Raimondi Napoleone Swivel Seat

The Raimondi® Napoleone Swivel Seat features a 5-wheel design to allow free and smooth movement in any direction. Designed with the tile setters in mind - the seat adjusts in height from 10-5/8" to 13-3/4" and easily facilitates well with jobs such as skirting and wall tiling up to 40" high while sitting in comfort.

The height of the seat can allow an approximate reach of 3/4 the way up a door jamb. How I use them is for filling nail holes on baseboard and up casings. I caulk baseboard too from the seat. On new construction jobs this seat can increase your production quite drastically especially on slabs or basement floors. To give you and idea how fast, I fill holes on baseboard with the seat in constant movement.

Sit down and increase production at the same time. Why not sit down and tape off baseboard and cut-in your latex off a seat! Lots of uses to keep you off your feet.

3M TA20 Hand-Masker DEMO Videos

There are now 2 short video clips of the 3M TA20 Hand-Masker Masking Tape Applicator.

4234 WOOSTER ALPHA 3” Flat Brush

I reviewed the 4231 Wooster Alpha back in February. I felt the Wooster Alpha 4234 deserves its own little review because its characteristics and capacity is far superior to the 4231. Basically the 4234 has all the advantages of the 4231 on a bigger scale. If you are serious like I am about maximizing every aspect of your skill then take time to read the 4231 Alpha review.

The 4234 has a HUGE footprint that I try to show in this photo. It stays sharp and effectively provides a wet edge for long distances as seen in the video clip below. Also the hold capacity is by far the best I’ve seen in a 3” flat brush. This brush has weight to it when loaded but the trade-off is enormous in how much time this brush can save you on the job. You can make super fast, super solid and super long runs with it. This brush is highly recommended.

New HANDy Plastic Paint Tray & Liners

Hey! Look what came my way along with a bunch of other cool products from HANDy I hope to get posted soon but this one got immediate attention. Just what I’ve been looking for. The NEW HANDy Paint Tray is made of durable plastic and accommodates drop-in and snap-in tray liners but it features much more than that. It even has a magnetic brush holder.

PROS Deeper Capacity Very Stable Plastic Design Effective Ramp Design Easy Pour Design  Disposable Liners Heavier Duty Liners Super Easy Cleanup

Nice wide stance and sexy curves.

CONS I don’t really care for the Easy Grip Handles but not bothered by it too much. Yes, these handles are nice BUT I feel a flat paddle-like design would be better suited for carrying from room to room to provide better stability of carrying something with paint in it.

One of the other CONS turned out to be a PROS in a way. As is, the bottom of the pan has these square areas that prevent the pan from gliding easy when you pull the pan with the end of your roller. I found some skid pads for furniture to fit in these 2 areas. Now its smooth to pull and glide. More to come on this pan. I do a side-by-side comparison of how much ramp space you have with 3/4 gallon poured in the HANDy Pan vs. a Metal Deep Well Pan.

50% off is no deal

Being efficient on the job requires attention to detail in many areas easily overlooked. Take for example this $39.99 drill found on a Thanksgiving Day Specials ad for 50% off regular price. Is it a bargain or bust? Its no deal at all. Lets say you have a guy pulling hinges off 20 doors, that's 180 screws and it takes him 1 hour with this drill. Lets assume that same guy pulls screws off with a drill twice as fast. That would mean he can remove hardware in 30 mins. Take for example a $10 per hour guy pulling hardware off 10 homes each month with this drill. That would take 10 hours right? Now give the same guy a drill twice as fast and instantly he can do the same job in half the time. 5 hours saved @ $10 is $50 and fifty bucks is more that this drill costs on sale. Now that 30 minutes saved can be used to roll 3 bedrooms or paint a front door or tape off a house in 30 mins etc.

There are drills that have a no load RPM speed of 1200 vs this drill at 650.

3M 2020 Scotch Masking Tape for Production Painting

Are you doing production work at super low pricing and finding it hard to make a buck? Then don't use this masking tape which is “designed” for production painting. Yeah I know. Consider something else from 3M. I’ve been preaching quality product online for over 10 years now and how important it is to use TOP QUALITY product to achieve maximum production rates. Number one, this is high adhesion tape. What that means is that it will not pull off the roll fast in comparison to say #2090 or most blue tapes in the medium-tack category. Number two, this tape is thin and tears and shreds very easily. So, you waste time dickin around just pulling tape off the roll not to mention how much time you’ll waste pulling tape when you are done painting. Number three, this tape is typically sold wrapped in super thin plastic which sticks very well to the sidewall of the HIGH ADHESION tape. So, you spend and waste time simply getting this tape out of the packaging. I can go on and on about why not to use 3M 2020 in production with the exception of a few applications like taping masking paper on certain things but guys use it because its cheap but where it really costs you is in your bottom line. Consider top of the line products if you are doing production work and finding it hard to make money. Product that typically costs you twice the price of cheap product can save you a ton of money in the long run. I paint new homes and this tape has no place in my work environment. Its like having a broadband internet connection for years then having to use a dial-up modem.

3M TA20 Hand-Masker Tape Applicator

3M TA 20 Hand-Masker. If you are looking for a way to reduce the time it takes to apply masking tape on baseboard then the 3M TA20 will do just that. I was able to lay down 3 rolls of 60 Yd. (180 Ft) in 30 minutes masking off baseboard in a house. That’s a total 540’ of tape! Features quick-cam style levers for inserting tape but there is nothing quick about changing a roll due to poor design for production use. I like the idea but it needs improvement to truly be effective.

The 3M TA20 is designed for right or left-hand application. Both end wheels are beveled with a flat wheel in the middle. The super sharp cutter makes break-offs a snap and can be used for cutting off short pieces. You may experience some binding or drag applying high adhesion masking tape because that tape does not pull off the roll easy or quick.