About Us

Straight talk from the heart of the owner

Dear potential client. I am Gert Smith, the founder of the Company Paintmaestro. I used to work for a company who did property developments. I’ve learned a lot of good things and have also seen some bad things. I was usually the link between the client and managers of the company. There were many happy clients but I have also seen frustrated clients. There were times that I felt helpless in situations where authorities in the company did not care about the needs of the client in some situations, as I was just the link who did my job as instructed, not to get fired.

I’m writing this to you because, in our real world, I am, just as you are, well aware of the realities of projects that can go wrong. We often hear stories from our friends and sometimes from people on social groups about their frustrating experience with a contractor they hired in good faith, who ultimately disappointed them. Whether you are looking for a paint contractor, a builder, mechanic or just someone to fix your fridge, a fear automatically arises. I know that, because despite the fact that I am one of the above, my vehicle also breaks down and then I am in the same situation as you are. If I don’t know someone I can trust, I start to panic. Why?

Ok, let’s forget about the builder or the mechanic and get straight to the paint contractor. Because I am one and you are currently looking for a reliable paint contractor, let’s just agree that you get good guys and unfortunately bad guys in any field of business. Because unfortunately there are many contractors out there who don’t care about your real needs, they just want your business and money and move on. You get contractors who can pick up that your knowledge in the specific line is limited and therefore use the opportunity to milk your pocket, by adding false or unnecessary advice to your quotation. You may also win yourself the contractor who himself has limited knowledge and he messes up.

Here is a common and expensive one. You get painting contractors who know how to convince you that they only follow the absolute correct procedures and only use top quality products and quote you accordingly. After winning your trust, they sadly also know how to fiddle with the products to reduce his costs and also how to speed up the application process, which will save him even more. As a result, more profit for him and less value for you, which you will unfortunately only find out at a later stage, when he is long gone. We even get dishonest contractors, who disappear with your deposit, we know that happens.

Fortunately, in any type of service you get your good contractors too. The problem is, we don’t always know who is who.You phone and tomorrow three paint contractors from Pretoria East visit your property. You cannot guarantee that they are indeed professional painters because you don’t know them.

The one thing that motivated me to go on my own was that I could make my own decisions. I would have the control to turn a concerned client into a satisfied client.The second reason was that I could concentrate on what I love most, to fix a building that needs attention and to turn it into a neat freshly painted, beautiful home.

I started this exciting new company in 2007. Paintmaestro is the name that came up on my mind because I wanted to become the master of painting contractors in Pretoria East, where I also reside. An honest painting contractor is what you as a client want. Here is some honesty from this painter. As much as I thought right in the beginning of this journey that it is a simple task to paint a house, I quickly came to conclusions that there is a huge list of things that I didn’t know about the correct methods of waterproofing as well as the painting of a house. Honestly, yes I’ve made some mistakes too. I’ve made mistakes from choosing correct products and paints, to the application of it. At the beginning realised that I have done incorrect preparations before painting. I thought that building a team of painters is easy, you pick up 5 ‘painters’ on the street corner and there I have a team. Pick those ‘good painters’ with the brushes and rollers right? Wrong! Building a team of serious professional painters is a huge mission and also a huge responsibility towards the client. I’ve made mistakes there too when I started with Paintmaestro.

Along with my journey, I have realised that painting and waterproofing is a specialised job. Why do we attend courses to learn the correct procedures if waterproofing and painting was so simple?To become a true experienced paint contractor, as in any other field, requires time and true passion. Over the years I have taken the responsibility to learn the different methods and skills in any area of waterproofing and painting processes.

As I have improved, I have set for myself, my site supervisor and my painters a standard that is much higher than the expectation of clients. My dream, to become the master of painting contractors in Pretoria East is still well alive. When this paint contractor rocks up at your premises, you can be rest assured that you will be dealing with a no nonsense honest business man who strives to win his client’s trust.

This paint contractor loves to turn a concerned customer into a satisfied customer.