Painter and Decorator · Red Seal (Ontario 404C)
Five Red Seal Painter and Decorator practice questions, answers included.
Five procedural questions from five of the exam's six work activities, from scaffold safety and surface preparation to wall coverings and industrial coatings, one of them a film-thickness calculation: the type the Red Seal Program puts at 45 to 55 percent of this exam. Pick an answer, then open the explanation. Every question in the bank explains all four options, not just the right one.
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47 free Painter and Decorator questions in all
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A rolling frame scaffold with outriggers is set up on a gym floor to paint the upper wall. What is done before anyone climbs it?
- Lock every caster once the painter is on top.
- Lock the wall-side casters and set every outrigger.
- Lock every caster and set every outrigger.
- Set every outrigger and leave the casters free.
Show the answer
C. Correct. All the caster brakes are locked and the outriggers set so the tower cannot roll or tip while a painter climbs and works. It is also checked level, with the platform and guardrails complete, before use.
Source: Red Seal Occupational Standard, sub-task A-2.03
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A basement floor has been degreased and rinsed, and before acid etching it the painter sprinkles water on it. The water beads up and the concrete does not darken. What is done next?
- Etch it with a stronger acid mix so it bites through.
- Pressure wash it with plain water, then etch it.
- Coat it now, since beading shows the slab is dry.
- Grind or blast the surface to remove the film first.
Show the answer
D. Correct. On a slab already degreased, water that beads and does not soak in shows a sealer, curing compound or similar film. Acid cannot etch through it, so the film is removed mechanically, then the water test is repeated before etching or coating.
Source: Red Seal Occupational Standard, sub-task B-8.01
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Working alone, a painter is rolling a lobby wall 9 m (30 ft) long and 3 m (10 ft) high from an extension pole. How is the wall worked to keep a wet edge?
- The upper half along the wall, then the lower half.
- In full-height sections rolled into the last.
- In separate sections spaced apart, then joined up.
- In horizontal bands from the ceiling to the floor.
Show the answer
B. Correct. Rolling floor-to-ceiling sections, starting each new one on the unpainted side and rolling back into the previous wet section, keeps every join wet; the joins are short and vertical and are finished in moments.
Source: Red Seal Occupational Standard, sub-task C-12.02
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The adhesive maker requires room and wall temperatures of at least 12 °C (54 °F) during hanging and for 48 hours after. A new, unheated school addition reads 9 °C (48 °F). What does the installer do?
- Hang it now, then heat the rooms so the adhesive can dry.
- Heat the rooms to range first and keep them there 48 hours.
- Warm the adhesive pail indoors, then hang in the cold rooms.
- Spread extra adhesive so the strips hold while it sets.
Show the answer
B. Correct. Below the maker's minimum the adhesive does not bond properly, and strips hung cold can slip, lift or open at the seams. The rooms are brought up to the stated temperature before hanging and kept there for the stated 48 hours while the adhesive sets.
Source: Red Seal Occupational Standard, sub-task D-15.01
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Notch gauge readings on an unthinned epoxy being sprayed on a clarifier's steel average 175 µm. The data sheet gives 68 % volume solids. What dry film will this wet film leave, to the nearest micrometre?
- 56 µm
- 119 µm
- 175 µm
- 257 µm
Show the answer
B. Correct. Only the solids remain once the solvent leaves, so DFT = WFT × volume solids = 175 µm × 0.68 = 119.0 µm. That figure is compared with the specified dry film now, and the cured film is later confirmed with a dry film gauge.
Source: Red Seal Occupational Standard, sub-task F-19.02
Want twelve more with every option explained? Free Red Seal Painter practice questions — no account, no email, printable. With five more on each exam block page below, that makes 47 free Painter and Decorator questions in all.
The Red Seal Painter exam at a glance
How many questions are on the Red Seal Painter and Decorator exam?
