House Painting and Brain Surgery: Anyone Can Do It

There is a definite connection between interior house painting and brain surgery. After all, anyone can do either of them. Without a doubt, anyone truly can paint—I’m not arguing the point. But I will also confidently assert that anyone can do brain surgery—the question is whether the outcome would be a desirable one.

“Anyone can paint!” If I had two cents for every time I’ve heard this statement I wouldn’t even need to write this blog. This sentiment usually comes from someone who overestimates their abilities or the customer who is hoping to get “bargain” interior painting by someone whose painting experience amounts to painting their grandmother’s bathroom fifteen years ago. “Surely this guy and his two friends can paint my house at a fraction of the cost of a professional painter”. 

So, what could go wrong with interior house painting done by a non-professional? Actually, A LOT. Let me share a few real-life painting experiences.

A customer with a very big house in a prestigious town had a major fire, damaging about 1/3 of the house. The fire was caused by the “bargain guys” not knowing you can’t put oily stain rags in a pile and then go home. The pile will combust. I’m not sure if the bargain guys had liability insurance (it wasn’t my business to ask) but I’d take an educated guess and say they didn’t.

Recently a customer hired the “cheap guys” for interior painting in her kitchen. Their interior painting was decent, but it was the wrong color. This happened to me once (once in 37 years isn’t too bad) and I repainted with the correct color. The difference is the “cheap guys” disappeared with the payment and left the customer hanging. She then hired us for interior painting using the correct color. In the end, the cheap guys were pretty expensive.

I could go on and on with examples like these, but instead I’ll just share some of the major differences between the “cheap guys” and the professional interior painters.

Quality painting and speed come with the extensive experience of professional painters. There is no doubt whatsoever that the cut in (lines between different colors) of the “guy” compared to the professional painter will be in two different ball parks and cannot even be compared. The professional comes in promptly, has the chops to complete your interior painting and get your home back together in an amazingly fast time frame AND the overall appearance is going to look like it was done by a professional painter. Hint:  If the cheap guy shows up and starts masking things off, you’re in trouble.

Professional painters have the training and skills to avoid causing damage, and the know how to cleanup with the proper surface-specific products. With the “cheap guys” there is a much higher likelihood of damage happening to your home. I’ve seen so many interior painting jobs where there are dots and blobs of paint in the carpet, permanent smudges on the hardwood floors due to cleaning attempts with the wrong solvent, and peeling paint on cabinets because they were not prepped properly (cleaned, light sanding AND bonding primer).

Perhaps most importantly is safety. The “cheap guys” have a greater chance of a major accident (ie: fire, ladder fall, etc.) happening because they have never had safety training. These are the guys who use empty buckets for step ladders. Guess who’s getting sued when the guy’s extension ladder slips and he breaks both ankles in your foyer? I actually know of three similar instances in which this has happened.

These situations clearly indicate that quality painting is not the only factor to consider when choosing a painter. The professional painter offers quality products and workmanship along with safety training, business license and insurance to protect the painter and the customer.

The only way the “bargain guy” can give bargain prices is to limit overhead costs (license, insurance, etc.), the number of coats of paint, quality of product, and/or quality of workmanship, etc. In the end, that bargain interior painting could end up costing you so much more.

If you are looking for quality painting, I hope I have convinced you that the licensed and fully insured, professional painter is, in the end, the best bargain for interior house painting. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure that one out.