I finally listened to a contractor who said my paint prep was lazy

So I had this guy come give me a quote to paint my living room in Portland a few months ago. He took one look at my walls and said "you're just gonna paint over that?" and walked me through how I needed to sand, patch, and prime everything. I figured he was just trying to upsell me. But after I did it his way on a small test wall, the finish was so much smoother. Now I actually spend the extra 2 hours on prep before any paint job. Has anyone else had a pro tell them something basic that totally changed their results?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_elizabeth6d ago

Oh man, that hits close to home. I learned the same lesson the hard way after fighting with peeling paint for a whole weekend. Honestly, it's amazing what a little sanding and primer can do, it feels like cheating once you see the difference.

sandragrant6d ago

@the_elizabeth you're absolutely right about that. I had a similar mess with a bathroom vanity last spring, and a good sanding plus primer saved me from having to strip the whole thing.

aaronroberts6d ago

Wait, you spent a whole weekend fighting peeling paint before figuring out the sanding and primer trick? That's brutal, I can't imagine doing that much work the hard way lol. My first time was a disaster too, I just painted over chipped paint on a chair and it looked even worse after it dried. A little elbow grease with 120 grit sandpaper before primer really is like magic compared to the headache of dealing with paint that won't stick.