DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

Paint riddle... Please help me fix this?

7K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  techprincesse 
#1 ·
How do you know your "pro" painter knows LESS then you do about painting?

1. They tell you you do not need to prime when changing paint color.
2. They tell you primer is more expensive then paint.
3. They call Lowe's/HD paint "quality" paint. And then tell you the Sherwin Williams paint you bought is not good paint.
4. They put joint compound on the wall and paint over it without priming the area first.
5. They ask YOU to buy painter's tape in order for them to do THEIR job.

Okay, that was just a FEW of the massive issues I encountered yesterday when hiring a supposed "professional painter" with 27 years experience. I closed on my first home last week, a forclosure that has some adventurous colors in it. I look up in the online directory for some painters because the ceilings are pretty high for me (14 feet) and I do not want to rent a scaffolding. On top of that I relocated so I have no family around here to help me do this. So I hired people who basically talked the talk. THe ceiling needed paint as well as the living room AND its ceiling was this wild neon yellow color. The painters told me to buy Duron, but I never heard of Duron so I went to Sherwin Williams (across the street from Duron) and bought 4 gallons of ivory colored paint and I got 4 cans of Zinsser Latex primer from Home Depot.

I hired two painters for the day for a flat rate. As it was only a living room and small dining room attached they assured me over the hone that they would be able to do the living/dining room AND have time to spare to do the 2 bedrooms upstairs. NOT. Please beleive me when I said I tolld them the measurements ahead of time (which is 17 x12 for the living room and 10x10 for the dining room, both share the same ceiling). The day they got here (yesterday) and started edging the paint in the actual wall color I asked them why they werent using the primer, and this guy tells me in this LONG drawn out answer that since the existing paint is light yellow and my new color is light tan, I won't need primer at all. He proceeds to say that since primer is more expensive then paint after they are done I can return all of the primer and "save some money." Right there I thought, Holy cow, am I screwed. Anyway, I took the day off and stayed in the house the whole day only going out for about a half hour each time and they barely even took a lunch break which I had to tell them to go get food. few times I asked why the paint wasnt going up on the wall smoothly, it was very splotchy looking, they guys told me I got crappy paint! I spent $400 on that Sherwin Williams paint so since I didnt want to rebuy the whole thing, I just let them continue. My kid and me are set to move in this weekend and I only had the one day off, so I was stuck.

By 6pm the main huge 14 by 12 wall that you see when you come in the house had multiple patches in it. It had a shelf on it which they took down and ASSURED me they would patch and paint. So they painted AROUND the joint compound on the wall since they said it was not dry and it couldnt be painted. Well they left it that way. I had to make a stink and demand they paint it cause I didnt want to 8 foot long patch of neon yellow paint in the middle of the main focus wall. So they grudgingly painted it and left. Well that one coat of paint on that huge wall since it wasnt primed has splotchy neon yellow peeking thru. And the joint compound is SO visible I think a one eyed pup would notice it.

They guy offered to come back today for 2 hours (for $60 for ONE hour no less) and do the second coat over the whole wall. But I am VERY reluctant because since the joint compund is so prominent, the shelf that was there went from one corner to the next and the previous owner used huge screws and anchors, so the patch is about 8-9 feet long and about 3 inches tall as some of the drywall came off when it was removed since it was painted over as well. They had so much attitude and at times got so snippy with me I just shut up so they could hurry up and finish as I didnt want them to walk off and leave.

So my question in this whole story is, should I just let him do the 2nd coat? OR do I pay someone else to actually PRIME the entire wall and start over the right way for that wall to come out smooth? I have one whole can of the matching paint left. I dont want that huge patch to show up. I can try to prime and paint it myself after work today and tomorrow but I dont have a ladder or the paint brushes/rollers so it would probably cost me $60 to do it myself anyway? Can I just prime over the joint compound and then do a 2nd coat??? I am so confused and hurt that this didnt get done and they have my money!

Sorry to be so long winded I wanted togive as much info as possible so you guys knew the condition of how the wall got here. Please help, I've been had and I know it, but I need this fixed before our furniture gets moved in this weekend.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Well, different guys do different things. I dont always prime patches. They DO need to paint them. I "prime" patches with paint, it works pretty well. I paint the patches with the wall paint at least 2 (rolled ) times BEFORE I paint the entire wall, this helps build "stipple" or "orange peel". Thats the small bumps left on your wall from the roller. I always do this so that everything blends properly. They need to paint the bare spots at least 2 more times, then coat the entire wall once. ( doubt they will ) Depending on the color and finish, you could probably do this yourself, at least as far as painting the bare spots ( hopefully they will blend ok )

Answer your questions
1) not always necessary depending on product being used.
2) depending on what primer and paint you buy...yeah, primer CAN be more expensive
3) I'm a Benjamin Moore guy so I wont comment on this one :)
4) depending on the situation, its acceptable
5) just plain lame......unless they were working for time + materials, which means you pay for what they use and just pay them hourly/daily. Can be good if you have an honest contractor, and a difficult job. Like stripping wallpaper, you never know how long it could take, could be 10min could be 10hrs. It usually works out well for both the H/O and the contractor.
 
