A standard with a number on it
All substrates must be sound before painting. Every painter alive will tell you that, and almost none of them will put a number on what sound means. The Painting Contractors Association does: a published scale for surface preparation, Level 1 through Level 4. On interior millwork, doors and cabinetry we identify the level in writing, and everywhere else you get a scope of work clear enough that you know exactly what you are getting.
- L3 / L4
- All millwork
- 3x
- Passes with a light
Why this matters to you
Three things worth knowing before you sign anything
None of this is inside knowledge. It is published, it applies to every painter who quotes your house, and almost nobody brings it up.
Most preparation on the market is a Level 1 or a Level 2
That is not an insult aimed at anybody. It is what the schedule allows when a crew is paid by the job and has to be somewhere else on Thursday. It is also why two estimates for the same house can differ by thousands of dollars and both of them be honest.
If the estimate identifies no level, P14 assumes Level 2
That provision is the single most useful thing a homeowner can know before signing anything. An estimate that never mentions preparation is quoting Level 2 whether it uses the word or not. Ours identifies the level, surface by surface.
Millwork, cabinets and doors go to Level 3 or Level 4 here
Every time, and not as an upgrade. Trim, casing, cabinet doors and slabs are what a paint job gets judged on from two feet away, so that is where the standard is fixed and not up for negotiation.
PCA P14
What each preparation level actually commits a painter to
Read from the top down, each level contains the one before it. The tolerance under each is the part that turns a description into something you could check with a straight edge.
Level 1: Basic
Where most preparation stopsBasic cleaning, and removal of the paint that is obviously loose or contaminated. The goal is adhesion and nothing more. How the finished surface looks is barely a consideration, and older coats underneath are left alone whether or not they are still well stuck down.
Tolerance. No appearance tolerance at all. Adhesion is the whole test.
Level 2: Standard
Assumed if no level is identifiedEverything in Level 1, plus addressing existing coatings that are no longer sound. Adhesion and how long the job lasts are the primary concern, and appearance is secondary. Obvious defects in the surface profile get corrected.
Tolerance. Surface profile defects greater than 1/8 inch are corrected.
Level 3: Superior
Everything in Levels 1 and 2, with far more weight on how the finished surface looks. Filling and patching, cracks, nail pops, sanding out old runs and sags, brush and roller marks left by whoever painted it last, peeling edges. This is where preparation starts costing real hours.
Tolerance. Defects causing an abrupt difference greater than 1/16 inch are corrected.
Level 4: Supreme
Our millwork standardThe highest preparation level P14 defines. Everything in Levels 1 through 3, plus whatever else is needed to improve appearance, stopping only at outright restoration or resurfacing. Filling and sanding carry on until there is no abrupt change left in the profile that you could catch with a fingernail.
Tolerance. Filling and sanding eliminate abrupt profile differences greater than 1/32 inch.
The provision nobody quotes
If a specification does not state a preparation level, P14 assumes Level 2.
Which means an estimate that never mentions preparation is quoting you Level 2 whether it uses the word or not. That is not a loophole and it is not anybody being dishonest. It is simply the default, and it is worth knowing when two numbers for the same house come back thousands of dollars apart.
Where we work on the scale
- All substrates sound before any paint goes on, inside or out
- Millwork, doors and cabinetry at Level 3 or Level 4
- Walls quoted at the level the wall can genuinely reach
- The level identified on the proposal, surface by surface
- We never identify a level we cannot show you
Levels above are summarized in our own words from the Painting Contractors Association standard P14 on surface preparation. PCA publishes the standard itself, and it is worth reading if you are specifying work.
How we hit it
Our fine finish process
Our fine finish work on cabinetry, millwork and doors is defined by precision, craftsmanship and an uncompromising attention to detail. We inspect every square inch with a light, repairing even the smallest scratches, dents, seams and imperfections to ensure a flawless surface before a single finish coat is applied. We specialize in Level 4 finishes, a standard that demands a perfectly smooth, uniform and expertly prepared surface. Achieving it takes patience and mastery: meticulous sanding and filling, then priming, sealing and refining, building a foundation that lets the topcoats lay down glass-smooth and beautifully consistent. The result is a durable, high-end finish that elevates your home from ordinary to exceptional.
First pass
The light goes on and the surface gets read properly. Every high spot sanded back, every low spot filled. This is the pass that finds the damage nobody mentioned at the walkthrough.
Second pass
Same light, same angle, once the first round of filler has cured and been sanded. Shrinkage shows up here, and so does anything the first pass sanded straight through.
Third pass
The last look. By now the corrections are small and specific, which is the whole point. If a fourth pass would still find something, then the third one was not finished.
The honest limit
Walls are a different story, and we will say so
A door slab is four feet of flat surface that can come off its hinges and lie on a bench under a light. A wall in a house somebody lives in is eighty years of settlement, three previous owners, two textures and a radiator. Taking every wall in that house to Level 4 is sometimes possible and often not realistic, and quoting it as though it were is how a job goes wrong in week three.
So walls get quoted at the level the wall can actually reach, that level is identified on the proposal in writing, and where the answer is a Level 3 we tell you it is a Level 3 and why. Anyone who promises Level 4 on every wall in the house without looking behind the furniture is not describing preparation. That is a sales call wearing the vocabulary of one.
The document
What is written on your proposal before you sign it
Measurable quality needs something to measure against, and the proposal is that document. Nothing on this list is an extra, and none of it arrives as a surprise halfway through the job.
Every surface, listed
Room by room and elevation by elevation. What is being coated, and just as importantly what is not.
The preparation level per surface type
Identified against the PCA P14 scale. Millwork, doors and cabinetry at Level 3 or 4, walls at the level they can genuinely reach.
Products and number of coats
The actual product, not the words "quality paint". Primer where primer is going, and how many finish coats each surface gets.
Repair work called out separately
Drywall repair, texture matching, rot, failed caulk. Priced where we can see it, and flagged where it is still behind something.
Exclusions in writing
The parts of the job that are not ours. This is the section that stops an argument in week two.
Sequence and working days
What happens in what order, and how long your house is going to be a job site.
Want to see one against your own house?Ask for a written estimate
Ask us what level we are quoting
It is a fair question and it should have a straight answer. Free written estimates across Everett, Marysville, Arlington, Lake Stevens, Snohomish and the rest of Snohomish County.