Edmonton Painter Exposes Common Painting Shortcuts

Painting Shortcuts Homeowners Don't See Until It's Too Late

A freshly painted room can be wonderfully deceptive.

When you first walk in, the walls are clean, the colour is new, and everything appears finished. What you cannot immediately see is what happened before that final coat went on. Was the wall properly prepared? Did the painter apply the appropriate number of coats? Is the product on your walls actually the product you paid for?

After years of painting Edmonton homes, I have seen enough shortcuts to know that some of the most important differences between a careful painter and a careless one are practically invisible on the day the project is finished.

At Walls Revived, I believe homeowners should understand what they are paying for. A beautiful finish matters, of course, but so does everything underneath it. The craftsmanship you cannot see is often what determines how the room will look years from now.

Here are several painting shortcuts homeowners should know about before hiring someone to work in their home. You might even call them red flags.

Shortcut #1: Skipping the Preparation and Hoping Paint Hides Everything

The easiest shortcut is also one of the most common: arrive at the house, open the paint and start rolling.

Painting is the visible part of the job, which is why it receives most of the attention. Preparation is the unsung hero. It involves inspecting the surfaces, repairing imperfections, sanding where required, and ensuring the wall is ready to accept the coating.

It is not glamorous work, but it matters enormously.

The Master Painters Institute's specifications for interior painting include preparation, such as cleaning, repairing small cracks, patching, caulking, sealing, and priming, as part of a proper painting system.

That word, system, is important.

Paint is not just decoration applied to whatever happens to be underneath. The surface, preparation, primer and finish coats all work together.

Sanding is particularly important. A wall may look reasonably smooth from across the room, but once fresh paint catches daylight from a nearby window, imperfections become much more obvious. Proper preparation creates the foundation for a finish that looks considered rather than merely covered.

This is one reason two painting estimates can differ even when both contractors appear to be quoting the same room. One may be pricing the time required to prepare it properly. Another may only be pricing how quickly someone can cover it with paint.

Shortcut #2: Saving a Coat Where the Homeowner Is Less Likely to Notice

Closets are interesting places.

They are tucked away, often poorly lit and eventually filled with clothing, boxes and shelving. That makes them tempting places to save time.

I have seen painting projects where the main rooms received the proper treatment, while closets received only one coat. At first glance, a homeowner may never notice. Look more carefully, however, and the colour underneath can sometimes show through. The finish does not have the same depth or consistency as the surrounding rooms.

There are situations where a single coat may be appropriate. If you are refreshing a rental in exactly the same colour, for example, the circumstances may be different. Or perhaps the homeowner specifically decides that an inconspicuous area is not worth the additional cost.

That should be a conversation, not a secret.

For a typical repaint involving a colour change, I generally work on the expectation that two finish coats will be required. Paint fades over time, products change, and even colours that appear similar can cover differently.

The same principle becomes particularly important with new drywall.

Bare drywall needs an appropriate primer before the finish system is applied. One shortcut I have encountered is tinting the primer toward the final wall colour and then applying only one finish coat. Tinting primer itself is not necessarily improper; there are legitimate situations where a tinted primer can help with colour coverage.

The problem is that using that tint disguises the fact that an entire finish coat has disappeared from the job.

You may even be able to feel the difference. A properly finished wall should have a consistent appearance and texture rather than feeling like the job stopped one step too early.

Shortcut #3: Stretching Paint Instead of Using It as Intended

This one surprises homeowners: adding unnecessary water to paint in hopes of making it stretch farther.

There are legitimate situations in which a coating may be reduced or an extender used, in accordance with product directions and application requirements. That is very different from pouring water into a product because a painter does not want to buy another gallon.

Paint is a formulated product. Its pigments, binders and other components are designed to work together.

When someone arbitrarily changes that formula, they are no longer applying the product as intended. Adhesion may be affected, and you may also be interfering with qualities homeowners actually care about, such as durability, coverage and the longevity of the finish.

Manufacturers provide application instructions for a reason, and painters should respect them.

There is also a health and safety component to working properly with coatings. Health Canada advises professional painters to read paint labels, follow product directions and ensure appropriate ventilation.

A professional should understand that the paint can is not just a container of colour. It is a specific product with instructions about how it should be handled and applied.

Cutting corners with that product may save a small amount during installation, but the homeowner is the one left living with the result.

Shortcut #4: Are You Actually Getting the Paint You Paid For?

There is one shortcut I find particularly troubling because it moves beyond workmanship and into trust.

I have heard of painters obtaining an empty container from a premium paint manufacturer, filling it with a cheaper product and presenting it to the homeowner as though the premium paint were being used.

I want to be clear: this is something I have heard about in the industry, not something I personally witnessed.

But it illustrates an important point.

How does a homeowner know what is actually going onto the wall?

You are perfectly entitled to ask.

If your quote specifies a particular manufacturer and product line, ask your painter about it. You can request receipts if you are concerned. You could purchase the paint yourself, although doing so may mean giving up contractor pricing or other arrangements your painter has with a supplier.

More importantly, choose someone you trust enough that you do not feel compelled to inspect every paint can entering the house.

Good painting should not require detective work.

A professional relationship depends on transparency. If I recommend a particular product, I should be able to explain why I am using it. If the project requires two coats, that is what should be applied. If an area needs additional preparation, we should discuss it rather than hide it beneath fresh colour.

The homeowner should know what is included, what products are being used and what level of finish to expect.

That is ultimately what separates professional painting from getting paint onto a wall.

The shortcuts I have described can be difficult to detect immediately. A missed coat in a closet may not announce itself. Poor preparation may reveal itself later. A watered-down product does not carry a warning once it dries.

This is why choosing a painter should involve more than comparing the final numbers at the bottom of two estimates.

Ask about preparation. Ask how many coats are included. Ask which products will be used. If something about an estimate is unclear, ask for clarification before the work begins.

And if you would rather have the job approached properly from the beginning, contact Walls Revived to discuss your painting project. My approach is quite simple: prepare the surfaces properly, use the products we agreed upon, apply the system the way it should be applied, and leave you with walls that look beautiful for reasons that go much deeper than colour.