[paulingrad]

The other day a guy was telling me that he sent his apprentice down the scaffold to get a gallon of gloss, on returning the lad managed to drop the tin...

It BOUNCED.

He went to retrieve it, brought it back up then dropped it again...

and again it bounced. how lucky is that? If I'd had done that it would have gone off like a cannon.

Anyone got any funny (unfunny as well) spillage stories?

paul

 

[cole191919]

First day with a new company. Show up at the job site and meet with my boss, shows me the job, everythings all fine and dandy. Picks up a half full 5 gallon pail of white oil based paint and tries to shake it. Sure enough whoever used it last hadn't quite put the lid on properly. To make matters worse, he is standing on their brand new nicely stained cedar wood deck. Try explaining that one to the customer.

 

[Thepaintman]

Not a spill story (which I could give you many - too many). I hope you enjoy it.

Two of my painters were waiting for me in the van as I gave a bid. I came out and to my amazement they had used two dust masks each to make bras and where pointing caulk guns at the local kids and pretending to shoot them.

I went home, told my wife and in turn she went to Goodwill, purchased a very large black bra, brought it home, cut off the straps and made two "dust masks" out of them. She then stitched red lace around each one, embroidered their names on each and installed an elastic strap.

The next day I gave them their new dust masks. They refused to use them and didn't think it was funny. I thought it was! But it did break them .

 

[T200]

Repaint on one wall of a room.
Customer had a five with paint in it--he asked me to use it for the job.
I picked up the five from the garage and took it upstairs.
When I got to the foyer, the maid froze and her eyes got as big as saucers...she covered her mouth with one hand and pointed with the other.
I turned around and looked to find a trail of paint from the garage, up the hardwood stairs, across the floor into the foyer...the five had a leak in the bottom.

Two maids, the customer, and I spent over an hour on our hands and knees cleaning up the mess (thankfully, it was latex and the floors were well-sealed hardwood).

 

[Rich]

Very few spillage stories to speak of. Guess I'm just neat.


or lucky

 

[RCP]

Very few spillage stories to speak of. Guess I'm just neat.


or lucky

Or use a round blue paint containment system?:whistling2:

 

[Brian]

Years ago when I actually painted I was doing the walls in an office for the landlord of my office space. I had a runner on the floor and was at one end pulling it. A desk was close to the wall, and when I had trouble pulling the runner I assumed it was because of the desk. So I gave the runner a good tug.

When I went to get my cut bucket I found half a gallon of paint on the new carpet. I immediately called my wife to go rent a carpet cleaner and I started mopping up the mess.

As luck would have it, the landlord stopped by. He wasn't happy. I spent the rest of the night cleaning up the paint and the carpet.

He's still my landlord and we did a lot more painting for him until I got too expensive for him.

Brian Phillips

 

[Paul_R]

Years ago, and far away, when I was a pup I painted for a lady who I fondly referred to as dingy Darleen. She had several rental properties, many in a sad state of disrepair. Well, she liked to save her leftover paint, and had me use what I could, and she would buy extra if needed. One day we met at an empty rental, and she brought a gallon of paint that she had used partially. I gleefully took it from her and began to shake it vigorously so I could put a sample spot on the wall. Well the damn thing was not properly sealed, and as I vigorously shook it the lid popped off, and I was suddenly wearing about a half gallon of paint, with the remainder on the carpet. Whoops! Thank God she was going to replace the carpet, but what a rush! I did try to mop up as much as I could, and clean myself up as to not look like a total idiot. But it was exciting, to say the least!

Happy painting, Paul.

 

[Boden Painting]

while spraying a new construction my sprayer got a clog and ejected the pressure through the priming/cleaning hose and it flailed about spraying semi-gloss all over my walls and ceilings.

 

[timhag]

My brother spilled a full gal. of red on a white carpet. I hauled A$$ to the local rental and got a carpet cleaner. Spent about 4 hours cleaning. Came out pretty good, very small pinkish spot left. HO was home at the time and was very understanding.

 

[HomeGuardPaints]

once my brother placed a gal of latex on the ground by my truck when we were cleaning up, we were in a hurry and forgot about it. needless to say I ran it over and it exploded on my truck and all over the next door nieghbors house. Not pretty

 

[DelW]

Painting a bedroom, tight quarters, not much room to work, I stepped down off my 4' step right into a paint pan, thank god for drops, bad thing was I got it all over a new pair of whites and my shoe.

 

[BenPaintinTooLong]

A long time ago I was working for a paint co in Texas, I was the spray man and had just finished the last oil coat coat on a winding stair case of picture frame Wainscoate. It was late and everyone was in a hurry to get out of the house and get a cold one or ten!!
The Mexican helper came hurring out of a side BDR.kicking a vac that was setting at the top of the stairs sending it cascading down the stairs, of course the top came off ,vac tumbling end over end scatering sand, sawdust and everything else that was in it all over the Wainscoate.

Paint thinner and rags for the next hr cleaning it up, what a mess!!
Ben

 

[vermontpainter]

Anybody else notice that ******** boat: ) doesnt have any horror stories about this? We all laughed at the time, but who would you say has the most effective spill containment system out here now?

 

[Housepainter]

Turning spills into profits. Back about 15 years ago I was painting a house that was going to be flipped. The owner had ripped the carpet out on day one. Some said it totally stunk up the place. Anyway while painting I did the move the ladder ... forgetting to move the paint on the tray. It hit the hardwood floor. I cleaned up but their still was a stain.
called the owner, told him what happened... but I would gladly refinish all his hardwood floors for $XXX.00 I knew I would be less than the local guy, and had already completed several in some rental property I owned. :yes:
Find away to turn lemons into lemonade:thumbup: