Wallace Paint Co
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Our standards

Painted the way the paint maker says to paint it.

The prep that makes a finish last isn't an upsell. It's in the price. Here's exactly what we do, on both interior and exterior projects.

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Why this matters

A finish only lasts if it’s applied the way the manufacturer requires.

We paint to the published prep standards of the paint manufacturer we use — so the finish qualifies for the product’s warranty and actually holds up. The prep below isn’t a line item we add later. It’s included in the price we quote you.

Manufacturer warranties on premium paints are written against surface prep. Skip the prep and the warranty doesn’t apply. We don’t skip it. That’s the bar we hold ourselves to on every job, interior or exterior.

This section

Interior

Interior warranty requirements focus on preventing adhesion failure, flashing, and uneven gloss. Trim, doors, and ceilings each have their own prep — we follow it room by room.

01

General prep (all surfaces)

  • Clean and dry — free of grease, wax, dirt, dust, and soap residue; wash with mild detergent, dry completely.
  • Remove loose material — scrape and sand any peeling or scaling paint to a sound substrate.
  • Dull glossy finishes — scuff-sand existing high-gloss to a matte profile for mechanical bonding.
  • Cure structural substrates — new plaster or masonry cures at least 30 days before paint.
02

Ceilings

  • New drywall or joint compound — primed before topcoat to equalize porosity between paper and compound.
  • Water stains — spot-primed with a stain-blocking primer before topcoat. A standard latex primer won't stop bleed-through.
03

Walls

  • Spackle and patches — spot-primed. Painting over unprimed spackle creates a dull flashing spot.
  • Previously painted latex — if sound, clean, and matte, the topcoat goes on in two coats without a full primer coat.
04

Trim, windows & doors

  • Bare wood (non-bleeding) — sanded smooth, dust removed, primed with an acrylic primer.
  • Bleeding wood (pine knots, cedar) — sealed with a stain-blocking primer to trap oils. Standard latex primer lets yellow or brown spots through.
  • Existing trim — sanded to break the sheen so waterborne paint will bond.
05

Application constraints

  • Temperature — not below 50°F (10°C) room or substrate. Cold stops paint from fusing, leaving a brittle film.
  • Cure time — dries to touch quickly but takes up to two weeks to fully cure. Avoid scrubbing or heavy washing in that window.
This section

Exterior

To resist peeling, cracking, and blistering the way premium exterior paints promise, the manufacturer requires this prep on outdoor surfaces. We do all of it.

01

General surface prep

  • Decontaminate — wash the whole area to clear dirt, chalk, oil, grease, and wax; rinse thoroughly.
  • Neutralize mildew — scrub any active mildew with a commercial mildew wash before paint goes anywhere near it.
  • Scrape and sand — remove all loose, peeling, scaling, or cracking paint down to a sound substrate.
  • Scuff-sand gloss — dull any glossy or slick existing coating for mechanical adhesion.
  • Cure masonry — new masonry, brick, concrete, stucco, and cinder block cure at least 30 days before paint.
02

Substrate-specific priming

  • Bleeding wood (cedar, redwood) — sealed with the right primer to lock tannins and prevent brown staining.
  • Ferrous metal (iron, steel) — primed with an anti-corrosive metal primer to stop rust.
  • Weathered siding — bonded with an exterior primer rated for chalky or porous vinyl, aluminum, or wood.
  • High-alkali masonry — finished with an alkali-resistant primer when concrete or stucco pH is high.
03

Application limits

  • Temperature — air and substrate at 40°F (4.4°C) or higher during application and drying.
  • Weather — no application if rain or heavy dew is expected within 24 hours. Water tracking ruins the uncured film.
Sources

Drawn from the published Technical Data Sheets and warranty documentation of the paint manufacturer we use. We follow these on every job and re-confirm the spec when products or formulations change.

This page describes the prep we follow. It is not legal or warranty advice. The controlling terms for any product warranty are the manufacturer’s current published product warranty and Technical Data Sheets.

Ready when you are

The prep is in the price.

Tell us what you’re thinking. We’ll send a fixed-price estimate that includes the prep above — no surprise line items mid-job.

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