Painting & More
Interior and exterior painting that starts with a clean surface
Residential and commercial painting across NJ and the tri-state area, from the power wash and gutters to the HEPA cleanup and the final walk-through.
Paint never sticks to what it cannot touch
Paint never adheres perfectly to a dirty surface. That sentence sits at the top of how Mera Painting thinks about every exterior, and it explains most of the peeling you see on North Jersey houses a few seasons after a fresh coat. Dust, chalky residue from old paint, mildew film and years of road grime all sit between the new coat and the wall. The topcoat can only be as strong as the surface it grips, so the work that decides the result happens before a brush is opened.
That is why the crew encourages customers to power wash their home or commercial property and to have the gutters cleaned by Mera's own professionals ahead of the paint. Overflowing gutters streak siding and trim and keep fascia boards wet, and wet wood does not hold a coating. Washing the house and clearing the gutters in the same visit gives the painters a clean, dry face to work on, and it is the simplest way to make the finish last.
Inside, the same rule applies in quieter ways: kitchen walls carry a film of cooking grease, stairwells collect hand oils, and old patches show through a thin coat. Residential and commercial jobs both start by reading the surface honestly. Todd M. of New Vernon, who has called Christian Mera for over ten years, says he is the first and last call for "interior or exterior work", and that kind of loyalty comes from jobs that are still looking right years later.
Yellow Italianate Victorian house with a teal panel and white brackets, freshly painted
Scrape, prime, cut in, and clean up lead-safe
Once the surface is clean the crew deals with what is wrong with it: loose and flaking paint is scraped back to something sound, cracks and holes are patched, gaps are caulked, and bare spots are primed so the finish coat dries evenly instead of soaking in patchy. Edges are cut in by hand before rolling, which is where a quick job shows itself, along ceilings, trim and window sashes. The coats go on in the order that keeps the work crisp, and the paint itself is high-quality paint chosen for the surface, because a good crew can only do so much with a thin product.
Older homes bring one more consideration. Mera Painting and Home Design is licensed, insured and certified to follow EPA specific lead-safe work practices, which means properly preparing the space for a renovation and following a specific cleaning protocol afterwards. The crew uses HEPA vacuums to clean up dust and debris on every surface. The vacuuming is followed by wet wiping and wet mopping with plenty of rinse water, so the dust that is easy to miss is not left behind in a family's living room.
You can see this sequence in the photographs on the gallery page: ladders up, windows masked with tape, drop cloths down, then a finished house with clean lines. The same discipline carries over to repairs. If a window trim or crown moulding needs carpentry before it can be painted, the crew handles it in the same job, which you can read about under home improvements.
After the last coat
A finished paint job should end with a walk-through, not a handshake and a disappearing truck. Mera's stated aim is a simplified process from your initial estimate to your final walk through, and the walk-through is where you point at anything that is not right. The company is committed to your 100% satisfaction and offers a warranty with every job. Todd M. wrote that if there is ever a problem, Christian is quick to remedy it, and that is the part of a warranty that matters when it is needed.
Looking after the finish is not complicated. Keep a little leftover paint labeled for each room so a scuff or a nail pop can be touched up without a visible patch. Wash exteriors when they get dirty rather than letting grime sit. Watch the places that fail first, such as south-facing walls, window sills and horizontal trim, and look for chalking, hairline cracks or gaps opening in the caulk. Those are the signs it is time to repaint that section before water gets in.
If you are not sure which colours belong together, ask for help before you buy a single sample. Mera has Color Consultants who can help with painting ideas, and the same crew can take on commercial interiors and exteriors, from offices to apartment buildings, which are covered on the commercial painting page. To set up a free estimate and a look at your house or building, use the contact page.
Licensed, bonded and EPA lead-safe certified, with a warranty on every job. Call 973-885-1160.
Want to see how these jobs finish? The gallery shows houses mid-prep and after the last coat. If the walls need carpentry or crown moulding before paint, the home improvements crew handles it in the same job, and offices, schools and apartment buildings are covered under commercial painting. When you are ready for a free estimate, the contact page is the place to start.