For property managers
Short answer: a make-ready paint checklist covers the walk-through, the touch-up or repaint decision, patching, your standard colors and sheens, wet areas, doors and trim, ceilings, and a final light check, plus pre-1978 lead paperwork when it applies.
The checklist
- Walk the unit in daylight. Note wall damage, stains, smoke or pet odor, and anything a resident painted.
- Decide touch-up or repaint. Sound walls in your standard color can be touched up. Odor, widespread marks or a non-standard color means repaint.
- Check the build year. Pre-1978? Build the Regulation 19 pamphlet lead time into the turn.
- Patch. Nail holes, anchors, dings at door handles and furniture height.
- Stain-block. Water marks, smoke and marker need a stain-blocking primer or they bleed through.
- Walls. Your standard color and sheen, cut and rolled wall to wall.
- Trim and doors. The harder standard sheen, including door edges and the hinge side.
- Wet areas. Bathroom and kitchen walls in a moisture-suited product.
- Ceilings. Spot-prime stains, then ceiling white where needed.
- Final light check. Look along each wall with a work light to catch flashing before the unit is shown.
Why standards matter more than speed
Most touch-up problems are not workmanship problems. They are standards problems. When one turn gets eggshell and the next gets satin, every future touch-up flashes. One color, one sheen, one product line per surface, written down and handed to every crew, makes every future turn faster.
Voice answer: how long should paint take on an apartment turn?
A touch-up is often a short visit. A full repaint depends on unit size, damage and drying time between coats. Tell your painter your target turn time up front and get it in writing.
We handle unit turns and common areas on our apartment painting page.