How Many Coats of Paint Are Needed for My Home?

Ask the Expert with Jon Meyer, VP of Sales

How Many Coats of Paint Are Needed for Interior and Exterior Painting Projects?

Jon: “Many of our customers ask us: How many coats of paint are needed to paint a room or the outside of a house? Two coats of paint are required. People tend to think that it costs more money to apply more coats of paint but it’s not about cost but more about performance.

Manufacturers like Sherwin Williams specify on all products that they recommend 2 coats of paint. It is the way the product is designed to hold up over time. In all of our proposals we clearly state that the project includes 2 coats of paint. Two coats will outperform 1 coat in terms of durability, protection, washability and getting the true color and retaining the true color. It’s pretty impossible to adequately cover an entire space with 1 coat – you are set up for failure.

Home Exteriors Require More Than One Coat of Paint

I have seen 1 coat of paint fail within 1 year on the exterior of a home. People think that if you’re sticking with the same color on the outside of your home you only need to apply 1 coat because, by sight, it doesn’t look any different. That might be true but the paint will not hold up over time. It will wash away after 1 year and you won’t get the proper protection and durability. You will typically pay 30% more upfront on the 2nd coat but it will last 5 times the amount of just 1 coat. Like most quality products, you’re paying for longevity and performance.

The Dow Chemical Company, a company that makes raw ingredients in latex paints, has a test field farm and paint quality institute in Spring House, PA. In one of their exercises, they test 1 coat versus 2 coats of paint on a surface. And wouldn’t you know it, the results are better with 2 coats in color retention and durability. We brought our crew to this site for a field trip to learn about their exercises and become better experts in this industry. We now test our own products and provide our customers with expert knowledge when it comes to painting and protecting surfaces. We have found that if you cut corners in preparation and application, the product will fail and not perform to its fullest capabilities.

Hire a Painting Contractor You Can Trust

When hiring a painting contractor, look at the scope of work provided. Certa Pro’s estimate only provides and recommends 1 coat of paint, which after reading this article you know will fail in 1 year’s time. And with Certa Pro, you have to pay additionally for wanting 2 coats of paint. Nolan Painting recommends 2 coats of paint and we clearly indicate that in our scope of work. Plus there are no additional charges in our free estimates.

Note: There is one exception though when you coat or seal your deck. You only need 1 coat for that project. Otherwise, 2 coats are necessary for the interior and exterior of your home.”

If your home is in the Main Line Pennsylvania area, or surrounding areas like Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, you can be confident that Nolan Painting will do the job correctly the first time. We’d never try to get away with one coat of paint when the job calls for two, and we never cut corners when it comes to making your home look its very best.

If you hire a painter from somewhere else, or one that’s new to the area, you never know what you’re going to get. They don’t have to live here and see their work every day as they drive to their next job. We do. We’re proud to do it because we put our best into every painting job we do, so the fellow members of our Main Line and surrounding Pennsylvania communities love it. When you hire Nolan Painting to paint your home, you’ll never have to worry if you’re getting a subpar paint job because that’s just not what we do, and we’ve got plenty of beautiful homes to show you in the Main Line area to prove it.

If you are looking for more information on how we utilize two coats of paint to make your paint more durable, or if you are looking for painting services. Contact us today for more information for a free estimate!