Will Paint Fix It? Tips on What to Expect

Painting can be a transformative experience, but let’s be honest—it’s not magic. Every project comes with its quirks, and sometimes, no matter how much care we put in, paint can’t fix everything. That doesn’t mean we don’t want your space to look as amazing as you’ve imagined. We absolutely do. You’re not just our customer—you’re the reason we do what we do! But there are a few things that even the best paint job won’t hide.

Got cracks, holes, or texture that looks like the rough side of a bad day?

As much as paint can transform a space in an amazing way, it will not fix all your wall issues. If there’s a visible structural defect before you paint, chances are good it will still be noticeable after you paint. Structural defects can be sneaky, only showing their ugly faces once the wallpaper is off or the furniture is out of the room. Sometimes they’re obvious from the get-go. If your painter claims he can fix the waves, cracks or holes in your walls using paint, he’s probably lying to you. If you’re working with us, we’ll let you know as soon as we find any issues.

Woeful Woodwork

Baseboards, trim, and door casings tend to take a beating over the years—think dings, dents, and even moisture damage. While we can sand, fill, prime, and paint to make them look as good as possible, paint won’t cover up all the imperfections in the wood itself. And if you’ve got dry rot? Painting over it is just putting a Band-Aid on a much bigger problem. That wood needs to be replaced by a pro before we work our magic. Trust us—it’s worth the effort.

Terrible Texture

Sometimes texture issues are a surprise, like the time we repainted ceilings for a homeowner only to discover that the existing texture was peeling off because the drywall underneath had never been primed. Paint alone wasn’t going to fix it. We called in a drywaller to repair the problem areas, then sealed the texture with an oil-based primer before painting. The results? Stunning (if we do say so ourselves). The takeaway? While paint can’t fix damaged texture, the right prep work and a little teamwork can make a huge difference.

Revolting Repairs

There’s nothing worse than walking into a room and seeing sloppy wall repairs. It’s disheartening, especially if you’ve already spent time and money trying to improve your space. If you’ve been burned by poor contractors, we’re truly sorry—that’s not how it should be. While some repairs might be outside what paint alone can fix, we’ll always do our best to smooth things over. And for smaller flaws, spackle and caulk can work wonders, though they aren’t always a permanent fix.

We’ve been called in to right the wrongs of other contractors. Shoddy wall repairs can ruin the feel of your whole space and leave you feeling jaded towards contractors generally. First, we’d like to apologize to anyone who’s ever been of a victim of this type of disservice! How terrible, to put your home and your money on the line and have results which are less than pleasing! You have all of our sympathy. Secondly, there is a glimmer of hope. Although sometimes these repairs can be too time consuming to fix (a nice way of saying too expensive) and outside of the services we offer, painting can still perk up your space.

For everything else there’s spackle and caulk. Minor holes and slight cracks can be filled in using one of these two products, but they aren’t guaranteed to succeed. Proper prep work should include fixing what can be fixed and letting you, the customer, know about everything else. Sometimes, there’s nothing to do but call a drywaller. If you have any doubts about your space and its inherent flaws call us, email us, or tweet us! We are happy to help.