Residentail Re-Paint Quality: How Good Is Good Enough?

These tips will help new painting business owners gain confidence going into their first contract paint jobs...

I remember the very first residential repaint job I ever landed on my own...

I had painted in the field as an employee for over a decade before I started my own business and when the day came that I was to start my very first "Solo" paint job, all of a sudden I had a panic feeling as I was about to start cutting in.

I wondered:

What kind of quality is this customer expecting?

How good is good enough?

So I picked up the cell phone and called Paul (my mentor) who I had just completed a three year apprenticeship with and asked him those questions.

Here is what he said...

When painting a residential repaint the MINIMUM quality that is acceptable should be based on the quality of the paint job already on the surface.

...BUT he said, if the paint job that you are painting over was done by the homeowner or DIYer and doesn't look good (uneven cut, holidays, etc.) then it's your responsibility to make it look a lot more professional.

...If the paint job being painted over already looks good (sharp cut lines, good coverage, etc) then you should use that as your minimum quality guideline.

Your goal as painting business owner, whether you do the painting yourself or hire others to do the work, is to provide a quality finished paint j0b that the customer is happy with.

One way to ensure you always meet the customers expectations is to do a final walk through with them.

The final walk through gives you time to take after photos, talk to the homeowner about your referral program and ask them for a testimonial and/or letter of recommendation.

If you are new to owning your own painting business and have any questions, please leave a comment on this post and we'll try to answer them for you.