Question index

1. What types of paint do you use?
2. Which paint is the best?
3. What’s the difference between flat finishes and Eggshell or Semi-gloss finishes?
4. What are the advantages/disadvantages of using Flat vs. Eggshell finishes?
5. Which paint finishes are typically used throughout the house?
6. How many coats of paint will you apply?
7. What do we need to do prior to the start of our project?
8. Will you move our furniture around during the project as necessary?
9. How does MP&D protect my furniture, possessions, and floors from paint?
10. Are you licensed and insured?
11. Do we need to remove blinds or window treatments?
12. Will you leave the paint behind so we can touch-up walls later?
13. Do I need to be home during the project?
14. How do you generate most of your business?
15. Do you have references?

1. What types of paint do you use? We primarily use Duron, Sherwin-Williams, McCormick, and Ben Moore lines of paint but it’s largely driven by customer and decorator requests.
2. Which paint is the best? All paint manufacturers have high-end and low-end paint products. The paints at the high-end are all relatively comparable.
3. What’s the difference between flat finishes and Eggshell or Semi-gloss finishes? Flat finishes have no sheen. They don’t reflect any light and aren’t as washable. Eggshell and Semi-gloss finishes have varying degrees of sheen with Semi-gloss being the shinier of the two and both tend to clean easier.
4. What are the advantages/disadvantages of using Flat vs. Eggshell finishes? Because flat finishes aren’t shiny at all, they tend to hide imperfections in the walls a little better and are usually easier to touch-up when marks or blemishes appear from traffic (kids!). However, they aren’t as easy to clean. So, if you’d prefer to wipe clean rather than re-paint affected areas on the walls, Eggshell finishes might be a better selection. If your walls are damaged or noticeably imperfect, the Eggshell or shinier finishes can really accentuate the imperfections due to the way light reflects off of it. Our painters will make certain the walls are properly prepared prior to the application of the Eggshell finishes to avoid this.
5. Which paint finishes are typically used throughout the house? Semi-gloss finishes are typically used on wood trim surfaces. However, its not uncommon to see semi-gloss finishes on the walls and ceilings in bathrooms and kitchens for their ability to stand up to moisture. Some eggshells are now replacing semi-gloss in these areas. Walls in other rooms normally have a Flat or Eggshell finish and ceilings are usually Flat. But, as always, you can get creative if you wish.
6. How many coats of paint will you apply? Usually two, especially with a color change. You can, however, sometimes get away with one coat on areas that are the same color or extremely close but you’ll only know how well it will cover by testing it. Beware of dark reds and other low hyde colors! – they typically require multiple coats of paint (3 to 5) or at least an additional primer coat which drives up costs. An alternative to this would be to purchase a self-priming paint such as Ben Moore’s Aura but be prepared for the higher cost of paint.
7. What do we need to do prior to the start of our project? We ask our customers to remove all photos, art, decorations, etc. from walls as well as knickknacks and valuables from tables, counters, bookshelves, etc. This mitigates the risk of something being broken or damaged and also saves us time.
8. Will you move our furniture around during the project as necessary? Yes, but we ask that each room have as little furniture and clutter as possible. All furniture will be placed in its’ original position once the project or a specific area is completed.
9. How does MP&D protect my furniture, possessions, and floors from paint? All items near the work areas are covered in either plastic or drop cloths prior to the start of painting.
10. Are you licensed and insured? Yes. We carry General Liability Insurance, Workers Compensation, and retain a Class B License at all times.
11. Do we need to remove blinds or window treatments? Probably not. Most blinds and/or window treatments do not have to be removed. However, our crews can assist with this if they do need to be removed and/or re-installed afterwards.
12. Will you leave the paint behind so we can touch-up walls later? Yes.
13. Do I need to be home during the project? No. In fact, most of our customers prefer to be away during the days when work is ongoing. Our workers are responsible for locking up the house each day after work and letting themselves in each morning. Convenience!
14. How do you generate most of your business? 90% of our new business comes from customer referrals!
15. Do you have references? Yes, and they are always available upon request.