The Red Seal Painter and Decorator exam (404C in Ontario) has 130 multiple-choice questions, a 4-hour writing time and a 70% pass mark, which is 91 correct answers. The questions cover six major work activities, and 40 to 50 percent are knowledge and recall questions. An acronym list is provided at the sitting; there is no formula sheet. Sources: the Red Seal Program's exam information page and Exam Preparation Guide, checked October 27, 2026.
Question mix — weighted to the blueprint
The Painter and Decorator exam leans on knowledge more than most Red Seal exams: 40 to 50 percent of the paper is knowledge and recall, 45 to 55 percent procedural and application, and under 10 percent critical thinking. In the Red Seal Program's words, the incorrect options are not always obvious. Applying residential, institutional and commercial coatings is the largest block at 31 questions, surface preparation has 30 and industrial paints and coatings 29, so 90 of the 130 questions sit in those three blocks. The single largest task, applying architectural coatings by brush, roller, applicator and spray, carries 15 questions, and preparing industrial coatings another 15.
The Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide gives the pass mark as 70 percent, which is 91 correct answers out of 130, and gives four hours of writing time, about 1 minute 51 seconds a question. The exam information page for this trade lists an acronym list of 18 terms, from DFT and HVLP to SSPC, VOC and WHMIS, provided at the sitting; no formula sheet or code book is listed. The exam is based on the 2022 Red Seal Occupational Standard for Painter and Decorator, the only standard for the trade, and British Columbia's apprenticeship authority dates the exams on it from September 2024. Painter and Decorator is a Red Seal trade in all thirteen provinces and territories, titled Painter in Quebec and Painter Decorator in Nunavut. Ontario certifies it as Painter and Decorator – Commercial and Residential (404C), a non-compulsory trade; Ontario's separate 404D Industrial exam is a provincial exam, not Red Seal, and is not covered here.
The full Red Seal Painter practice exam
Find the Painter and Decorator blocks that still need work before exam day.
Free, original practice for the Painter and Decorator Red Seal exam — 404C in Ontario. Every test is weighted to the official exam blueprint — recall and procedure in their published shares, with critical thinking under 10 percent — and the timed mock exams run the full 130 questions in four hours, so your practice score shows which areas still need work before exam day.
Challenging the exam on experience
Years on the tools, one exam to write.
Many people who write this exam are experienced painters challenging it rather than finishing an apprenticeship. Once your provincial apprenticeship authority approves your work experience, you write the same Red Seal exam an apprentice writes, marked to the same 70 percent. The exam covers the whole trade as the standard describes it, so a residential repaint specialist still meets wall coverings, wood finishing and industrial coatings, and a coatings applicator still meets wallpaper layout. A timed set weighted to the blueprint is a quick way to see which work activities need study before you book. Our guide on how to challenge the Red Seal exam covers who decides eligibility and how the route works in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta.
What the Painter and Decorator exam covers
Six major work activities.
The occupational standard groups the trade into 6 major work activities, 19 tasks and 61 sub-tasks. The question counts below are the official blueprint weightings — our 550-question bank is built to that same map, with every sub-task covered. Applying residential, institutional and commercial coatings leads with 31 of the 130 questions, then surface preparation (30), industrial coatings (29) and common occupational skills (20); wood finishes has 11 and wall coverings 9. Every one of the 19 tasks carries exam questions, from 1 to 15 each.
