Motorbikes and the CBT

Many years ago I decided that I want to have a go at riding a motorbike. I have ridden a push bike and I have driven a car for many years. I had all the knowledge of the road and I knew the basics of riding a motor bike. I looked into what I needed to do to learn how to ride a bike and found that I could ride a 125cc bike with L plates as long as I had done a CBT.

What was a CBT? This was a day’s course with the title “Compulsory basic training”. It made complete sense, although I had a lot of experience on the road I knew it would be different riding a motor bike. The basic training covered all the things that you would expect including the safety aspects, helmet and boots etc.

It also looked at basic maintenance of the bike and finally gave me a chance to go out on the road with an experienced rider who could make sure that I was safe out there on the road. Finally the days training gave me the confidence to go out on my own on the bike.

What has all this got to do with painting? Well, using an airless sprayer in a lot of ways is similar to riding a motor bike. You are experienced using paints, brushes and rollers but not in using the sprayer. You have spent a sum of money to get yourself a shiny new sprayer and you are thinking maybe you can get to grips with it on your own.

However, you would learn so much from a day with an experienced person who can show you all the dos and don’ts and the hints and tips that make spraying easier and more productive. You would learn how the set the machine up, the correct technique when spraying and how to clean and maintain your sprayer.

Finally it would be good to use your sprayer for a day in a safe environment (not a customer’s house) where you can make all the common first time mistakes in the safety of a training environment. You can walk away at the end of the day with the confidence that you can do it and that you have the ongoing support of an experienced team.

Check out our unique airless spraying training by decorators for decorators on www.painttechtrainingacademy.co.uk