Often customers ask us how many coats of paint are needed to paint the interior of their home. Usually, two-three coats depending on the circumstances. The first coat is primer specific, including oil, latex, color blocking, odor-blocking, and shellac primer, which should be applied if the paint is anything other than latex. Also, if the current paint job is in good shape, two paint coats will do the job. Unless the new color is a brighter color, like yellow, red, blue, green, they generally require an additional third coat.