Blog

  • Home >
  • Blog >
  • Is Your House Painter a Pro When It Comes To Surface Preparation?

Is Your House Painter a Pro When It Comes To Surface Preparation?

 Is Your House Painter a Pro When It Comes To Surface Preparation?

If you scroll through Pinterest or Instagram looking at photos of house painting projects, it’s the after shots that really grab your attention, right? Maybe that gorgeous field color with the perfect exterior trim, or high-gloss ceilings that look like a liquid pool suspended over your head.

Go back in time, though, and you’ll see the level of detail and surface preparation that went into creating those finishes. You can’t have the knock-out “after” shot without the less glamorous early steps and stages.

As you get ready for an interior or exterior repaint, make sure to ask your painting company about what preparation is included. This will tell you volumes about the quality of their work.

How about a real-life example?

Removing wainscoting, wall repairs, and fresh paint

In this case our client asked us to help update her beautiful living room and hallway. The space is wide open, airy, and bright, especially thanks to the vaulted ceiling and large windows. As is often the case, however, she wanted to change up her style, and particularly to remove the existing wainscoting and trim.

After we did, we were left with light surface damage, adhesive, and holes from finish nails. This is where that level of preparation really comes in!

Patching, sanding, filling holes, priming, topcoat… All of it worked together to totally erase the old style and make way for a fresh new finish. Be sure to click through the gallery below to see the full transformation!

 Is Your House Painter a Pro When It Comes To Surface Preparation?
 Is Your House Painter a Pro When It Comes To Surface Preparation?
 Is Your House Painter a Pro When It Comes To Surface Preparation?
 Is Your House Painter a Pro When It Comes To Surface Preparation?
 Is Your House Painter a Pro When It Comes To Surface Preparation?
 Is Your House Painter a Pro When It Comes To Surface Preparation?

Have more questions about your Bay Area house painting project?

We’re to help. Explore our residential painting services here, or contact us to set up a free consultation.

Request an Estimate

Serving the San Francisco Bay Area

Files must be an image (.jpg or .png). Limit 2 images.

Why People Hire Us

Fully Licensed and Insured

Fully Licensed and Insured

Clear Communication

Clear Communication

Peace of Mind

Peace of Mind

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

One-Stop Shop for Painting and Carpentry

One-Stop Shop for Painting and Carpentry

Experienced Oversight and Job Leadership

Experienced Oversight and Job Leadership

Our Credentials

BBB American Society of Interior Designers ASID Leadsafe Certified Firm EPA NARI Member Nolan Summit Services Inc

Customer Reviews

“Richard and crew have been great, for sure. As much as I look forward to having the job done and my house back in order, I really enjoyed having them around. You should feel really good about how they represent your company.”

— Jessica Dodson

“Matt, We are very happy with how all of the painting worked out. We were extremely impressed with the quality of the work in the bathroom. I liked working with Victor, he and Marvin were extremely conscientious about doing a great job, not just the minimum. I know the front door took a lot longer than you'd expected. But they did it PERFECTLY. We never thought it could turn out like that! Thanks again for the great work. We'll be calling you again in the future!”

— Craig
Alameda, CA

“In all the years I've worked with MB Jessee, I'm always so impressed by your crews. They are so respectful of everything--you never even know they're there! Except that the paint looks amazing when they're gone. We've had one showing of our home and already have an offer. I'm sure it is because the paint looks so beautiful.”

— Erin T.
Pleasant Hill

“Just had MB Jessee paint the interior of our house and they did a wonderful job. They tackled some crazy wallpaper as well as painted some very high ceilings and walls. The whole process was quick and they did a great job! We are very pleased. I was also very impressed by the crew. They were very personable, kind and actually took pride in the work they were doing. In one of our conversations with the lead Ricardo, he actually told me he was very proud of how the rooms had turned out. I agree sir! It turned out great and it's not often you hear someone thinking of your home like they would theirs, and putting that level of work and quality into it. That made a huge difference in how I viewed this company. Ricardo, you were fantastic and thank you for the great job, we will be using you again.”

— Jeff M.
Danville, CA

“I just wanted to thank you all for doing such a phenomenal job on our recent house painting. We are very happy with the outcome and can't say enough good things about the crew. Everyone working on the project was outstanding and made it a great experience. Thanks to everyone.”

— Daylan
Piedmont

“I just wanted to send you an email to say that John did such a great job over here today. He is truly a hard worker. He has the perfect balance of friendliness, honesty, and professionalism. I trust him. He takes the time to do the job to the best of his ability and that is what sets him (and your company) apart from the competition. He didn't make me feel rushed. He really made me feel like our job was the most important thing in the world. Thanks again!”

— Jo
Oakland

“The finish on my kitchen cabinets had failed, becoming tacky and grimy around the handles. M B Jessee gave me a reasonable quote, far below some others, and did an outstanding job, striping the original varnish and refinishing with a new lacquer finish. The cabinets look like new. Work was done 1 day faster than estimated. The crew was extremely hard-working, considerate, and neat. Highly recommend M B Jessee.”

— Thama B.
San Francisco, CA

“Dear Matt,You must be so proud of your men! They were fantastic to have around. Polite, courteous and hardworking. I am so pleased with the outcome of our home--in fact, I couldn't be any more pleased than I am!”

— Mrs. S
San Leandro

“I can't say enough about how courteous and professional my foreman was. He was on time every morning and arrived cheerful and ready to go. He is highly organized and very thoughtful. He was extremely careful and respectful when moving my belongings - a mature professional.”

— Nora Robinson

“The completed 'Client Satisfaction Survey' we sent in only modestly reflects our total satisfaction with the work. As a retired small business owner, I compliment you on setting 'best practices' that are consistently followed. Everything described in your marketing materials was a reality! The crew is a super bowl team and our neighbors commented on how quiet they were. We are very happy to be a client of MB Jessee.”

— Richard
Orinda

“In September, MBJessee finished painting two sides of our 3-story condominium building (six owners). We were impressed by the professionalism of the company and every one of its workers, Matt Jessee couldn't have been more helpful in planning the project. His painters were well-trained, easy to communicate with and eager to please. In addition to painting the stucco, they made extensive repairs on windows and frames, which will save us considerable money in the future. They finished earlier than anticipated, with as many as five men working on the job, and the scaffolding came down the next day. All of us were delighted with the results. Now my husband and I are looking forward to having MB Jessee paint our own apartment later this month. Matt and Gustavo (who will be our crew leader again) have explained how they will work to make the painting proceed smoothly while we're living here, and they have been endlessly patient with our protracted decision-making process. If you look at their website, you'll learn that MB Jessee is an exemplary company that takes good care of its workers as well as its customers, and contributes public service projects to the community. All in all, we can't recommend MB Jessee highly enough.”

— Jayne W.
San Francisco, CA

“MB Jessee just finished our exterior and we couldn't be happier with our experience. The foreman (Pedro) and lead painter (Ricardo) were incredible to work with: they communicated scheduling clearly, Ricardo was a joy to be around every day, the showed up early every day, were incredibly tidy and did great paint work. The final walk through experience was incredible. Pedro pointed out items I missed demonstrating a clear desire to complete another quality project. I highly recommend them. As others have noted they definitely aren't the cheapest but you quickly realize that you're getting what you pay for. The 3 year guarantee is also a nice touch since there are likely touch up items that will show up after the job is done.”

— Joshua Jansen