In the contracting trades, there’s always a major need for training. While there are official methods and certifications to do so, you can also forge your own path and way forward. Sources of free information like YouTube are amazing resources for DIYer’s and those wishing to become professionals - in the age of technology, everything is right at your fingertips. As of right now, I’ve put out over 1700 videos on YouTube alone to do my part in educating, equipping, and empowering craftspeople. But, now with our online Paint Life Academy and courses, we’re able to be more in-depth and informative than we’ve ever been on social media. 

 

Our online courses are available for purchase on our website paintlifesupply.com and all videos, quizzes, and information will be right there too. Self-paced and comprehensive, you’ll have one single user login with credentials. Courses are accessible with a personal login account and are available for 180 days, but can be extended upon request. These courses are available for anyone to take - professional, DIYers, teachers, and even owners of painting/contracting companies. For companies wanting to use the course to teach their employees quickly, please contact us for details and discounter prices! Employee courses will feature videos without information about marketing and business ownership. If you’re a teacher looking to license our content, inquire to Lisa Berry at lisa@idahopainter.com

 

Right now, we have a total of four online courses available: the Cabinet Course, the Masking Course, the Caulking Course, and the Exterior Painting Systems & Processes Course. Here we’ll give you a sneak peak at some of the information available in these courses, and you can look at them on our website right here if you’re interested. 

 

The Online Cabinet Course

 

If you’re interested in added cabinet painting as a feature of your painting company, or want to get into it as a side hustle, then this course will teach you everything you need to know. This course contains over forty lessons and nine quizzes, including a final exam - plus, like with all of our Paint Life Academy online courses, you’ll receive a digital certificate upon completion of the course. 

 

Some of the topics covered in this course include: 

• Effective marketing
• Bidding cabinets to win
• Proper jobsite setup
• Prepping the right way
• Masking fast & efficiently
• The cabinet painting process
• Installation after painting
• Closing out the job 

 

So, if you’ve dived through my YouTube channel looking for any and all information relating to painting cabinets, and even watched this 3-hour long deep dive, but still want more, this course is going to be just for you. Prepping, masking, sanding, and spraying - it’s all here. Or even if you’re just interested in what products I’m painting cabinets these days, that’s in there too. (Spoiler alert: ICRO and Renner are the winners these days!) 

 

Here’s a review from someone who bought and completed the Cabinet Course: 

 

“I purchased the Paint Life Cabinet Course after eagerly waiting for its release and am glad I did. The course covers quite a bit more than the free info on YouTube. I had a couple of cabinet jobs under my belt and have completed two more after taking the course. My clients were very impressed by my professionalism from the bid, to set up and the finished job. I am always trying to learn new procedures that will help my business grow and this course has helped a lot! If you are wondering if it is worthwhile, I would say yes. Thanks, Chris!” - John R. 

 

The Online Masking Course

 

If you own a painting business, or have even started from the bottom as a professional painter, you know that masking is one of the first skills that you’re going to be learning or teaching the new guys. The faster that they can mask effectively and efficiently, the more productive they’ll be a team member. This course covers all the basics and almost every scenario of masking to bring your skills from 0-100, or even give them a boost. 

 

Some of the topics covered in this course include: 

• Tools for masking
• Effective masking tapes
• Paper & plastic masking
• Liquid masking
• How to mask
• Professional masking tips

 

Even though I’ve got a million videos on YouTube giving you masking tips, there’s nothing you’ll find as detailed and informative as this course. To be a professional painter, you’ll need to know how to mask everything from hardwood floors to french doors, and even ceiling fans - and I’ll teach you how to do it in this online course! Have you ever heard of pull tags or do you know the best time to remove your masking? Well, you will after diving into these lessons. 

 

The Online Caulking Course

 

Similar to masking, caulking and sealing is another simple task that newbies or inexperienced painters will be learning very early into their journey. And also just like masking, caulking isn’t a skill that you want to be making mistakes when doing. Properly caulking and sealing homes is important to protect from bugs, weather, and moisture all year round. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as picking up a caulking gun and going for it! But don’t worry, because of course we’ve got you covered. 

 

Some of the topics in this course include: 

• Tools for caulking
• Quality sealants
• Techniques
• Eco-friendly caulking
• Rules to follow

 

Have you heard of the caulking your tape method? Do you know what the best sealants on the market are? And what even is the difference between silicone and siliconized caulking? Don’t fret, because you’ll learn all the essentials in this course - the best brands of sealants, and how to caulk in a variety of different scenarios. You’ll walk away feeling like you can tackle all of your caulking and sealing jobs like a pro. For a crash course in the basics, head over to our YouTube channel to see what we’ve got - here’s a video on sponge caulking.

 

The Online Exterior Painting Systems & Processes Course

 

This is the latest course I’ve put out, and it covers my favorite part of painting - exterior repaints! How cool is it to revamp and provide customers with an amazing looking paint job that they can be happy with. That being said, as a business owner, employee, or even DIY painter, the idea of repainting an entire exterior can seem overwhelming if you don’t have systems and processes set up, or aren’t even aware of some of the basics of prepping, masking, and spraying. This is our largest course so far, with almost 60 lessons!

 

Some of the topics in this course include: 

• Effective marketing
• Bidding exteriors
• Effective jobsite setup
• Prepping before painting
• Masking fast & efficiently
• Exterior painting process
• Winding down
• Closing out the job

 

We’ve stripped the process bare in this course - how to organize your employees on the jobsite, what to do first, what airless tip to pick for your spray gun, and even touch up kits. This course covers every single topic you could think of relating to exterior repaints in an in-depth manner, and represents the cumulative knowledge of over two decades of painting experience and countless exterior repaint jobs that I’ve done myself. 

 

Those are all of the courses that the Paint Life Academy has put out so far. But, of course we’ve got so many more planned out! Eventually, you’ll be able to sort through our library of courses to find exactly what you need to train up for whatever job you’ve got coming up. Coming soon, you might just find a Fence Course and a Furniture Flipping Course. Maybe even a course teaching you all about epoxy!

 

Some of the topics to be covered in the Online Fence Course include: 

• Writing an effective estimate
• Estimating materials
• Masking tips
• Controlling overspray
• Tools you need
• The final invoice

 

Some of the topics to be covered in the Online Furniture Flipping Course include: 

• Where to obtain projects
• Products to use
• Tools to paint
• Prepping your project
• Tools you need
• Estimating & invoicing

 

Some of the topics to be covered in the Online Epoxy Course include: 

• Bidding and job estimates
• Estimating materials
• Masking Tips
• Essential tools
• Proper application
• Invoicing like a professional

 

Here at Paint Life Supply Co, we hope that you find our content informative and helpful - whether it’s our social media content, or our online courses! Everything we do is to better educate, empower, and equip our fellow craftspeople by creating content, writing blog posts like this, or by selling the tools that you need to get the job done. Whatever you need - we’ll help you take the pain out of painting. 

 

Check out our online courses - four of which are now available on paintlifesupply.com, and if you’re looking to find tools to get the job started, then browse our starter kits. We’ve put together collections of tools so that you can buy everything you need all at once - brush kits with a variety of options, kits for masking, caulking, and cut-ins - you name it! Let us help you find what you need fast and efficiently so you can get back to work and making money.