I'm not a pro, but I have DEFINATELY done a LOT of painting AND drywalling in the last 2 years (redoing 2 houses, one to move into and one to sell). If its new drywall,after the sanding of ONLY the seams (or repairs that were done), you should only have to quickly wiping the walls with a damp cloth or use a shop vac on the walls to remove the dust. Next you should have to do is prime ... with a good primer. A good primer will save you a lot of time. Even on "old walls", Kilz II (which is the water based, NOT the oil), for instance, will paint over and stick to darn near ANYTHING, including walls that haven't been washed, let alone sanded in 40 years. Now, that being said, Kilz II WILL stick to EVERYTHING, including the floors, your hands and nails, hair, etc, etc, etc.... GREAT paint/primer, just hard to clean up if you don't get RIGHT on it.

Your husband is wrong. The painter is correct.

You have to decide how you want it done and then agree to pay the painter's wages to accomplish it.

Any painter worth his salt will always abide by the customer's wishes, as long as the customer is fair and a good paying customer.

To sand,wash, prime and two coat a wall should cost about $3.75 - $5 per sf. (depending on products) Is that in your budget?

I worked differently when I sold residential repaints. I washed, sanded, primed and two coated. It was my company philosophy and there were no short-cuts. I didn't have to chase work, it came to me. I never had to hurry up and get to the next job because the current job was a well paying job.

There's a difference between a painted room and a professionally painted room. When a room is just painted with the least prep, people don't ask about it. When it's painted with maximum prep and high quality paint, people ask, "who did your painting?"

A painter's career is also steered by his clientle. If he falls prey to the shopper who doesn't think a painter should make at least $25 per hour, then his career is a struggling one. If a painter seeks to build his business with professional clientle who value quality work, products and true professionalism, he'll find himself becoming one of the highest paid painters in town, with less work on his schedule. :) This doesn't hold true with everyone, but my experience was that auto workers making $30 per hour somehow thought that I was only worth $10 per hour.

As I grew older, I was painting the homes of my customers children.

I no longer pursue that vocation. I've let it go for another adventure. I've had many offers to sell for my former competition. However, when I see their presentation and their work ethic, I choose to remain apart from them.

I know that's more than you wanted to know, but I feel like talking today. :)

Michael

I learned to paint by watching and learning from professional painters. I do remodeling/handy work as a retirement business---keeps LOML happy to know I am working while she is also.

Prep work for painting is more involved than the actual painting. Clean and dry are musts. Smooth is a matter of personal preferrence. I have done a lot of trim work in the five years I have been in my business. I have yet to sand every inch of any trim I have stained, painted, or installed. I have, however, sanded all of the trim I have made.

If trim is to be painted, modern primers are designed to stick to many things. For instance, my wife oiled the wood paneling in our living room twice in six years. The second time had been applied three years previously when she decided she wanted the dark walnut paneling painted a pastel blue.

She smokes, another possible problem with painting. Solution? I checked with my mentors and used shellac based primer---without touching the walls---no cleaning, no dusting, nothing. I even tinted the primer to the paint color.

That job was done in 12 hours--a 14' by 14' room---two coats of primer and two paint---all brush applied, no roller.

That was over ten years ago---I just recoated the room last month by adding two coats of a new color, only because the original color had faded---but this time the walls were washed, since I did not primer.

So, the painter knows his stuff. Most painters are very aware folks think painting is easy and do not understand the basics of what has to be done to get a professional job. So, they do not take chances and still try to keep customer cost down.

let me clarify that our painter is willing to do what we want, and he is very meticulous in his work. If I insisted that he sand everything and then prime, he would. but he is offering up a second opinion on how to do the work and what needs to be done and still have, what he believes, is a quality job. he is paid well, by the hour. so, if he takes extra steps, the end price will be higher. that is only fair. The question is, are those extra steps that my husband did in other areas, necessary for a quality paint job?

All of the walls and trim that we want painted have been painted before, by previous owners. The rooms my husband has completed look very nice, and the rooms our painter has done so far also look great (on close inspection, better - as is expected because the painter is a professional). I just want to convince my husband that the painter's work will last, that we won't be sorry later that the painter did not sand smooth areas or prime previously painted surfaces. Right now it's hard for my husband to be happy with the work, because even if it looks great, he thinks that we're in trouble down the road with peeling paint due to improper prep work.

thank you for your comments!

If you follow the recommended procedures on the paint label, you can be assured of long lasting results. What are the common recommended procedures?

1. Surface must be clean and free from dirt and or dust or oils, nicotine, hairspray, grease, soap, etc.
2. Glossy surfaces should be sanded dull or primed.

Very simple steps, but ignored by a lot of painters and DIY'ers.

Michael