- A
Performs common occupational skills · 20 questions
Safety-related functions — PPE, respirators and a safe work environment (4 questions); using and maintaining tools and equipment, including rigging, hoisting and access equipment such as ladders, scaffolds and lifts (6); routine trade practices — documentation such as SDS and TDS, project requirements, job planning, protecting surroundings and handling materials (6); quality control assessments of substrates, products and finished work (3); and communication and mentoring (1). Free block A questions: safety, tools, access and job planning →
- B
Prepares surfaces · 30 questions
General surface preparation (9 questions): removing coatings and wall coverings, cleaning, priming, sanding and caulking; wood surfaces (5); concrete and masonry, mechanically and chemically (5); metal surfaces, from abrasive blasting to power and hand tool cleaning and repairs (6); and plaster and drywall (5). Free block B questions: surface preparation →
- C
Prepares and applies residential, institutional and commercial paints, coatings and finishes · 31 questions
Preparing paints and coatings for application, including mixing, tinting, thinning and reinforcing mesh (12 questions); applying them by brush, roller, applicator and spray equipment (15), the largest task on the exam; and decorative and specialty finishes such as faux, gilding, stencils, textures and multi-spec coatings (4). The largest block on the paper. Free block C questions: applying paints and coatings →
- D
Prepares and applies wall coverings · 9 questions
Preparing for wall coverings — treating the surface, layout, and inspecting, acclimatizing and cutting the material (4 questions); and applying adhesives and installing vinyl, fabric, natural and rigid wall coverings, and repairing them (5). Free block D questions: wall coverings →
- E
Prepares and applies wood finishes · 11 questions
Preparing for wood finishing — conditioning, filling and sealing wood and preparing finishing products (5 questions); and finishing wood surfaces by brushing, wiping and spraying (6). Free block E questions: wood finishing →
- F
Prepares and applies industrial paints and coatings · 29 questions
Preparing industrial paints and coatings — mixing, thinning, heating and agitating, and installing fibre-reinforced plastics (15 questions); and applying industrial coatings with hand tools and spray equipment (14). Two tasks and four sub-tasks carry 22 percent of the exam. Free block F questions: industrial coatings →
Where our numbers come from
Every question, anchored to the standard.
Painting questions can quietly go wrong in three ways: one contractor's habit presented as the only right answer, a product figure remembered from one brand's data sheet, and film-thickness arithmetic that skips a step. Every question in our Painter and Decorator bank is anchored to a sub-task of the occupational standard and verified against it, with all four options explained. Where an answer depends on a specification, a product data sheet or a manufacturer's instructions, the question states it and tests the method, and no question names a manufacturer. Surface-preparation grades are named by their standard number, not quoted. There is no formula sheet at the exam, so the coverage, mixing and film-thickness questions show their working in the explanations: square metres per litre, mix ratios, thinning, wet film to dry film and volume solids. The question counts above are the Red Seal Program's own exam breakdown for Painter and Decorator, and every question is mapped to a sub-task of the 2022 Red Seal Occupational Standard. For what each block covers and where to spend your study time, read the Red Seal Painter exam guide. Read how our questions are made.
Edited by Trevor Mulder · Last checked against the Red Seal Program's published exam information.
Why recall is only half of it
Knowing the product is not the same as knowing the next step.
Up to half of the Painter and Decorator exam asks you to recall a fact, and nearly all the rest asks what you do next. Knowing what amine blush is does not tell you what to do before the second coat. Knowing what a sealer is does not tell you what beading water on a slab means before acid etching. Knowing what volume solids are does not tell you which way the wet-to-dry calculation goes. There is no formula sheet, so the arithmetic is yours to bring. TicketPrep weights every test to the published blueprint, so your practice score shows which areas still need work before exam day.
How TicketPrep prepares you
Built like a study tool, not a quiz app.
Weighted to the blueprint
Every test matches the published Painter and Decorator weightings — recall, procedure and critical thinking in the proportions the published exam breakdown sets.
Every answer explained
Learn why the right answer is right — and why each of the other three is wrong. That's where the learning happens.
Timed mock exams
Full-length tests that match the 130-question count and the four hours the Red Seal preparation guide gives, so exam day feels familiar.
Know your weak areas
Your score broken out by work activity, so you always know which block to drill next.
Painter and Decorator exam questions
Before you start.
How many questions are on the Red Seal Painter and Decorator exam?
Is there a formula sheet on the Red Seal Painter exam?
Is the Painter practice exam free?
I'm an experienced painter challenging the exam. Is this useful?
Is Painter and Decorator a Red Seal trade in every province?
What does the Red Seal Painter exam cover?
Are these Red Seal Painter exam questions?
How does TicketPrep compare with other Red Seal practice tests?
See which blocks need work.
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