Providing On-Site Equipment Painting throughout the eastern United States
becausewhenmoneymatters

How large is your service area?

Our typical service area includes eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, northern Delaware, southern New York, and portions of Maryland. For projects with 10 or more significant items we will travel anywhere within a 200 mile radius of our Quakertown Yard. However, for larger projects with 20 or more major pieces of equipment we will generally travel  to most places in the eastern or southern United States. As you can see in our reference page we offer service in the central Florida area as well. 

What types of machinery and equipment do you paint?

While we will consider painting a great variety of things, we specialize in earth-moving and material handling equipment.  We favor painting what is generally referred to as “Yellow Iron”.

Do you paint trucks?

While we frequently paint steel dump bodies and trailers, we prefer not to paint truck cabs.  Certainly we will consider painting several truck cabs if done in combination with a large package of equipment, but we have found that customers are frequently much more discriminating about the finish quality on a truck cab than on a piece of machinery or even the body of the same truck.  Because we are almost never working in dedicated painting facilities, and are often working outside, it is difficult to guarantee an OEM quality finish on a truck cab.  It’s generally best to discuss expectations for the finished product and move forward from there.

Do you provide bodywork and or welding services?

No. We are almost never in a position to do body straightening, metal reconstruction, or any other sort of structural or surface repair.  Such services are often quite time-consuming and do not fit with our objective of providing quick and efficient in and out service.  It is also difficult to provide these services since they must often take place over an extended period of time.  For these reasons, we prefer that the contractor, dealer, or owner handle all such repairs prior to the start of our work.

Will you clean and degrease the machinery, or must we?
Cleaning is one of the services which we provide, however, if you have the man-power and capability to clean, this can be worked out in the pricing.  If the site on which we will be working does not have a good supply of pressurized water, or if you can not provide a dedicated water truck for cleaning along with a suitable source for refilling, then it will be impossible for us to provide the cleaning in many cases.  All such conditions can be managed with good two-way communication.

What site and facility conditions will you require?

Our needs are somewhat dependent on the time of year and the scope of work.  We will always require remote sites for sandblasting and for outdoor painting.  Remote means exactly that.  A 5 acre site in an industrial park is NOT REMOTE.  Dust and overspray can travel some distance. We look for sites where the potential for doing harm to cars, building, or property is limited.  We will use HVLP spray equipment in order to reduce overspray and emissions, however, gusts of wind can carry paint spray hundreds of yards. At certain times of the year, an indoor site for painting is essential.  We have worked in nice shops as well as large tent-like enclosures.  If it can be lit, heated, and ventilated, we can probably consider it as a work area. The better the conditions which you provide for us to work in, the better the finished product will be.  We will ALWAYS sandblast outside, so there must be a reasonably level and clean area on which that work can take place.  For washing and degreasing, we like to see some sort of wash pad with a grease trap.  If this is not possible due to the site where the machines are sitting, then be aware that there will undoubtedly be some clean up required after the work is completed. 

Do you always sandblast?

Actually, there are many reasons and situations where sandblasting is either undesirable, or non-essential.  In most cases we will not sandblast cranes or other material handling equipment since there are many areas in the machine which could be damaged by sand grit entering and remaining in greased moving parts.  We will usually not sandblast crushers and screens since this time-consuming process will add greatly to the finished cost, yet will not generally add greatly to the value addition.  Demolition trailers, containers, crushing equipment, and many  specialized pieces of machinery are all examples of times when sandblasting frequently represents a needless expense based on the finish expectations and the improbability of producing a long=lasting finish. 

How can I get a price quote?  What is the process?

Because we have many years experience in painting heavy equipment we are familiar with a wide variety of machinery.  For that reason, we recommend that the process begin with a simple phone call or email.
A list of equipment is essential. Our pricing is influenced by the volume, the travel difficulty and distance, the site where we will be working, and the deadline (if any).  We generally have a 3 piece minimum in order to provide any type of on-site service.  Before an actual price quote can be offered, there are many other factors to consider. Efficiency is based on a steady flow of equipment with 3 or more machines available for refinishing at any given time.  Refinishing machines one at a time is extremely inefficient and thus much more expensive. On a larger job 4 – 6 machines will be in process at any given time. Some being washed, another being sandblasted, some in the paint preparation phase, others waiting for one color to dry before that color can be masked and a 2nd color applied, one being painted, and perhaps several curing prior to decal application. 

How soon can a machine return to service after painting?

We recommend that if possible you allow a week for paint to cure prior to returning it to regular duty.  At very least 3 days should be allowed.

If we are decaling the machine, that will usually be done within 24 – 48 hours of painting. 

What else should I know?

Plan to service the machine immediately after the painting. The machine will have be “degreased” and then sandblasted.  Servicing the air intake and greasing all points is simply smart maintenance.  You might want to change the oil as well. 

If you will want to letter the machine with your company logo or other information, we are able to handle that for you. We frequently design new decals for customers, of copy what they have used in the past. 

If you prefer, we can paint machines in you own company colors and produce replacement factory decals in a color which will compliment your new paint scheme.  We can also adjust the size and use of the OEM replacement decals to allow more room for your company decals, or even combine your name into OEM replacement stripes.