I held off on this bad review as long as I could because, honestly, I didn't want to write it. But, Mike has disappeared on us and left us with a HORRIBLE paint job on our kitchen cabinets. I've tried for months to get him to respond and to come fix his work. I've been patient with arranging a time to come fix the problems. But, it's clear at this point that Mike has been paid for a job and he has no intentions of making it right. First the background. We used Mike at our previous home. One of the things we liked most about Mike was he paints very straight lines. Excellent work. That cannot be denied. Still, we did have some issues with paint cracking/peeling/chipping. Mike "redid" the work one time and it started happening again on the trim and doors. The paint just seemed to be crap, to be honest. Enough to make it look good for a for a while, but with kids or a light cleaning it would come off pretty easily. Mike claimed to be exasperated and always had a story how "this never happened before." Although you can read the reviews here and see that clearly isn't true. Nevertheless, we also established a relationship of sorts with him and his family, so I took him at his word and figured it wouldn't happen again. I contacted him again when we moved into a new home and wanted it painted. Mike redid the whole house again. Most of the work is pretty good (e.g. room colors), although there are certain areas where he neglected to paint (e.g. interior of closet). Minor stuff that I expected to get resolved because I thought Mike was a man of his word and he would come back another day to resolve it. I was wrong. The HUGE problem we now have is the paint job he did on our kitchen cabinets. The old paint was oil based. Mike was aware of this as we had a discussion in the kitchen prior to any work being done. Mike obviously did not prep the cabinets properly before painting and now the paint is chipping/peeling off the cabinets with the slightest amount of contact. The paint almost feels like it hasn't dried yet, but this job was done in January. Of course, the excuses started flying. "Not again!" "This never happens to me." Whatever. Let's just fix the issue. I reminded him before this job what happened at the last house and we couldn't have any peeling/flaking issues, and I wanted to use a paint he has used many times before without any problems. He made a recommendation for a specific Behr cabinet paint. Since I decided on a last minute color change to the paint after he had arrived, I went to Home Depot myself and picked up EXACTLY WHAT HE TOLD ME TO BUY. If it wasn't right (which he is now trying to claim) then he should have told me when I got back and I would have done back to Home Depot and got the right paint. Nothing was said. He just went ahead and used the paint. Ultimately, I don't think it's the paint. The guy at HD said it was a premium product and would harden and be very durable. The problem is clearly that Mike didn't prepare the cabinets properly and is trying to blame someone else for his work. Still, Mike tried to get reimbursed by Home Depot for the paint and labor to fix my cabinets. He get comped a bunch of free paint and given preferential pricing on future purchases to make up for the issue, but no money for his "labor." Well, that all money went back into Mike's pocket and my cabinets still look like crap. Ultimately, I've tried for months to get Mike to come fix this paint job. Initially he was just ignoring me. Then he accidentally picked up the phone when my wife called, so he got busted. He apologized for ignoring us and said he would make it right. When I spoke with him to arrange a time to come to our house for an evaluation, he went back to pretending he doesn't get all his texts. Yeah, sure, Mike. No one believes this BS, by the way. Still, he made an appointment to come by our home to fix things and even sent us some photos of the "new" paint he was going to try. After "no showing" for 4 days I asked him when he was going to show up? He's been ignoring our texts ever since. I get no pleasure writing this review, but you took our money and ran. Shame on you Mike. For those of you considering using 78 paint: Don't. read more

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Do not use this guy. He will charge extra money then one fine day decide to not finish up the work as he gets other work and promise to be back to finish up and never does. Does not even have the professional courtesy to call back. If you want unfinished work then use him. After reading Mike's comments I decided to post just a couple of pictures as a representation of what was not done correctly that he did not finish. Just to make you aware the original scope of work that Mike quoted was $5700. Yes we did add more work but not for free and nothing is free. We paid him $8000 as per HIS quote of the additional work. And I have no problems signing contracts as I do that all day long. He never gave us one. Not sure how that makes me a liar but ok. I have no time to waste with this man in court. My goal was to make people aware and provide my rating which is my right to do. I posted after three weeks because we have been trying to get a hold of you for 3 weeks now and you keep giving us the run around. The materials you mention are worthless to anyone. Don't even use that. Yes you are absolutely right. I felt like taking the materials you left and messing up the nice paint job you did to make my house look bad. Makes perfect sense. Again just a representation of what I had given on my list in the last week which you simply ignored to correct. Best of luck to you. I am done! read more

