Every painter will tell you preparation matters. The trouble is that good preparation can mean very different things to different people — and the difference is invisible by the time the finish coat dries.
Real preparation starts from one principle: different surfaces require different procedures. Wood, plaster, stucco, and metal each fail in their own way and each need their own prep. And the same surface needs different treatment inside than out, because exterior surfaces live with water, sun, and movement that interior walls never see.
A cautionary tale
Years ago, Greg watched another crew prepping a house nearby — filling exterior wood siding with interior spackle. Spackle is a fine product in its place; its place is inside. On exterior wood it holds until the first cycles of rain and sun, then cracks and lets go, taking the new paint with it.
Within months, that 'freshly painted' house was cracking and peeling. The homeowners paid for a paint job twice — once for the work, and once for the shortcut.
“Proper paint surface preparation is essential to every paint job.”
What sound preparation looks like
- Surfaces washed clean of dirt, chalk, and mildew — paint holds only to clean material
- Failing paint scraped to a sound edge, then sanded and feathered smooth
- Damaged and rotted wood repaired with the right materials for the exposure
- Joints caulked and sealed against water
- Bare and repaired areas primed before any finish coat
None of this shows in the final photos. All of it decides whether the job lasts ten years or three. When you compare painting proposals, ask each contractor to describe their preparation step by step — the answers will tell you more than the prices do.
Ready for a written scope of your own?