01
The Refresh
One coat over sound paintwork
A single finish coat over existing paint that is still sound, in the same colour or very close to it. The quickest and cheapest thing we do.
What it includes
- Wash down and degrease
- Fill nail holes and minor cracks
- Light sand to key the existing surface
- Spot-prime any bare or patched areas
- One finish coat
Who it suits
Rental turnarounds between tenants, presenting a house for sale, or a home painted well within the last five to seven years that has simply gone tired.
What it will not do
It will not carry a colour change. One coat over a different colour reads patchy in daylight, and no amount of care fixes that.
It will not fix failing paint, damp or rot. Coating over those hides them for a season and then they come back worse.
It will not last as long as a full system, because there is less film on the wall. That is the trade, and it is a reasonable one when the surface underneath is good.
Warranty term stated in writing and shorter than the seven years, because a single coat is a lighter specification.
02
The Premium Finish
Three coats, full preparation
What we do on most houses. Proper preparation, then primer or undercoat plus two finish coats — minimum three coats on every surface.
What it includes
- Substrate assessment before the quote, not after
- Wash, fill, sand and make good throughout
- Adhesion primer where old enamel sits under new water-based paint
- Sealer where the substrate demands it
- Primer or undercoat plus two finish coats
- Product named per surface in your written scope
- Sample pots on your wall, seen morning and evening
Who it suits
Most owner-occupied homes. Any colour change. Anything you intend to still be happy with in a decade.
What it will not do
It will not recover detail already lost. Where mouldings have disappeared under five previous coats, adding three more will not bring the sharpness back — that needs stripping.
It is not a restoration. Timber that has gone past repair gets flagged, quoted separately, or moved to the specification below.
Seven-year workmanship warranty, issued in writing at handover with labelled leftover product for every room.
03
The Signature Finish
Back to bare substrate
Everything removed rather than coated over. The specification we would use on our own house, and the only one that actually recovers detail a century of paint has buried.
What it includes
- Paint stripped or sanded back to bare timber where coats have built up
- Lead-safe containment, wet sanding and HEPA extraction on anything pre-1970
- Timber repaired with epoxy consolidant rather than replaced where the original can be saved
- Rust treated back to sound metal; glazing putty replaced and cured
- Render and lime repairs made with compatible materials, not modern cement patches
- Full primer, undercoat and finish system, sanded between build coats
- Leadlight, fretwork and cast iron cut by hand
Who it suits
Period homes where the detail has disappeared, exteriors where the existing system has failed rather than faded, and any house where the finish is the point rather than the maintenance.
What it will not do
It is considerably dearer and considerably slower. Stripping a verandah properly takes longer than repainting the whole front of the house.
We will talk you out of it where the surface underneath is sound. Paying to strip good paintwork is money spent on nothing.
Seven-year workmanship warranty, and the only specification where we warrant the substrate preparation itself.