78 Painting , textures & more - Painters Near Me

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I found Mike on Yelp in 2022 just looking for help with a one-off job for routine sheet rock repair and touch up painting. Now in 2023, I couldn't imagine working with any other home contractor. He's truly hands down the best contractor I've ever worked with. After half of dozen or so projects and counting, Mike is truly a master of all trades: he's expertly handled projects to repair and renovate my home that involved his solo efforts in carpentry, painting, staining, sheet rock and drywall repair, window removal/install, metalwork, and much more. There is no project too big or too small for him to turn down. He has a can-do spirit and he's so friendly, conscientious, punctual, communicative, patient, and kind. He really wants to make sure you're happy with the quality of his work and he always goes the extra mile. Meanwhile, his rates are also very affordable. Finally, he's been willing and able to help out my family members with their own home projects. I give Mike my highest recommendation. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but I really can't relate to any of the negative reviews for Mike posted here from years back. I stand behind all I write to vouch for his integrity and quality work. read more

TLDR; Our house was peeling paint, we hired Mike to paint and now it's peeling again while still under warranty. Mike has ghosted us. I wanted to take a moment to retell our 3 year long experience with Mike Parreno and 78 Painting. In February 2015, my wife and I hired Mike to repaint our home. We live in the Crestview area and have a house that was built in 1950's. We got quotes from multiple painters in town, but we ended up going with Mike because he was affordable, he offered a 4-year warranty and he was operating a small business; and we are always trying to find ways to support local businesses in our community. My wife took the lead on most of the communicating with Mike because she had a very specific color palette she wanted. Mike was very friendly and would even bring his son with him on some days. I would often see them working together, sanding, priming, and painting. Mike would give his son pointers on his technique. It was genuinely cool to watch. Our house never looked so good. During the summer of 2016, we started to notice some of the paint on the house beginning to lift so my wife sent Mike and email explaining what was happening. Mike immediately replied, telling us not to worry and thought that it might have been some "Airborne dust still on the surface". He let us know that he would come out in mid-August to take care of it. August rolls around and Mike stopped by to check out the peeling. In an email thread, he mentions that "it's not really my work that is failing all the areas that witnessed falling off now are the old paint that is finally falling off". He goes on to say that it's no biggie and that he'll stop by on Saturday to scrape the bad areas that would not remove the first time and touch up the paint. After a few back-and-forths involving scheduling, Mike lets us know that there will be more paint lifting in the future. He proceeded to give us a list of reasons why it might be happening including the old paint finally coming down, the darkness of the color of our new paint being affected by the sun, and that he recently switched to Sherwin-Williams. Mike then informed us that he would honor the contract to come back as needed. After touching up the house, it looked brand new again. Life was good. On November 2017, we reached out again with our paint peeling issue in hopes of getting the touch up work done before our second child was born in February 2018. Mike responded asserting that the responsibility lies on Benjamin Moore and their faulty paint. He let us know that he was working with them to resolve the issue. We didn't hear back from him until we reached out again in January to ask for an update. When he did reply, it was to tell us that there was nothing to report from the paint supplier. And that pretty much brings us to present day. After many three-way chats that we had to lead between ourselves, Mike, and the representative from Benjamin-Moore, we were able to get everyone out to the house to see where the responsibility landed. It didn't take the Benjamin-Moore rep too long to notice that our laundry room (which was an addition to the original 1950's home) had no paint peeling at all. This led everyone to agree that it was indeed the old paint peeling up. The last that I spoke with Mike in person was in March. He let me know that because it's the old paint lifting that it would no longer be covered by our warranty. I asked him why this old paint wasn't dealt with when he first did the job. He told me that the reason he was so affordable was because he didn't use expensive materials to remove all the old paint and that he informed my wife of this when we agreed to work together. Not only is this insulting to throw my wife under the bus like that, but my wife has some of the highest standards of excellence of anyone I know. If this was option on the table it would have been categorized and color-coded in a spreadsheet. We spent a small fortune on this project that equates to roughly what I would consider a nice vacation with our family. I have reached out to Mike multiple times through text messages and phone calls. None of which have been returned. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm frustrated, exhausted, and tired of dealing with this. I just wanted my house to be painted and for it to last 10 years like every other house that has ever been painted. read more

