One coat paint job?

     A lot of painters will try to underbid the next guy by selling you on a one-coat paint job.  While this may be appropriate at times, it usually isn't.  Let me explain why...

     If it's the outside of your home, you're probably having it painted because the existing coating is starting to break down.  This means that it cannot be relied on to protect your home any longer.  At this point, you can only depend on the new coating to do that job.  Every coat of paint has very tiny pores in it, often so small they cannot be seen.  With one coat, it will not take too long for moisture to find its way through that coat, and once it does, it will contact the old layer, which is already breaking down.  A second coat creates a much more effective barrier because very, very few of the pores will be in the same place.  The added build of a second coat can add years to the life of your paint job for pennies on the dollar when compared to having it repainted after a few years.  If we're already there, with everything set up and covered, it doesn't take nearly as much time to put that second coat on!

     If it's the inside of your home, it may be a matter of form rather than function (though both play a role).  Occasionally, I see a one-coat paint job that looks good, but it's rare.  Coverage, uniformity and full development of sheen, and wear durability are often slightly lacking without two coats of the new color product.  The untrained eye may not always notice at first; sometimes the light has to be just right, and by the time you see it, the painter has already been to the bank!  Sometimes, it's just a ploy to get the job.  You like the price for a one-coat job, and that's what you get - at first.  But then your painter comes to you looking for more money to do what they should've known needed to be done in the first place - apply a second coat.  At this point, you have to ante up or live with it!

     I typically bid jobs for two coats (or primer plus two for new substrates) because experience has taught me that the one-coat paint job is rarely the way to go.  A bad paint job would follow me around for a lot longer than a great one...