Cheap Painters' Tricks: How a Low Rate Hides Local Paint in Branded Tins

You get three quotes for painting your house. Two are close, and one is almost half the price — and that painter promises “Dulux hi lagayenge, sir.” It sounds like a great deal. In most cases it is the most expensive choice you can make.

Paint is one of the easiest things to cheat on, because the difference only shows months later — when walls start chalking, peeling or showing stains through. By then the painter is long gone. Here are the tricks we see again and again across Lahore, and exactly how to protect yourself.

1. The “company dabba” trick — local paint in a branded tin

This is the most common one. The painter shows up with a genuine-looking Dulux, Jotun or Berger bucket — but the tin is old or collected from another job and has been filled with cheap local paint. You see the brand on the bucket and pay for the brand. What goes on your wall costs a fraction of it.

2. Over-thinning the paint with water

Every emulsion allows a little thinning — the tin tells you how much. Cheap painters add far more, so one gallon “covers” two gallons of wall. The first day it looks fine. Within a season the colour fades, patches appear and the wall marks the moment you touch it.

3. Skipping primer, sealer and putty

Primer and putty are invisible once the job is done, which makes them easy to skip. Without a sealer, fresh plaster sucks the paint in unevenly; without proper putty and sanding, every crack and dent shows through. This is where most of the “savings” in a low quote actually come from.

4. One coat sold as two

You are quoted for two coats but only get one — often a heavy, thinned coat that looks acceptable on day one. Ask how many coats are included, and check a hidden corner (behind a cupboard) before the final payment.

5. Painting over damp and seepage

Painting straight over a damp wall hides the problem for a few weeks. Then the paint bubbles, flakes and grows fungus — and you pay to do it all again. A professional will check for moisture and treat the cause first.

6. A vague, “per room” quote

“Poore ghar ka itna lag jayega” with no brand, product name, coats or area written down leaves room for every trick above. A real quote lists the exact product, number of coats, prep work and area in square feet.

7. No protection, no clean-up

Paint on the floor, splashes on switches, furniture not covered. Cheap labour saves time by skipping masking and covering — and you spend days cleaning after them.

The real cost of a cheap quote

Paint itself is only part of a painting job — labour, prep and your time are the rest. If cheap paint fails in one year instead of five, you pay for labour, furniture shifting and disruption all over again. The “cheap” job usually ends up costing two to three times more.

How to protect yourself — a simple checklist

• Get the brand, product name and number of coats in writing.
• Buy from an authorised dealer and make sure tins arrive sealed.
• Open the tins yourself, on site, on the day of painting.
• Count the empty tins at the end and compare with the quantity quoted.
• Compare quotes per square foot, like for like.
• Never pay most of the amount in advance “for branded paint”.