I called Mike on Thursday, 5/25 to come out to my house in Central Austin to check out a drywall & painting project (sizable, 3 day project). He said he would come by on Saturday. By 3:30 that afternoon, I hadn't heard from him, so I shot him a text. He said he'd forgotten, and could come by on Monday (Memorial Day). Monday came, and he didn't show. So, I reached back out on Tuesday. He said he was booked all week. On Thursday, he said he'd come out after 5:00 PM. But, that afternoon, he said he was too busy, and needed to reschedule for Friday morning. So, I texted him at 6:30 Friday morning to confirm he was coming. He said he had things to do, and would come at lunch. At lunch, he texted to say he was stuck on a job b/c his helper ditched him. I called him that afternoon & left him a message to reschedule, and never got a return call. In total, Mike flaked on 5 appointments in the course of 1 week. He may very well do good work. But, he's unreliable & disorganized. I ended calling Guzman Drywall & Painting Friday afternoon. Joel Guzman came out Monday morning, gave me a great quote, got started the same day, and just finished the large drywall & painting project this morning (Wed). The work was flawless, the clean up was perfection, attention to detail excellent, price outstanding, and communication on point. I could not recommend him more. read more

I used Mike to finish out some trim work in our foyer. He did a great job patching up the nail holes and painting it to match the exact color we had throughout our house already. Mike was very responsive and a professional throughout the entire process. I highly recommend him and will definitely be reaching out to him for any painting projects that I need to be completed in the future. read more

78 Painting , textures & more - Painted Trim in foyer. - Painters Near Me

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I highly recommend Mike/78 Painting. After finding Mike on Yelp on a Friday, Mike was kind enough to come over the very next day to help me with a sheet rock repair that also requiring texturing, painting and installing a light fixture. I really appreciated him coming on such short notice and he did a fantastic job. He really took took his time with the task and communicated well to make sure he met my needs. He was also very good at explaining the various steps he'd need to take on my small project and was very reasonable on pricing. While speaking with him, I found out that he has expertise in a variety of home renovation/repair areas. So after his excellent job with this project, I plan on having him come back to help with some other projects. read more

My husband and I hired Mike Parreno to paint the exterior and interior of our newly-purchased home in Bouldin Creek, as well as all of our kitchen cabinets. We had gotten his information -and an enthusiastic endorsement- from our former neighbor in Travis Heights whose house Mike had just finished painting. When I contacted Mike about giving us a bid, he was prompt in responding. He showed up on time and gave us a fair quote. However, what really impressed me was his passion for painting -he brings an expertise and dedication that I hadn't observed in the other bidders. Hiring him was a no-brainer as we wanted to partner with someone who knew and cared about his craft and could provide insights beyond just getting the job done. Mike brought more value to this extensive project than I ever imagined. For example, he recommended extending the bright blue paint used in our study to our entryway ceiling (genius!). He suggested we go with a darker grey for our backyard fence to contrast with the lighter grey used on our home's exterior. He also pointed out (and fixed) warped wood on our roof -just a few of the many ways in which he went well beyond the job we'd hired him to do. We have already recommended Mike to several of our friends -all of whom were blown away after seeing the work Mike did on our home. I found Mike to be very personable and easy to communicate with, and I felt completely comfortable around him at all times. We will absolutely hire Mike again! read more

My wife and I were looking to paint the interior of our house and also needed extensive drywall repair/texture for cracks due to our shifting foundation. Mike showed up when he said he would, took the time to explain his process, provided an estimate in a timely manner, and completed the work on time without cutting any corners. He was very communicative and flexible along the way and this was very helpful when dealing with the anxiety that a big project can cause an expectant wife. In contrast, we contacted several other companies when getting bids for the work and I was blown away by the lack of professionalism and how many people never followed through with a bid or never even showed up at all. He takes pride in his business and I feel like he worked on our house the same way that he would work on his own home. Our walls look brand new and you would never know that any repairs had taken place. Not easy when trying to match knock down texture. read more

