importance of using the right pre-paint cleaner.

What we look at in this article is why this is the case, so that you can approach your industrial painting project with confidence that you’ll deliver work that you can be proud of.

What Happens When You Get It Wrong?

To highlight what we mean, we’re going to look at an example of what can happen when you don’t make the right decision on pre-paint cleaners. So, let’s say that your commercial painting job involves covering a set of steel doors with a water-based industrial coating that’s meant to be applied directly onto the metal.

If you were to use a mineral-based spirit (which is a very common and widely-used practice) to clean the surface prior to painting, you could soon find that not all solvents are created the same. If you were to choose what is basically an oil-based paint thinner, it’s often known to leave an oily film after application.

If you were then to apply a water-based paint over the top ... guess what? Oil and water don’t go together, and your paint will not stay in place for long. In fact, it could literally fall off whatever you’ve painted it onto - obviously wasting time and risking your professional reputation.

It Matters Which Pre-Paint Cleaner That’s Used

What this clearly shows is that you really do have to take care with what you use to to clean the surface on any commercial or industrial painting project. You also have to ensure that you don’t just any old surface cleaner, as dedicated pre-paint cleaners are specifically designed to deal with the type of contaminants that can stop paint adhering properly.

You’ll get a certain variety of contaminants on walls in commercial painting jobs, with grease, mildew, wax, dirt and previously used wallpaper paste amongst the most commonly found.

Here are some that you should look out for when tackling industrial painting:

● Non Toxic - A low-odor, biodegradable, low-VOC cleaner that’s really easy to work with.
● Liquid Deglosser - Useful for dulling some types of shiny surface and promoting paint adhesion
● No Rinse Formula - that doesn’t leave much behind in the way of residue or suds, eliminating much of the need to rinse the surface before painting

Assessment is needed before any commercial painting activity as the precise nature of the surface you’re dealing with will dictate the correct cleaner to use.

Prep Is Always the Key to a Supreme Industrial Painting Job

Whether sandblasting, stripping or cleaning, doing the right prep is just as important as the quality of the brushes and paint that’s used. It’s all a matter of chemistry really, as certain substances just don’t mix well together and the wrong choice can have a profoundly adverse effect on the ultimate quality of the paint job in question.

Of course, thorough prep takes a bit of time to do right, but it’s still a lot quicker than having to start the job all over again because the first attempt to apply an industrial coating didn’t take. Certainly food for thought for all commercial painting professionals out there.