About Us

I started on the painting and decorating rollercoaster when I was 16. My father a man of great wisdom said “you’re doing nothing at school, so you’re coming to work”. And so it started. My first introduction to painting was born and it was a painful one.

You know what it’s like; family tradition dating back to the 1920’s my dad with all the best intentions thought he could make a painter and decorator out of me. 12 months later I was still taking home more paint on my body than I was putting into cupboards and brushing onto seemingly miles of exterior timber for pergolas.

One day I had had enough of this and just packed it in much to my father’s disgust. You see, every Lockyer male in the family was a painter. My dad, his dad, my uncle and his two sons were all living the family dream…..pfft……I wanted suit and tie so off I went to work in retail!

After 12 months of working in the same store, same hours and nothing ever changing I decided that painting was not such a bad idea. With my tail between my legs I crawled back into the family business which during the early 90’s was having a very slow period. But hey, it allowed my dad enough time to tell me how wrong I was doing everything and how it should be done. After about 5-6 years he had built up a bit of respect for my painting ability and we actually got along like best mates. I loved my dad so much for who he was and how he had used this form of work to sustain and bring up our family. He always said to me he loved being a painter. This was something I could not even come close to fathoming as back the tradies were not popular or looked up to. It was pretty much bottom of the barrel stuff, or so I thought.

Everything we did was done to the enth degree. The job was the most important thing above all. Attention to detail and pride is what we stood on. But I was the son who always wanted to try different methods and break some of the old moulds, much to my dad’s long family heritage and tradition. These were seriously great times and he knew everything there was to know.

One day my dad complained of a pain in his back, an 4 years later my best mate, my mentor and the person that had always stood by me passed away from multiplemlialoma a bone cancer. My whole world was torn apart, everything from home to work and back again was just gone. I was now under 30yo and felt so ripped off that he had gone.

Another couple of very hard year were spent in the wilderness of life. I could not care about painting or basically anything else. I had sunk to a new low that was going to take years to get out of.

I went back to painting, not for myself but for a few other painters I knew. I got by like most others who have gone from self employed to working for someone else by just telling myself I was offering a service to these guys, they did not own me or employ me.

Another few years went on, Josh Ford, my first ever apprentice by this stage had grown his own painting company into a small empire. He was young, driven and knew how to drive a small team, stick to time lines and give builders of commercial properties exactly what they wanted. In the mean time he grew Repaint Specialists to a business employing up to 20 guys. As some people do, Josh decided that the building trade had quieted down enough to go looking for new business ventures. So he passed on Repaint Specialists to me.

After a couple of years trading the same way as Josh I never quite felt like it was my own, so I re named the business repaintpro and started making inroads into branding my own painting business again.

From the beginning to now, the hardest thing is getting over the mentality of my beloved dad who above all else considered the quality of the job as paramount. You guessed it; he never really made a dollar out of painting because he was so good at it. The business side, making money did not bother him at all. I have now tried to incorporate the two ways, Josh’s capitalist way and my dad’s way to be the business I have today.

I love painting; it is one of the best jobs on the face of the planet. Every day I work in different locations, face new challenges, and make a huge difference in people’s worlds. I get to pull their houses apart and see them watch on in horror, only to walk out a few days later or a week with a vacuum cleaner in hand and their house put back together, looking new and fresh.

As a career I just love it. As a business it has its ups and downs. Painters in store never compare notes and there seems to be no love lost between any of them, it’s the nature of the beast I guess.

So, that is where I come from and who I am now. Just another painter trying to make a difference in people’s worlds!

Since 1937 the Lockyer family have been serving their painting and decorating customers with the highest standards of workmanship, professional attitude at fantastic value for money. Your home or business is one of the most valuable things you can own, it should be treated that way, looked after and maintained your investment will remain strong. We would love to have the opportunity to quote on your next project or small renovation. From bathroom ceilings to commercial developments we have you covered.

We have been serving the needs of the Gold Coast and Brisbane for the last two decades. We love what we do, every day making a huge difference in peoples worlds! Our motto is “we make it happen”. Our business revolves around giving customers what they want and when they want it. We will work to your deadlines and deliver results for every customer.

Please give us a call and we can assist you with everything from colour choice to expert advice on maintenance of your most valuable asset.

We love what we do and hope that this reflects in your experience with Steve Lockyer painter and decorator.

Project Manager

Steve Lockyer

Aaron Lucas Developments
040 33 111 25