Masking is half the job and the half nobody sees. Here is why.
On a well-done interior, masking and prep take close to 40% of the hours, and on a coastal exterior closer to 70%. It is the half of the job nobody photographs, and it is the half that decides whether the result looks professional or merely painted.
What is masking actually buying you?
Three things, and only one of them is about mess.
- A straight line. A crisp edge between wall and trim comes from a properly sealed tape edge, not from a steady hand. Cutting in freehand across a whole house means hundreds of small corrections that never quite disappear.
- Your belongings. Sprayed paint travels further than people expect. A fine mist settles on surfaces two rooms away if the openings are not sealed.
- Speed. This is the part that surprises people. A fully masked room can be sprayed, which is several times faster than brush and roller and leaves no texture. The hour spent masking buys back two.
Why does an exterior need even more of it?
Because of what is around the house rather than in it. Windows, screens, light fixtures, meters, condensers, decking, and the plants immediately below every elevation. On a coastal repaint, prep also includes the wash, the drying time and the spot-priming — which is why prep is around 70% of an exterior job and why a crew that arrives and starts spraying the same morning is painting over the problem.
A quote that comes in well under the others is almost always a quote with the prep removed. It is the only line item invisible enough to cut.
How do you tell good prep from bad, before it is too late?
Ask what happens on day one. If the answer is «we start painting», that is your answer. On our jobs the first day is protection, repairs and drywall work — no colour goes on a wall until the surface underneath is right.
You can also look at the tape at the end. Tape pulled while the paint is still slightly soft leaves a clean line; tape left overnight tears the edge. Small detail, and it tells you how the rest of the job was done.
How long does the masking itself take?
On a 3-bedroom interior, budget most of the first day — roughly 6 to 8 hours for floors, fixtures, doorways and the openings between rooms. On an exterior it is spread across the job rather than front-loaded, because windows and landscaping get protected elevation by elevation as the crew moves round.
It is also the part that keeps the site liveable. A properly masked house is one you can walk through in the evening without finding out where the crew was that day.
Ask for a free estimate and we will walk you through what the prep on your property actually involves, in writing, before anything starts.
