This page collects the questions that do not fit elsewhere: whether to paint it yourself, what went wrong with a paint job, and what to do when a painter lets you down.
Price ranges on this page are national figures published by HomeGuide for 2026. They are not our quotes. Local labor, paint prices and the condition of your own surfaces move the number up or down. Last checked October 2026.
Should I paint myself or hire a painter, and how much would I save?
Paint it yourself if the job is small, at ground level and you have the time. Hire a painter for whole houses, high work, cabinets, heavy repairs and anything with old lead paint.
You would save most of the labor. HomeGuide puts labor at 70% to 85% of the cost of an interior job, by its national figures. Against that, you buy the tools and give up your evenings and weekends. A room that takes a painter five hours often takes a homeowner a full weekend.
Is a two-storey exterior too dangerous to DIY?
For most people, yes. Working from a tall extension ladder is where serious falls happen, and painting means reaching, carrying and moving the ladder again and again.
Detroit's tall older houses add to the risk: steep roofs, third floor dormers, narrow side yards and power lines close to the wall. If the paint is old, scraping at height also means lead dust. First floor trim and a porch are reasonable DIY jobs. Leave the high work to a crew with the right ladders and staging.
Is renting a sprayer worth it?
Renting a sprayer is worth it for large, empty or simple surfaces, such as a fence, a bare basement ceiling or the outside of a plain house. It is rarely worth it for one or two furnished rooms.
A sprayer puts paint on fast, but masking takes hours, overspray travels and there is a learning curve. Runs and thin patches are common on a first try. Outdoors on a windy day, overspray can reach cars and neighbors' houses.
My DIY paint job looks bad. Can a pro fix it?
Yes. A painter can fix a bad paint job, and most of the time it does not mean starting from zero.
Drips, roller ridges and rough patches are sanded smooth. Missed prep is redone. Then the surface is primed where needed and repainted. If your own paint job is peeling because of what is under it, that layer has to come off first, which costs more.
When is a job too big to do myself?
A job is too big when it needs equipment you do not have, skills you have not practised, or more time than you can give before the weather or your patience runs out.
- Anything needing a ladder above one story.
- Whole house interiors while you live there.
- Kitchen cabinets.
- Extensive plaster repair or wallpaper removal.
- Peeling paint on a house built before 1978.
- Exterior work that has to be finished inside a short dry spell.
Why is new paint peeling after a few months?
New paint that peels within a few months did not bond. The cause is nearly always the surface under it: dirt, grease, gloss, chalk, damp or old oil paint under new latex.
Outside, painting damp wood or painting too late in the fall are common causes in Michigan. The cure is to remove the failed paint, fix the cause, prime and repaint. More paint on top will not help.
Why does new paint look streaky or show roller marks?
Streaks and roller marks come from paint that was spread too thin, rolled after it had begun to dry, or put on with a poor roller.
Paint has to be applied wet into wet, keeping a wet edge and finishing each wall in one go. Dry indoor air in a Michigan winter makes paint set faster, which makes lap marks more likely. A second full coat with good tools usually fixes it.
Why can I still see the old colour?
You can still see the old color because the new paint has not built enough hide. That means too few coats, paint spread too thin or no primer over a strong color.
Whites, yellows and reds hide poorly. A coat of primer or one more finish coat solves it. If a painter quoted two coats and the old color shows after two, ask for the area to be looked at.
Why does the wall look splotchy in side light?
A wall looks splotchy or uneven in side light when parts of it absorbed the paint differently, usually over patches that were not primed, or where the paint was touched up or rolled unevenly.
Light from a window that runs along the wall shows every change in sheen and texture. The fix is to prime the dull areas and repaint the whole wall. Flat or matte paint shows this far less than satin.
Why do touch-ups not match?
Touch-ups do not match because paint on the wall has aged, and because a small dab dries with a different sheen and texture from a rolled wall.
Even paint from the same can will show, most of all in eggshell and satin. To hide a touch-up, use the same tool as the first time, feather the edges, or repaint the whole wall from corner to corner.
Why did paint peel off with the painter's tape?
Paint comes off with the tape when the paint is stuck to the tape more firmly than to the wall. Either the paint underneath was poorly bonded, or the tape was left on too long or pulled off too fast.
Use tape made for delicate surfaces on fresh paint. Pull it slowly back on itself at an angle, and score the edge with a sharp blade if the paint has skinned over. If big strips of old paint come away, the old paint has an adhesion problem that needs primer.
Should a painter come back to fix missed spots, and what if the painter will not come back?
Yes. A painter should come back to fix missed spots and thin areas. That is part of finishing the job, not an extra.
Do a walk-through together before the final payment, in daylight, and mark what you find with small pieces of tape. If the painter will not come back or will not answer, write to them with photos and a date by which you expect the work finished. After that your options are to hold back the unpaid balance for the unfinished part, complain to the Michigan Attorney General's Consumer Protection team, or go to small claims court.
The painter left paint on the floors and windows. What now?
Paint drips on floors and windows are the painter's to clean, so tell the painter first and give them the chance to deal with it.
Fresh latex comes off hard floors and glass with warm water and a plastic scraper. Dried paint on glass comes off with a razor scraper held flat on wet glass. Carpet, unsealed wood and brick are harder, and scrubbing can make them worse. Take photos before anyone cleans, in case you need to claim for damage.
The final invoice is higher than the written estimate. What now?
Ask for a written breakdown of the difference. A final invoice should only be higher than the estimate if extra work was done and you agreed to it.
Check your contract for how changes were to be approved. Hidden damage, such as rotten wood found during scraping, is a real reason for extra cost, but the painter should have stopped and asked before going ahead. Pay the amount you agreed and discuss the rest. If you cannot settle it, the Attorney General's Consumer Protection team and small claims court are the next steps.
Who pays to fix paint that failed early?
Who pays depends on why the paint failed. If the cause was poor prep or application, the painter should fix it, under the workmanship warranty if there is one. If the product itself was faulty, the paint maker's warranty may cover materials.
If the cause is moisture, a leak or movement in the house, the owner pays. This is why it is worth finding the cause before arguing about the bill. Keep your contract, the product names and photos.
Do you give free estimates?
Yes. We give a free estimate with a written quote. We walk the job, measure, talk about colors and sheen, and put the prep, the paint and the price in writing.
We serve Detroit, Livonia, Redford, Westland, Garden City, Inkster, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Warren, Eastpointe, St. Clair Shores and Taylor. Call or text (313) 251-3869.