# One coat coverage



## PainterGuy91 (May 3, 2016)

Hi everyone, I have always done two coats on all my jobs. However I have just received a huge contract for 59 townhouses and to keep costs down my client has asked for just one coat on paint ontop of the primer.

I am concerned that my techniques for painting walls are adapted for two coats. I have a spray gun and good brush/roller labourers at my disposal. What can I do to ensure a nice guy nice finish on the walls with a single paint coat?


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Personally I wouldn't sweat it too much. He has already indicated price is his main concern so give him a job that is equal to what he wants to pay. 

Just curious, why is he specifying a primer coat? If there aren't any problem walls or conditions why not just two coats of paint? If it's absolutely necessary to prime then have it tinted to match your paint and treat it as your first coat. 

As to application method, guess it just depends on the situation with the units and what would allow you to complete them faster.


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## The Cutting Edge (May 25, 2014)

I would bet they are textured? You can put so much more paint on textured walls over flat. Have done many duplexes with one coat over texture. No problem. Especially if your using a descent primer. Tint 100%. 3/4 nap.


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## Boco (May 18, 2013)

Tint the primer and use a decent contractor grade paint like BM Ultra spec or PPG or PPG Ultrahide 150. You get what ya pay for.


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## PainterGuy91 (May 3, 2016)

RH said:


> Personally I wouldn't sweat it too much. He has already indicated price is his main concern so give him a job that is equal to what he wants to pay.
> 
> Just curious, why is he specifying a primer coat? If there aren't any problem walls or conditions why not just two coats of paint? If it's absolutely necessary to prime then have it tinted to match your paint and treat it as your first coat.
> 
> As to application method, guess it just depends on the situation with the units and what would allow you to complete them faster.


It is brand new flat drywall that has just been mudded and sanded. Wouldn't it look absolutely terrible if it was not primed?


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## PainterGuy91 (May 3, 2016)

The Cutting Edge said:


> I would bet they are textured? You can put so much more paint on textured walls over flat. Have done many duplexes with one coat over texture. No problem. Especially if your using a descent primer. Tint 100%. 3/4 nap.


No the walls are not textured, they are just flat drywall. Thanks will get tinted primer from now on. What do you mean by 3/4 nap?


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

PainterGuy91 said:


> It is brand new flat drywall that has just been mudded and sanded. Wouldn't it look absolutely terrible if it was not primed?


I always prime newly textured walls. You didn't state in your OP that's what the walls were, hence my question about why priming was to be done.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

PainterGuy91 said:


> No the walls are not textured, they are just flat drywall. Thanks will get tinted primer from now on. What do you mean by 3/4 nap?


Not trying to bust your b---s but there seems to be a bit of a disconnect between someone bidding a 59 townhouse job and someone not knowing what 3/4 nap means.


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## The Cutting Edge (May 25, 2014)

PainterGuy91 said:


> No the walls are not textured, they are just flat drywall. Thanks will get tinted primer from now on. What do you mean by 3/4 nap?


Just meant a 3/4" nap roller cover or bigger is great for textured walls. Holds more paint etc. Around here when you have new construction and they want one coat of paint you can bet they don't pay for good drywallers so its always textured.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

It can be done. Put plenty of paint on and don't go cheap on the primer and it can look ok. Spray and back roll 

Biggest problem you run into doing a one finish coat system is touch ups don't usually go well. Without full sheen development, touch ups usually stand out, even with flat paint. 

Personally, I would rather do two coats of a self priming finish coat than one primer and one finish. Of course, a main reason some builders want to spec 1 prime/ 1 finish is primer is cheaper than paint. It's not unusual to see it done that way, on spec construction especially. 


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Out here it's all texture so don't think I've ever encountered having to prime new smooth surfaces. I know that when I bid a newly textured job I always allow more time for the primer coat since it always goes on more slowly than a recoat or the first coat of paint over the new primer due to more drag. Is it the same with new smooth surfaces as well or is there no difference at all?


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

It's the same.


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## PainterGuy91 (May 3, 2016)

RH said:


> PainterGuy91 said:
> 
> 
> > No the walls are not textured, they are just flat drywall. Thanks will get tinted primer from now on. What do you mean by 3/4 nap?
> ...


I would guess it's the thickness of the ply on your roller. If so, that is odd to me because you are going by inches instead of mm and I live in Canada where we go by the metric system. You could just explain instead of bashing me. Also, remember that great men do things before they are ready.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

PainterGuy91 said:


> I would guess it's the thickness of the ply on your roller. If so, that is odd to me because you are going by inches instead of mm and I live in Canada where we go by the metric system. You could just explain instead of bashing me. Also, remember that great men do things before they are ready.


Wasn't bashing you - just seemed a bit odd. Your explanation makes sense.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

I always thought it was interesting how texture is such a regional thing. I never saw orange peel or knock down, except in hotel rooms maybe, till I moved to FL for a while. 

Yeah, it's about the same as far as soaking in an causing drag on your first coat. 

It's a little easier to get away with a two coat system on texture. I guess because the texture makes it easier to apply a thick film. When I worked in FL, some outfits did a one coat system on texture. Apply at 10 mil or so, let it set up for a minute, and back roll. Good enough for a spec house in some situations.,

I think it's somewhat of a misconception though when people imply that finishing drywall with a texture is easier than finishing smooth. Maybe a little, but a nice looking orange peel really requires a nice looking level 4 to start with. It won't hide as many sins as some people seem to think, and there is certainly a skill to shooting even texture. 


