[Zeke]

Whatever you do, buy good stain. In fact, buy the stain yourself. Have the local paint supply quote you a price based on the quantity.

Semi stain can be applied with a garden sprayer. It's messy whether you do that, use an airless spray rig, or brush it on by hand. I recommend at least back brushing if you use either of the other methods.

Keeping the stain off trim and decks is labor intensive. Sometimes a painter can only spray for 3 hours because of wind. This can take days.

Trim is also labor intensive as you may know. Most painters are going to start the bid on windows at 100 per. That will get you some sanding, some primer and a full finish coat. Personally, I'd go for 2 coats.

Painting is one trade that anyone with a ladder and not much equipment can be in business. It brings out some of the worst sorts. I know, I did it for 10 years, 4 with the union starting back in 1970. I still keep enough gear to do a job and I can get it all in a station wagon. So, there's not much to it until you find out what a real pro knows.

A friend of mine has been painting full time since I started. 42 years and he's terrible at it. I recommended him for a job last year and had to donate 2 days of my time fixing his work to salvage a relationship.

I digress. I always tell folks to hire contractors that are working along with the crew. The boss needs to be on the job. And remember a company is only as good as the people working that day. Labor turn over is very high, so what someone did a few months ago is not necessarily what they will do for you. Go see their last job, not the one they would rather have you see.

Had I followed my own advice, I would have known my "friend" was not doing very good work lately.