American Painting Contractor

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May 30, 2025

Still Going Strong

Proving you’re never too old to be a craftsman

Phoenix, Arizona

Adix Painting

At 68 years old, Steven Adickes doesn’t shy away from a challenge—he seeks them out.

So when a Phoenix homeowner asked him to undo years of layered faux finishes and revive her master bathroom, exercise room, and connecting round vestibule, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

The result? A top-tier transformation.

The job began in April 2024 with a conversation and some photo references. Together, Adickes and the client settled on Sherwin-Williams Greek Villa as the primary tone, paired with custom black vanities to match newly installed mirrors.

Over the next 125 hours of hard work, Adickes executed a solo masterclass in surface preparation and finish work. He sanded, primed, and painted over textured walls, patched cracks around an old pull-up bar, and repaired a failing curved drywall section above the bathtub. He removed old vents and can lights, cleaned travertine backsplashes with Scotch-Brite, and sprayed new finishes using HVLP equipment inside a carefully contained Zip Wall booth.

“This job required multiple skills to transform older faux finishes that were applied to walls, ceilings, vents, and light covers,” Adickes said.

The round vestibule—once covered in a dated stucco dome—was transformed with a soft sapphire metallic sheen that required deft work around a hanging light fixture. Below, baseboards and door jambs were masked off to preserve their natural stain while adjacent walls were painted in eggshell and matte finishes.

Throughout, Steven employed a combination of Full Circle sanding systems, Festool HEPA extractors, and even tested new tools still in R&D.

The best part was seeing the joy on the client’s face when she saw the finished project.

“It was just what she envisioned to brighten up the bathroom and her workspace,” Adickes says. “And the final cost was just at the original guesstimate.”

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