Interior Painting in Geneva

What does surface preparation actually involve?

It is the invisible part of the work and the part that decides how the result looks in five years. It breaks down into stages, none of which can be dropped without it showing sooner or later.

Dusting and washing first: paint applied over a greasy or dusty surface does not bond, and the failure appears as peeling a few months later, typically in a kitchen or bathroom. Then treating the defects: filling holes and chases, opening cracks out and filling them — a crack simply painted over reappears, it has to be opened into a V so the filler has something to hold. Then sanding, which levels the filled repairs with the existing surface; it is the messiest stage and the one most frequently rushed.

Finally the primer, chosen for the substrate: new plaster is extremely absorbent and needs a suitable sealer, an old satin finish has to be keyed so the new paint bonds, and a stained surface needs a blocking primer or the stain bleeds through two coats. Skipping the primer saves half a day and costs a repainted job.

How many coats are needed, and why not one?

The usual rule is a suitable primer followed by two finish coats. So-called one-coat paints exist and sometimes deliver on a previously painted surface in a similar shade, but they rarely deliver in the three situations where you would most like to save the time.

The first is a significant colour change, particularly from dark to light: two coats are not always enough and a third is needed for a true white over a previously coloured wall. The second is a new or heavily repaired substrate, whose absorption is uneven: the first finish coat reveals those differences rather than hiding them, and it is the second that evens them out. The third is a ceiling under raking light, where the slightest lack of uniformity shows.

An honest quote therefore states the number of coats allowed for, and provides explicitly for what happens if an additional coat proves necessary. We price that in advance rather than presenting it as an extra discovered mid-job.

Which finish: matt, satin or washable?

The choice is driven less by taste than by how the room is used, and getting it wrong is paid for in maintenance for years afterwards.

A matt finish absorbs light, hides irregularities in the substrate and gives the most pleasing depth of colour. It is the right choice for a ceiling and for a bedroom or living room not exposed to rubbing. Its drawback is that it cleans badly: firm washing leaves a shiny halo. A satin finish reflects light slightly, withstands cleaning and suits circulation areas, corridors, stairwells and children's rooms. In exchange it emphasises any lack of flatness, which means preparation has to be more thorough.

For damp rooms the question is not the sheen but the formulation: a paint intended for bathrooms and kitchens resists condensation and limits mould growth. Finally, on woodwork, doors and radiators, specific products are used — a wall paint applied to a door stays soft and marks at the slightest contact.

Can you paint while we are living there?

Yes in the great majority of cases, and it is the most common situation in Geneva, where a flat is rarely repainted completely empty. It requires working in zones rather than opening the whole property up at once.

The principle is to treat one room or a group of rooms at a time, protect it and close it up, then move on. Furniture is moved to the centre and sheeted, floors are protected, circulation routes are kept usable and cleaned at the end of each day. A room painted in the morning is generally usable again by the evening for normal purposes, as the residual smell of current low-VOC paints disperses within a few hours given reasonable ventilation.

Two points need genuine attention. Sanding produces a very fine dust that travels if doors are not sealed; we contain the zone and vacuum rather than sweep. And children's rooms, or rooms used by anyone sensitive, are better scheduled early in the week with extended ventilation than on a Friday evening.

How long does paint need before recoating?

Two different times are frequently confused, and that confusion is the most common cause of appearance defects. Surface drying, after which the paint no longer feels tacky, is short — often one to two hours. The recoat interval, after which the next coat can be applied without lifting the previous one, is longer: generally four to six hours for a water-based wall paint, longer for a solvent-based product or on woodwork.

Recoating too early produces characteristic defects: the second coat lifts the first, the roller pulls material off and leaves lap marks that cannot be recovered other than by sanding back and starting again. It is an apparent time saving that costs a day.

Those intervals lengthen markedly in two common conditions: a cold room and a damp room. A bathroom without ventilation, or a poorly heated flat in winter, can double the time required. That is why a painting programme cannot be compressed indefinitely, and why a quote promising a very short duration across several rooms deserves a question.

What if the wall shows damp or mould?

This is the point where we most often decline to do what is asked, and it is worth explaining plainly. Repainting a damp wall solves nothing: the paint masks the symptom for a few weeks, then blisters and flakes, and the mould returns — often more extensive than before because it has been sealed in.

The correct approach is to identify the source before painting. Condensation caused by inadequate ventilation is not treated like penetrating damp through the façade, nor like rising damp on a ground floor, nor like a cold bridge on a poorly insulated corner. The first three belong to another trade; the last can sometimes be improved, but not by paint alone.

What we can do: treat superficial mould arising from a one-off event — a repaired leak, a room poorly ventilated during building work — with a fungicidal product, a blocking primer and a paint suited to damp rooms. What we do not do: cover active damp. In that case we say so and we do not commit to the job on that area, because work that will not last is not cheaper work, it is work to be done again.

End of tenancy, before moving in, or occupied?

The context changes what is actually worth doing, and it is common for the best answer not to be the one expected.

Before moving in is the ideal moment: the flat is empty, access is complete, there is nothing to protect or shift, and the work advances far more quickly. If you have any choice over timing, having the painting done before the furniture arrives reduces both the duration and the cost.

At the end of a tenancy the question deserves asking before spending. Depending on how long you have lived there, the condition of the paintwork may fall under the landlord's amortisation rather than your upkeep: repainting as a matter of course before leaving is not always in your interest, and redecorating without first checking the entry inventory can be money lost. We say so rather than sell an unnecessary job — and if what you actually need is an end of tenancy clean, that is the service required, not painting.

In an occupied home the logic is zones and life continuing: organise by room, protect, clean up each evening. Slightly longer, entirely feasible.

Where does our scope end?

We would rather state our limits, because a contractor who accepts everything ends up doing something badly.

What we do: interior painting of walls and ceilings, woodwork, doors, architraves, skirting boards and radiators, complete surface preparation, localised making good after building work or a repaired water leak, and simple flat decorative finishes.

What we do not do: façade painting and external work at height, insulation, treating an active source of damp, hanging textured wallpaper and specialist decorative renders such as stucco or polished concrete on walls, reinstating a ceiling whose substrate is structurally damaged, and the electrical or plumbing work that sometimes accompanies a renovation. Those need the corresponding trade, and saying so at quotation stage avoids a job halted halfway through.

How many coats, and why

We state the number of coats in the quote. If someone offers a single finish coat to save money, know what you lose: uneven coverage, filled areas still visible in low-angle light, and a finish that will not survive washing.