About Us
There are many paint companies that you can choose from, so the question arises, "why should I choose to buy from Tamco Paint?" In these competitive times, wasting money is the quickest way for a business to go broke and shut down. So whether you are a body shop, or just a do-it-yourself-er, buying the right quality products at the right price is more critical today than ever. Tamco has been in business since 1989. Bob and Tammy Barney (where Tamco got it's name), founders and owners, started Tamco in 1989. We are proud to say, we have over 110 years of paint experience at hand. See “Our Team” and come meet the people behind the works of Tamco!! Here at Tamco, we make the best products- we cut NO CORNERS! We are small enough to also treat our customers as partners, but large enough to insure quality control, proper testing and R&D. Check out our feedback! We are one of the largest sellers on EBAY. Buying directly from the manufacturer or one of our distributors will save you money, BUT WILL NOT cost you quality! We do not make "cheap" products. All of our products that we make are equal to or superior to the "Big Named Brands." WE BUY FROM THE SAME SUPPLIERS THAT THEY DO! We use the finest Isocyanates and use only certified moisture free solvents from the biggest name solvent suppliers. We do not cut corners. We use only the finest raw materials. We use only certified urethane grade solvents in all or our products INCLUDING OUR REDUCERS! Many reducers on the market contain high levels of waters and other contaminates that can cause a poor performing paint job. You can be sure that our products will be the best you can buy, but at a fair price. Our paints use maximum amounts of 2 UV's, we follow the same guidelines that the OEM's do. Our clears are the best money can buy. Our staff of experts can answer your questions. They are certified in most other brands of paint, as well as experienced in every aspect of our business. Don't let our fair prices fool you. Instead realize that during the past 20 years, you have been taken for a ride by those paint companies that have been marking up their prices 10 and 20 times! Yes, you read that right! We charge fair prices and stand by what we sell!
Understanding Our Clears and Urethane Colors:
Many companies confuse the customer by using names like “polyurethane” and “Urethane Reducer.” These terms used by paint companies are used to fool the masses into “junk science” and downright lies. For example: Polyurethane: Some companies say that their clears and paints are superior because it is a polyurethane, not just a urethane. That's simply not being very honest! “Poly” simply means more than one, and “urethane” means a resin which can be crosslinked. Therefore a “polyurethane” is a class of synthetic materials made by copolymerizing an isocyanate and a polyhydric resin. Simply put, any two part urethane IS A POLYURETHANE! “URETHANE REDUCER” - means NOTHING. It is a company's reducer for their polyurethane. “Urethane Grade” reducers is a term for those containing less than 500 ppm of water and is not the same as urethane reducers! Now what you may not know there are three basic types of polyurethanes used in the auto, fleet and marine paint industry. They are:
Enamel polyurethanes: Enamel resins cross-linked with a aliphatic polyisocyanate (usually what is referred to as an IPDI isocyanate – made especially for enamels) which is usually the cheapest and less desirable of all polyurethanes. Usually when people boast that their products are polyurethanes, they are simply cheap enamels cross-linked with a hardener and are NOT all that durable. BEWARE Acrylic polyurethanes: Very durable coatings, the backbone of the OEM car industry. 100% acrylic polyurethanes have high gloss, and very high gloss retention when exposed to the sun’s UV. They will stay shiny for many years. They have a good to excellent chemical resistance as well. There are many forms of acrylic resins. Some with mediocre long term durability, and some with outstanding 20 plus year durability. TAMCO USES 100% Acrylic Polyurethanes! Linear polyester polyurethanes: The most durable coatings for chemical resistance. VERY HIGH initial gloss, but will loose much of that gloss over a ten year period. The outstanding chemical resistance is why this type of paint is usually used on large boats and airplanes. The down side of this product is that it cures VERY SLOWLY and hence most would not use these products in the car refinish process.
BLENDS: Beware! Many clears and paints on the market are actually blends of enamel resins and acrylic resins. This is done for two reasons. One is ease of application (enamels are easier to paint, keep a beautiful “wet edge” and has outstanding initial gloss (upward to 99%!) However, Tamco does NOT blend our clears with enamels. We use 100% acrylic resins. Why? When enamels are blended into the clear, all of the advantages of initial gloss, are lost within 1 year! They do not stand up to UV sun radiation much.
