How many coats of paint do I need?

[Wade Lippman]

My wife wants to have about half out house interior painted. I think it is fine now, but you know how that goes.

The walls are now a medium beige. We are going to a light beige.
The painter quoted on two coats of a medium price SW paint.
Are two coats really necessary? I don't know much about painting, but I would think one coat would be adequate, as we aren't really changing the color.

He says the woodwork wasn't properly sanded in the first place and has satin paint on it.
He will sand it all and put two coats of enamel on it. That seems reasonable.

[lowell holmes]

I am sure the painter knows how many coats you will need to have the finish you want.
He is a professional and probably knows what it will take to achieve the color you want.
I used to build houses and painting is difficult.

[Frank Pratt]

Even with just a slight color change, 1 coat can be iffy. It will cover about 95%, but there will be little spots that didn't quite get covered. Better to do 2 lighter coats.

[Ralph Okonieski]

I have never been happy with a single coat on my walls using various brands and quality levels. Although, I am not a professional, suspect it will require two coats for nice even coverage as Frank suggested.

[Ron Citerone]

2 coats! I worked as a painter in college and 10 summers while teaching. So not a pro, but did quite a bit. Never saw 1 coat that looks great. I would rather have less rooms painted 2 coats than more rooms painted 1 coat.

[Jim Matthews]

The walls are now a medium beige. We are going to a light beige.
The painter quoted on two coats of a medium price SW paint.


The finished surface will only be as good as the initial prep. Since most of us paint rarely, today's price may be a shock.

Don't hire a professional to tell him how to do his job.

Painting is a task that requires skill which can be acquired only one way - you're paying for experience, not just the raw material.

Hiring a professional means problems down the road aren't yours.

[mike stenson]

One coat will never cover as well as two.

[Jim Becker]

I got away with one coat in my recent room renovation but that was a medium grey color over fresh primer and the high quality SW Emerald paint applied slowly and carefully. Even then, I had a few touch-ups to deal with. Two coats is a normal practice to insure coverage and a quality, long lasting finish. There are some colors that even need three...the gold-ish paint in our media room took three coats and was BM Aura and applied by really good pro painters.

The bottom line is that you may be ale to get away with one coat but that’s just it...you’re merely getting away with it and close examination will likely show spots that are less than worthy.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Two coats minimum. With some colors, three or more. I just finished painting both wooden storms,and doors. Color is red. Took three coats to cover over primer. Today primed and painted kitchen where I took down wall paper last week. Single coat coverage on rolled parts, but two coats on brushed cut ins.

[Mike Wilkins]

An article in Fine Homebuilding on painting interiors suggested 2 coats, especially if using one of those paint/primer combos that is all the rage today. Couple of years ago I went from a dark color wall paint to a lighter one. I applied one coat of a primer hoping to use only one coat of the finish paint. Had to go with 2 finish coats to get a good result.

[Brian Elfert]

I only did one coat of paint when I painted the interior of my house. It definitely shows that I only did one coat. I wish I had done two coats back then as there were no doors and no trim to paint around.

[Ron Citerone]

If your priming and one coat of finish paint, have the primer tinted to match the top coat. Not a fan of that method but it is an option. IMO, anything worth prepping and setting up for deserves 2 coats. Anything that needs priming needs 2 top coats.

[Jerome Stanek]

Two coats minimum. With some colors, three or more. I just finished painting both wooden storms,and doors. Color is red. Took three coats to cover over primer. Today primed and painted kitchen where I took down wall paper last week. Single coat coverage on rolled parts, but two coats on brushed cut ins.

Red is one of the colors that will take more then 2 coats. Back when I was installing CVS fixtures the painters had a hard time whit the red. I just painted 2 rooms and both needed 2 coats even though they said 1 coat coverage.

[mike stenson]

If your priming and one coat of finish paint, have the primer tinted to match the top coat. Not a fan of that method but it is an option. IMO, anything worth prepping and setting up for deserves 2 coats. Anything that needs priming needs 2 top coats.

I painted my house with a friend who is a pro (and has been for 20 years or so). We had the primer tinted to just a bit off the end color, then did two coats. He said if he came by and found that I'd skipped the second coat anywhere while he was gone, he'd slap me.

The paint looks great, completely and utterly even in all lights and in every room. It was worth the time and the second coat.

[Lee DeRaud]

I got away with one coat in my recent room renovation but that was a medium grey color over fresh primer and the high quality SW Emerald paint applied slowly and carefully. Even then, I had a few touch-ups to deal with.My normal mode is, just go ahead and do the second coat anyway: it takes about the same time and is way less annoying than wandering around looking for the spots that need touch-up for whatever reason.

[Ron Citerone]

I painted my house with a friend who is a pro (and has been for 20 years or so). We had the primer tinted to just a bit off the end color, then did two coats. He said if he came by and found that I'd skipped the second coat anywhere while he was gone, he'd slap me.

The paint looks great, completely and utterly even in all lights and in every room. It was worth the time and the second coat.


I like the way your friend thinks!

[Jim Becker]

My normal mode is, just go ahead and do the second coat anyway: it takes about the same time and is way less annoying than wandering around looking for the spots that need touch-up for whatever reason.

I would have done that, but got lucky and only had one little spot along a window that needed to be addressed with the grey. Otherwise, I absolutely agree with you...the brown color in an adjacent area absolutely needed two coats.

[Wade Lippman]

My wife wants to have about half out house interior painted. I think it is fine now, but you know how that goes.

The walls are now a medium beige. We are going to a light beige.
The painter quoted on two coats of a medium price SW paint.
Are two coats really necessary? I don't know much about painting, but I would think one coat would be adequate, as we aren't really changing the color.

He says the woodwork wasn't properly sanded in the first place and has satin paint on it.
He will sand it all and put two coats of enamel on it. That seems reasonable.

My wife tells me I am an idiot for even asking this question. Apparently the consensus is that she's right.