An Interview with Khan from Painters Link Group
In the world of commercial business, every decision is scrutinized for its return on investment. While often overlooked, a professional paint job is far more than a maintenance task, it’s a powerful business strategy. To understand how, we sat down with Khan, a Project Manager with Painters Link Group, who specializes in managing large-scale commercial and industrial painting projects.
He breaks down why the right paint application is a critical investment in your brand, your assets, and your people.
BlogsNews: Khan, welcome. In a commercial context, where budgets are tight, why should a business owner or facility manager prioritize a professional paint job over a cheaper, DIY approach?
Khan: Thank you for having me. It’s a question I get often. The simplest answer is risk mitigation and asset preservation. A DIY job or a cheap, unqualified contractor might save money upfront, but the long-term costs can be astronomical.
We’re not just talking about colour on a wall. In a commercial setting, we’re dealing with complex surfaces, high-traffic areas, strict compliance codes, and the need for minimal business disruption. A professional painter understands the specific coatings needed for a warehouse floor that withstands forklift traffic, or the fire-retardant requirements for a public lobby, or the hygienic, washable surfaces needed in a medical facility. Get it wrong, and you face downtime, safety issues, and costly repairs that dwarf the initial painting invoice.
BlogsNews: So it’s about protection first, aesthetics second?
Khan: I’d say they are two sides of the same coin. The paint is the primary protective skin of your building. It fights off corrosion on steel structures, prevents concrete cancer, and resists mould in humidity-controlled environments. This directly preserves the value of your physical asset.
But the aesthetic side is equally powerful from a business perspective. We’ve seen firsthand how a fresh, modern colour scheme can increase foot traffic in a retail space, boost employee morale and productivity in an office, and project an image of competence and success to clients. Your premises are a non-verbal communication of your brand’s values. A faded, peeling facade tells a story of neglect, while a crisp, professional one speaks of attention to detail.
BlogsNews: Speaking of disruption, how do you execute a project in a live environment like an office, a factory, or a busy retail centre without shutting down operations?
Khan: (Smiles) This is where project management is everything. The paint is almost the easy part; the real challenge is the logistics. For us, it’s a military-style operation of precise planning. We develop a phased, out-of-hours work plan long before we arrive on site.
For an office, that often means working nights and weekends, sectioning off areas with temporary barriers, and ensuring ventilation and clean air quality for Monday morning. For a retail centre, it’s about working in the dead of night after the shops have closed. For a factory, we might coordinate with production schedules to paint during a planned shutdown or work around specific machinery.
The goal is to be virtually invisible to the daily operation, yet deliver a transformative result. Our communication with the client’s team is constant—daily debriefs, clear signage, and a single point of contact to solve any issues instantly.
BlogsNews: The range of commercial buildings is vast. Can you give us an example of how your approach differs, say, between a historic office building and a new industrial warehouse?
Khan: Absolutely. They are completely different beasts, and that’s where our expertise is critical.
For a heritage-listed building, the approach is one of restoration and respect. It’s investigative work. We might need to use traditional lime-based paints that allow the building to breathe, or meticulously match historic colours. The preparation is about careful repair, not just covering things up. It’s a specialist skill set.
For a new industrial warehouse, it’s about performance and speed. We’re dealing with vast surfaces, often using airless sprayers for efficiency. The coatings are purely functional—epoxy floors that are chemical and abrasion-resistant, anti-graffiti coatings on external walls, and high-build epoxy on steel to prevent corrosion for decades. The focus is on durability and getting the client back to full operational capacity as fast as possible.
BlogsNews: When it comes to the paint itself, what should a commercial client be looking for? Is premium paint always necessary?
Khan: In a commercial setting, you should never compromise on paint quality. The products we use, from trusted partners like Dulux, Wattyl, and Taubmans, are engineered for specific commercial duties. A cheap, domestic-grade paint simply will not hold up to the scuffs, cleansers, and UV exposure of a commercial environment. It will fade, chalk, and fail quickly, meaning you’ll be repainting in half the time.
We specify premium products because they have higher levels of acrylic resins, better pigments for colour retention, and are formulated to be more durable. This extends the repaint cycle from maybe 3-5 years to 7-10 years or more. That’s a direct cost saving. Furthermore, many premium lines now offer low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) options, which contribute to better indoor air quality and help businesses meet their sustainability and wellness goals, like Green Star or WELL Building standards.
BlogsNews: Finally, what is your one piece of advice for a business manager about to embark on a commercial painting project?
Khan: My one piece of advice is this: Choose a partner, not just a painter.
Look for a commercial painting company that asks questions beyond the square metreage. They should be asking about your business hours, your long-term maintenance plan, your brand guidelines, and your safety protocols. They should provide a detailed specification, not just a quote. They must be fully insured for commercial work and have a proven track record with projects of a similar scale and complexity.
Your commercial property is a major asset. The company you hire to protect and enhance it should be a strategic partner you can trust to deliver with professionalism and minimal fuss. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to at Painters Link Group on every single project.
BlogsNews: Ready to Invest in Your Commercial Space?
A strategic painting project is an investment in your business’s future. The team at Painters Link Group, led by experienced project managers like Khan, is ready to deliver a result that protects your asset, elevates your brand, and minimises disruption to your core operations.
Contact Painters Link Group today for a comprehensive commercial assessment and proposal.
About Painters Link Group:
Painters Link Group are specialists in commercial and industrial painting, delivering robust, compliant, and aesthetically powerful solutions across Australia. Our project managers are experts in logistics and specification, ensuring every project meets the highest standards of durability, safety, and finish. We are fully licensed and insured for commercial work and partner with leading paint manufacturers to guarantee outstanding results.