Was I rude to painter?

[popcut]

Plastered my flat and got quotes to paint it. Three decorators said it needs a mist coat. They also quoted between £6k and £10k.

The fourth decorator quoted £4k. I asked about the mist coat and they said they didn't know what it was and it was a made up term but to instead use a primer coat.

I sent them an article, all very polite, about the differences between the mist and primer and i got a very angry, rage quitting message back telling me if i am the expert i should paint it myself.

This happened over message. i never met him as my partner was in when he came to quote but he said he was cold and short with him.

Was I rude?

Did you really not realise that in sending the article you were patronsing him?! Why bother sending that to him?

I didnt know but had a quick look and I agree with you! If I’d just had my home plastered and it was going to cost thousands to paint I’d be sending an article!

You were rude and he reciprocated

Think that’s a new term for something that’s always been done. When we built a house 25 years ago the first coat of paint was watered down.

I don’t think you did anything wrong.
A bad paint job isn’t worth 4k

A painter I had here over the summer is convinced a lazy painter invented colour drenching 😂

I think you were just clarifying what you wanted, OP and were not rude. If he thinks that's a rude client then he needs to be in another line of work, frankly.

I agree it's a made up or new term, all it is is watered down emulsion so very cheap and that is probably what the other guy meant as well, it's just what you always do on new plaster. We've always done it ourselves and I didn't know it had an actual name.

If you are an expert why do you need him to do it? Mist coat is cheaper so he was offering you a better product for a cheaper price. No wonder he declined the job.

If you liked his price, you needed to accept the service he was offering. Sending an article was rude.

We use the term mist boards when we install them. They are large boards 100% waterproof and replace tiling in wet areas. You an also get sound or acoustic boards to block out noise.

So he clearly wasn't a professional, but it's rude to criticise a professional?

Are you sure you know what you're trying to say here?

I think it’s generally sensible to make sure you are on the same page - I.e. clarifying whether by mist coat and primer you are both talking about the same thing!
That’s really expensive.. how big is this flat?

No.... doesn't sound like someone you would want in your house!

I don't know why the OP is a terrible person for not "just leaving it", but the decorator was apparently well within his rights to NOT do just that?

@popcuthe’s the only one you could afford but you sent him a fucking article?! JESUS.

What he meant by primer was maybe a bare plaster paint instead of watering down emulsion to do a mist coat? Possibly if there is a language barrier, it could be you misunderstood each other.

Would have been better for you to just have asked him to clarify what he meant by a primer than send him an article about mist coats though. 😬

yes, i would find that rude. Accept or reject the quote. You did not need to explain something. If he was curious he could look that up himself.

It's not a made up term 😂 my family are largely painter and decorators / in the building trade, any decorator worth his salt should know what a bloody mist coat is.

Then surely you could have just said "Hi Sam, thanks for your quote. Please could you clarify what product you'll be using to prime the walls ahead of painting?"

To my knowledge, there are very much products on the market you might use to prime a freshly plastered wall, other than a mist coat. I'd expect them to be more expensive but it's entirely possible he would be using an alternative.

You were both rude.
You told him how to do his job. He may have another method.
He was also rude in his reaction.

Boils my piss - love it!

It’s not a great start to your business relationship with this guy…

i wouldn’t be happy hiring him if he was so angry in a message to you.

Did his ‘primer’ mean a watered-down emulsion coat? I think ‘mist coat’ is a new term.

Good luck!

The fourth decorator quoted £4k. I asked about the mist coat and they said they didn't know what it was

And that’s why he quoted several thousand below actual professionals that know what they’re doing.

If you omit the mist coat; the paint falls off a year or two later.

I think ‘mist coat’ is a new term

What on earth are you going on about?!?

It’s a page 1, line 1 term used in decorating new plaster!

You did some kind of job version of mansplaining. Extremely irritating and yes, rude.

But £4k was your lowest quote to paint a flat? Is it a 10-bed flat?

It depends how you’ve worded the text accompanying the article but I understand the problem completely. When we were getting quotes from decorators I asked one of them a question clarifying how they would do ceilings. I’m not from UK originally so wanted to have a clear understanding what he meant (he was British, absolutely local) He was very rude in response. How dare I was questioning him???

I would just leave him and look for another one.