Mike Parreno is amazing! I've been referring my clients to Mike for several years now. This is the first time I've used him personally. What an amazing job and attention to detail plus he has great ideas. I can't wait for the rest of my house to be done so I can show it off. read more

78 Painting , textures & more - My super cool bedroom color! - Painters Near Me

I hired 78 Painting to stain my deck after reviewing companies in the area on Yelp. I contacted 78 Painting and Mike responded the following day with an offer to stop by and provide an estimate. He was friendly, provided a reasonable estimate, and recommend Sikkens brand stain from years of experience protecting wooden structures along the coast. As it was a small job Mike scheduled to power wash the deck one day and stain it the next. He was efficient in his work and did a great job. The deck looks better than it ever has. I found 78 Painting to provide a good product and be both friendly and honest in their dealings. I recommend 78 Painting for wood staining and will likely use them for house painting in the future. read more

We hired 78 Painting (Mike and his son Marco) to repair drywall and paint the interior of our home. He quoted us a very reasonable price and discussed any problems he might experience, as he could tell, and helped set reasonable expectations for the drywall repairs. They started repairs/painting while we were out of town and worked around our dog who can be a hassle to say the least! Although we told him it was cool to leave the dog in the cage, he let the beast out several times. I'm pretty sure they bonded, our dog wasn't even excited when we came home :) ! Mike was extremely understanding and cooperative for several changes throughout the process and told us the additional cost upfront (also very reasonable). Our job took longer than expected, but Mike honored his price and didn't complain. Their painting was flawless. The drywall repairs were as good as they could be for the budget. If flawless drywall repair is what you desire, make sure you communicate this upfront. I highly recommend 78 Painting. There are many skilled tradesmen in Austin, but I am often surprised by the lack of communication from contractors. Mike was EXTREMELY responsive and did what he said he would do. We had to reschedule the estimate several times but let me know hours in advance allowing me to change my own schedule. My wife and I are very happy with their work and feel it was money well spent. Keep up the good work Mike! read more

78 Painting , textures & more - Mike let Hank out of his cage while we were traveling. Here he is taking a nap under the protective plastic :) - Painters Near Me

I've had Mike from 78 Painting out for two projects at our house now, and both times have been great experiences. Most recently we had the majority of our interior walls repainted from builder beige to a more desirable neutral color. Mike does great work at a reasonable price. He's a good communicator and arrived when he said he would, completing the project on-time and on-budget. He also has a great eye for design and helped us select colors and finishes that worked the best for our spaces. I'll definitely be calling Mike again for our next project. Thanks Mike for the great work and quick turnaround! read more

I contacted Mike after reading his reviews and contacted him to paint and apply a faux finish to my kitchen cabinets and stain my banister as well as repair some drywall. He showed up exactly at the time we arranged and gave me a quote for everything, which was very affordable. His communication was excellent during the entire project and I was very pleased with the finished projects. He even took an old gallon of interior paint that was crusty and color matched it for us to keep. I highly recommend Mike and my neighbor has already contacted him to paint the entire interior of her house. I promise that you won't be disappointed. I would hire him again and will be referring him to all my friends. read more

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Thanks to Mike, my bland looking house looks amazing. He's very patient and very communicative informing me of any situations that occur. When I sent out for a quote, I got a really quick response. He came out, walked around the house, did some estimates and gave me a really good deal. I had other contractors come out for estimates and his is one of the best. With the job completed, I'm simply amazed on how well it turned out, even better than expected. I really do hope that people take the time and get to know him. He's got a lot of experience and he's very easy to work with. Highly recommend him! read more

Mike did a great job on the interior of our home. His attention to detail was superb - he is a real pro. We will definitely use him again (my wife is already planning his next project) and highly recommend him. read more

Mike did such a great job painting the interior of our home. He is a true professional. He returned my calls or emails promptly, showed up on time ready to work and did an amazing job. He painted the interior common areas of our home. I was so impressed with his work ethic, attention to detail. He was happy to accommodate my last minute changes. He was doing such a good job, I just kept adding things for him to paint! I would definitely recommend him and will be calling him again for a few other projects. read more