Proper additive package: Most every paint companies know which resins are out there. The real “secret” to this industry is in the formulation of those resins. In the formula of any clear there will be 2 UV’s (if they are good!), 3-5 solvents (for an even evaporation rate), tin additives (to make the paint cure better and quicker) and leveling, or flow agents. These are often heavily guarded secrets in any paint formulations. Tamco after years of testing and experience uses an array of flow agents and other additives. Some are the same used by everyone, others are those we have discovered over years of testing different product additives. OUR CLEARS and urethane topcoats lay down like glass! That is a nature of the resins we use (we often blend many acrylic resins in just one clear for many different attributes), and the flow additives we have chosen! Most of our customers are amazed with the look of our clears! That’s in the additives! All of our topcoat clears are and paints are cross-linked with a special form of isocyanates, called Trimers (HDI). HDI's are primarily used in the manufacture of industrial coatings where high performance capability (e.g. UV and weather resistance) is required. HDI-based coatings are used in the manufacture a variety of products, including automobiles, aircraft, flooring, furniture, safety equipment, machinery, medical devices and infrastructure projects. We use ONLY “catalyst grade solvents.” in all our products, superior even to urethane grade. It is essential to use solvents with a water content lower than 500 ppm (preferably lower than 300 ppm), which are referred to as “urethane grade.” We require our solvents to be under 150 ppm! That’s adds 25% to our cost! Even our reducers use these high grade solvents! WE DO NOT CUT CORNERS! Frankly, our clears should sell for more than the even the big name brands. We make smaller batches and everything is carefully measured, unlike industrial batches of 1,000’s of gallons. Our scales measure to the gram. This equals consistency.
OUR PRIMERS: Tamco makes the finest quality primers money can buy. Again, we use the best ingredients. Our DTM 2K urethane primers do not use industrial enamels as others do. We use 100% acrylic polyols (same as what we use in our clears). Our resins are DIRECT TO METAL resins. Read the instructions on other primers. They most likely want you to use metal preps BEFORE applying the primer. Why? It’s because they do not use the more expensive direct to metal resins. WE DO! Our HP5310, can be directly applied over sanded steel, galvanize, and even most aluminums -- try that with the others! Our HP5311 Black 2K acrylic primer is not only direct to metal BUT DIRECT TO RUST. We also use both clay, and talc. Most modern primers to do blend the two powders. We do. This gives you are a little harder to sand primer initially - BUT WILL NOT DRAW SAND SCRATCHES in 90 days! Our primers have NO EQUAL in the market. (65% solids in the HC-5310). Our Primers DO NOT SHRINK!
HELP LINE: When you call us – you will get us very quickly, and you will talk to someone who knows their products, but not just Tamco products, we have a wide knowledge in paint. So whether your questions are about how we compare, how we don’t compare or just need some PDS questions answered, we are here for you and whatever you need!! This is a family run business and everyone has well over a decade of experience, some almost 4 decades!
Check us out - TRY OUR PRODUCTS and you will be truly amazed how far your money will go for the best products crafted in America!Please like us on Facebook! facebook.com/tamcopaint and follow our Instagram: tamcopaint. We not only love to see pictures of what you are working on, we will share them! Email them, tag us or Facebook them to us!
OUR TEAM:
Bob and Tammy Barney
Still owners, but also the founders of Tamco, a subsidiary of Barney Family Enterprises since 1989. Bob has been in the paint business since 1979 and has manufactured marine paints (topside and bottom paint), Industrial finishes and auto refinish paints for the last 45 years. Tamco is a family-owned, run and managed business. Bob is still helping design new products and is the key to landing our key suppliers.Tammy Barney is who the company is named after is helping with call in orders.
Mark Hayward
Our General Manager of production is Mark Hayward. Mark has been in the paint business for 22 years now, working his way up to managing a few of the largest automotive jobber stores in just 23 years. Working with Dupont (now known as Axalta) and BASF in the automotive and Industrial fields. Some of his skills are a mix of sales, tech, management & most recently developing new Tamco products. Mark wears many hats at Tamco.
Christine Barney
Christine (youngest daughter of Bob's and fiance of Mark) works on website design, email blasts, social media, helps take/process orders and alot of back end work most do not see. Christine has also been in the business all of her life also helping her dad as a young child as well. Starting part time for her dad in High School she delivered, made sale calls, helped manufacture, and eventually ventured to help manage Sherwin-Williams Industrial stores & Finish Masters. Some of her skills are sales, cold calling, growth and management for the past 24 years. Christine also wears many hats.