Two coats revisited

It is amazing - I just blogged on always using two coats when changing colors and sheen.

I received a call from a homeowner on Monday wanting an estimate on various rooms in her house. We scheduled an appointment on Tuesday for a formal walk through. The rooms were painted with an Olympic flat white. She wanted the rooms painted beige with an eggshell sheen. I immediately communicated to her that it would need two coats and she stated they had only used one coat on some of the rooms they painted. Again, the problem is, the sheens don't match and you sometimes get a banding look.

I could have tried to do it in one coat to get the business, but I know I would end up doing a lot of additional work to make it look good to satisfy the customer.  No doubt, another painter will come in and quote it as one coat.  The painter will either find themselves doing additional work or they will ask for more money.

The second coat is always much cheaper. For example, my estimate for one coat would have been right around $1,000 for one coat and with a second coat, it would have only been $1,500. And it would have looked so much better.

Have a great day and make it a great 2011.