I hired Elite Painting to paint the entire interior of my house. Mike was professional all the way through the process from the bidding to the finishing touches. He worked with me on what needed to be done to make the house look the best for showing as I was selling my house for the most reasonable cost. Also I had some last minute items after I had moved out of my house including power washing that he helped with and did a great job. Elite did a great job and I recommend them. read more

Again 5 stars for 78 painting and only because it doesn't go higher. Mike is a great guy he is honest and dependable. They did an amazing job, our house, it looks like a new house! Thank you Mike for your professional advice and all of your tips that helped so much. Looking forward to more project to come. read more

The shortest summary is absolutely perfect paint work, with an amazing price. Now, that's not all, Mike is a fantastic guy to know and work with. He is very detailed and does everything with a smile and professionalism. Everything was done on time with exactly the way I had wanted. He is no bullshit, to the point guy who you get for any kind of work. I'd hire him every time for any paint job. He went out of his way to connect me to few other strong resources for other types of remodeling work. He gives good advice and a great human being. And I'd give him a 6 star if I could, just because he is super funny! Good man, good work, good price. read more

Incredible professionalism, honesty, and attitude. Mike takes such pride in his work and goes out of his way to deliver quality work at a very competitive price. He is a problem solver and solved several projects around the house through contractor contacts and ingenuity - he saved us so much money. He was a pro at taking down various tricky lightboxes, floating walls, taking away pop-corn ceilings, sheet-rocking walls, fixing roof rot, taking down and putting up light fixtures, painting tips and color choices, and pretty much everything. He really went above and beyond to help us meet our budget and had lots of helpful suggestions throughout. I did quite a bit of research on pricing in the Austin area and Mike delivered not only one of the very best price packages, but also did lots of extra services and great craftsmanship. I cannot recommend 78 Painting highly enough - incredibly patient, hard-working, and professional. It was such a pleasant experience! Totally exceeded all expectations. Clearly very happy with the service provided :-) read more

Did great work on our kitchen, and even fixed some warped shelves there were not part of the original agreement. Really went above and beyond. Very responsive to calls, texts, and concerns. Professional painter beyond compare. Old world work ethics. L read more

Mike's service and expertise is phenomenal in this business. I got his recommendation from a neighbor. After other painters flaked on price or timing, I decided to give him a call to repaint my deck. He gave a competitive price for the job including the paint and precisely described the process of how he is going to get the job done. He did an excellent job power washing the old paint off the wood, a very labor intensive step in prepping the wood. Then we were going out of town for the holidays and I was thinking he was going to finish the painting after we come back. He did the job while we were gone and texted me photos of the completed deck right away. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I have hired other painters before but I know who I will hire again, because I know he is so pro at what he does--Painting! read more

Easily the best service I've ever received. Mike is the man. He was helpful, proactive, professional, and honestly everything you could hope for. I never write these reviews but this guy deserves every piece of business in Austin read more

Yvonne (below in Oct 2016) - I find your review pretty unrealistic and probably never happened! This company goes beyond to satisfy the customer. Mike & Mika did an incredible job in the last 30 days on our investment property. Removed all popcorn, shellac to seal, textured, and painted the entire interior. We had an issue from previous tenants being inhouse smokers. The smell was overwhelming! Krud Kutter was used first to remove all the nicotine from the walls. We had a short timetable to get the next tenants in - and 78 Painting met our needs! I definitely would consider them for our next project hands down!! Now a smoke free home! Happy Investor, I am!! read more

This is the third time we've used Mike to paint our home. He's done both interior and exterior painting for us. This time he painted almost all of the interior of our entire new construction home. His attention to detail really shows especially on the arches and architectural details in our house. We've gotten a ton of compliments on his work from friends. He's very professional and left our home clean each day after painting. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mike and will be using him for any other painting needs we have. read more

I've hired Mike two times to do some interior painting in our homes. His work ethic is excellent! He's professional, has a eye for detail, is trustworthy, and always get back to me either through email or phone. I feel well taken care of with 78 Painting and highly recommend him! read more

We sat up a time to get an estimate on Saturday at 9. I called and left a message to confirm. He didn't call back and didn't show up for estimate. I called when he was a few minutes late, and still no return phone call. read more