Interior Painting: How Many Coats of Paint Will I Need to Use?

residential-painting-in-New-JerseyEveryone loves the look of a freshly painted room!  Smooth, even surfaces with crisp, clean color contrasts are inviting and rejuvenating.  If you are considering repainting your home interior, you will have lots of questions and decisions to make.  One of the important questions is, “how much paint will I need to buy?”  This of course is determined by how much space you are planning to paint, and also by how many coats of paint you will need to evenly cover the area.

The number of coats of paint that are needed to provide good coverage can vary greatly.  However, there are three basic scenarios that can give you an idea of how many coats you will need.

First, let’s look at painting drywall that has never been painted before.  Because bare drywall will absorb a lot of paint, it is best to use one coat of primer on the drywall first.  Primer is less expensive than paint and provides an excellent surface for your paint to stick to. Once the drywall has been primed, you likely will be able to cover the surface well with two coats of paint.

priming-wallOur second scenario is probably the most common.  You want to repaint a wall a new color.  If you are painting a light colored wall with a darker or bolder color, you will probably be able to achieve a smooth finish with two coats of paints.  However, if you are trying to change a dark colored wall into a light colored wall, you have a bit more of a challenge.  Covering a dark surface with light color paint may take lots of coats—even as many as five or six.  Thankfully, a good primer can help us in this situation as well.  Rather than needing to use many coats of expensive paint, we can use primer over the old dark paint color to provide a lightened surface that will be easier to apply the new light color to.  After primer, the wall can usually be covered uniformly with the new light color in just two or three coats.

Third, we will look at the easiest painting scenario.  If you are happy with the colors in your home, but want to freshen them up with a new coat of paint, you will probably be able to use just one coat.

Keep in mind that with each of these, the quality of the paint and primer that you are using will make an impact on how effectively they cover.  Lower quality paints may take more coats, while higher quality paints will usually be able to perform well with fewer coats.

If you have any questions about residential interior painting, Brennan’s would be very happy to assist you. We can also give you a free estimate for house painting, just so that you know all your options. As a professional painting contractor, it is our goal always to use enough paint to give your home a great, lasting look, while not wasting time or materials on unneeded coats.

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