#3 ·
How do you know your "pro" painter knows LESS then you do about painting?

1. They tell you you do not need to prime when changing paint color. No you dont have to prime to change color. It may help for coverage of the new color over a dark color but that is about all
2. They tell you primer is more expensive then paint. No it isn't
3. They call Lowe's/HD paint "quality" paint. And then tell you the Sherwin Williams paint you bought is not good paint. They are not painters. unless you bought SW Property Management paint - ProMar 400 or 700
4. They put joint compound on the wall and paint over it without priming the area first. that is acceptable if there are no water stains
5. They ask YOU to buy painter's tape in order for them to do THEIR job. no, unacceptable. a good painting doesnt use tape to brush and roll other than to protect baseboards from roller sprits.

.
So, $30 per hour is very cheap. they probably dont have insurance or workers compensation. you should require both before hiring someone. do you have a signed contract? do they have letterhead? What do they drive and what do they look like? do they have a website? do they even have business cards? are they Inc. LLC.?

if you hire drunks from off the street you are going to get what you got. I say fire them and if you dont have a signed contract don't pay them.
 
#4 ·
I never said it was $30 an hour. He said he can come back today for an hour to just put the 2nd coat on for $60. I paid $400 for the day from 10-5pm. They do have a website and drove a work truck, they had ladders and scaffolding and all types of painting equipment and claimed they have been doing this for 20+ years. I found them on a craigslist posting and they were on another website that was a directory of painters in the DC Metro area so they were far from drunks on the street. I never signed any contract, it was all verbal. Same thing with my electrician and my A/C guy. Only difference is the electrician and ac guys both assessed the situation, and I signed a work order before they got to work in both cases. As this was just paint, I didnt think I needed a contract. Especially since so many people paint their homes themselves. I only needed help for these rooms cause of the high ceilings.

I paid them at the end of the day already so my money is lost. I just need to know HOW to fix it. They called me today to see if I wanted him to come back for an hour and repaint that wall for the $60, but I wanted to come here and see if just one coat would fix it. Otherwise I will tell him forget it and explore another avenue.

The paint for the living room was SW CLassic Satin paint, $30/gallon. I bought Duration for the bedrooms but they didnt get done anyway so I will have to do them myself.
 
#5 ·
It sounds like you have had a very bad experience at the hands of a so called professional painter. IMO he was not but, in any case I think you need to hire a REAL painter to asses the problems and move on.If you lived a little closer to me I would come and look at it and see what was going on but DC( downtown) is just a little to much traffic for me.
 
#6 ·
I'm not in DC, I'm in Gaithersburg. But I dont want to pay anyone to do something that wont make it look better. Can someone please tell me what to do to fix it?

They used powdered joint compound on the nails holes and patches. They painted straight over it with my SW paint one coat. The patches are really prominent, I can see them from across the room, the kitchen no matter what. So from what I read above do I just go buy a ladder and slap 2 more coats on top to fix it?
 
#7 ·
I posted exactly how to fix the problem, scroll up and read the previous posts, not just the most recent. Then again, you got a painter off craigslist.

They need to paint the bare spots at least 2 more times, then coat the entire wall once. ( doubt they will ) Depending on the color and finish, you could probably do this yourself, at least as far as painting the bare spots ( hopefully they will blend ok )
 
#8 ·
How do you know your "pro" painter knows LESS then you do about painting?

1. They tell you you do not need to prime when changing paint color.
2. They tell you primer is more expensive then paint.
3. They call Lowe's/HD paint "quality" paint. And then tell you the Sherwin Williams paint you bought is not good paint.
4. They put joint compound on the wall and paint over it without priming the area first.
5. They ask YOU to buy painter's tape in order for them to do THEIR job.
1. You really don't need to prime but you DO need two coats for just about any color change.
2. Generally primer is cheaper.
3. Anyone who said that would befired. Always ask what brand the painters will use. That will tell you if they are pro's or chepo's.
4. Never paint a wall untill the joint compound is dry. They make Durabond/Easysand setting compund if you need to patch and paint in the same day.
5. The only time you use tape is if you need to paint a tight area and you brush will hit some woodwor or something that is not to be painted.

Cut your losses with that company and move on.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the responses guys. I ended up hiring another painter. This time from a recommendation of a co-worker. He fixed the walls the other guys mucked up and also painted the additional room I needed painted. I wish I would have got his number before, as he did an excellent job. The last room I am going to attempt myself so I will take these tips and hopefully do a good job on my own. Having paid twice to do one job has drained my paint budget. But you live and you learn. Thanks again!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top