Painting in White Bear Lake, MN

Interior painting starts with prep, not paint. We move furniture, protect floors, wash grimy walls, patch small holes and cracks, then caulk gaps at trim and cut in with primer before two coats of finish paint go on. Exterior work follows the same order outside, pressure washing the siding, scraping loose paint, sanding rough edges, spot priming bare wood, and caulking around windows, doors, and trim before the topcoat goes on the siding, fascia, and doors.

Skipping steps here is where paint jobs fail. Paint rolled over dirty or glossy walls peels within a season. Bare wood or knots left unprimed bleed tannins through white paint and show up as yellow blotches months later. Caulk left out or applied too thin lets water get behind siding, and once that happens the wood underneath rots quietly until a board needs replacing instead of repainting.

Before signing off on a bid, ask what prep is included, not just how many coats. Ask what primer goes on bare wood, whether pressure washing is part of the exterior price, and how much drying time sits between coats. Minnesota's freeze and thaw cycles are hard on paint film, so the prep matters as much as the paint can itself.