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## PRC (Aug 28, 2014)

Jmayspaint said:


> I always thought it was interesting how texture is such a regional thing. I never saw orange peel or knock down, except in hotel rooms maybe, till I moved to FL for a while.
> 
> Yeah, it's about the same as far as soaking in an causing drag on your first coat.
> 
> ...


I'd imagine cutting the lid is a little different, maybe more challenging with texture also. I wouldn't know, being from the land of smooth walls the most "texture" I see is 200 year old plaster walls that haven't been cared for.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

PRC said:


> I'd imagine cutting the lid is a little different, maybe more challenging with texture also. I wouldn't know, being from the land of smooth walls the most "texture" I see is 200 year old plaster walls that haven't been cared for.


It can be. Especially if you have two different textures you are dealing with, say orange peel on the walls and a knockdown on the ceilings. Still, I'd rather deal with cutting in issues any day rather than the ones (flashing, roller lines, etc) you smooth wall guys often seem to encounter.


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## Hines Painting (Jun 22, 2013)

RH said:


> It can be. Especially if you have two different textures you are dealing with, say orange peel on the walls and a knockdown on the ceilings. Still, I'd rather deal with cutting in issues any day rather than the ones (flashing, roller lines, etc) you smooth wall guys often seem to encounter.


I'm with you on that one.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

With fifty nine units to experiment on, I'm certain he'll have it down pretty quick. As a matter of fact, I would say the OP is destined to be an expert on the subject of one coat finishing.

Good luck to you!


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## PainterGuy91 (May 3, 2016)

Thanks for the replies everybody. I will post some progress reports as the job goes on.


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## Leeboy20 (Jul 28, 2014)

If you have a cloverdale store near you... Go with two coats of super 2 eggshell . Sand in between coats and good to go


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## cairnstone (Jun 16, 2009)

PainterGuy91 said:


> I would guess it's the thickness of the ply on your roller. If so, that is odd to me because you are going by inches instead of mm and I live in Canada where we go by the metric system. You could just explain instead of bashing me. Also, remember that great men do things before they are ready.


sorry but what part of canada is metric. Typically Canada is a dual system and any trades person will know 3/4 nap


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

cairnstone said:


> sorry but what part of canada is metric. Typically Canada is a dual system and any trades person will know 3/4 nap


No idea what a 3/4 nap is, sorry. All I've seen is mm. I typically use a 15mm sleeve, or a 18mm micro fiber


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## The Cutting Edge (May 25, 2014)

Pretty interesting to me the different textures around the country. Around here its always knock down on the ceilings. Probably 50% knockdown on walls 50% flat. I apply quite a bit of texture myself. Been trying to sell skip trowel all this year. Hardly anyone here will pay a little extra money for something different. Same ol crap. Wandering what you guys see mostly in Canada?


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

I've pretty much been shocked since I've joined pt. Never knew there were such regional differences. Some Cali knockdown on cielings, some popcorn, but i've yet to see any texture on walls. Maybe a few on some crappy walls to hid some horrid 150 yr old lath and plaster repaints, but that's it.

Everything is flat around here otherwise.


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## The Cutting Edge (May 25, 2014)

Wildbill7145 said:


> I've pretty much been shocked since I've joined pt. Never knew there were such regional differences. Some Cali knockdown on cielings, some popcorn, but i've yet to see any texture on walls. Maybe a few on some crappy walls to hid some horrid 150 yr old lath and plaster repaints, but that's it.
> 
> Everything is flat around here otherwise.


In my home town its all texture but if you drive 30min up the road where most of my work is its all high end lake homes where its all flat walls. Two totally different types of customers. I don't even like to bid in my town anymore. They always want the cheapest crap paint job they can get. 30min up the road they want quality and are willing to pay for it.
Congrats on the moderator status Bill.


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

The Cutting Edge said:


> Pretty interesting to me the different textures around the country. Around here its always knock down on the ceilings. Probably 50% knockdown on walls 50% flat. I apply quite a bit of texture myself. Been trying to sell skip trowel all this year. Hardly anyone here will pay a little extra money for something different. Same ol crap. Wandering what you guys see mostly in Canada?


Ceilings are different from house to house. 
Some popcorn, spraytex, flat, knockdown.

99% of the walls I come across are flat


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## AlphaWolf (Nov 23, 2014)

if they are really looking to save on cost buy removing a coat of paint i would do the following my self. 
Ceilings: finish in Xpert High Build dead flat celling paint
Walls: 2 Coats Dulux Lifemaster Matte
Trim:Spray Prime and 1 coat Semi gloss. 

I have done this many times when required. Believe it or not was asked to do it one some very large fancy homes even. Worked out fine and looked great. Also the 2 coats of life master turned out good covered well and was very durable. If there is a large wall with a lot of light feel free to give it one more fast coat if you have any flashing issues. I also live in Canada.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

The biggest problem I have seen through the years dealing with new construction painters is that they always seem to have to spend an inordinate amount of time chasing down the next job to make a living. Same with apartment painters. There always is something that causes painters to have to expend much more labor then they initially bid for, and that can cause a lot of problems down the line. Especially if the GC or buyer is particularly picky about the end finish and you end up having to do a lot of touch-up. The first time you walk into one of those units and it looks like a 3M blue tape factory exploded on the walls you'll understand what I mean. They want a Rolls Royce finish for a Kia price, and it's always up to the painter to provide it in the end.


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## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

How do you even bid a project like this if you don't have a well thought out system for applying the paint? 




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## Pro Color (Nov 6, 2013)

PainterGuy91 said:


> Thanks for the replies everybody. I will post some progress reports as the job goes on.


Realizing this is an ancient thread.....however, curious on how this job was executed and the results?


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