I personally know a painter in MA that has been stuck with a $10,000 fine and another with an $18,000 fine for messing with lead paint.

Same framer in Charleston was 15 bucks. our painter is 2 to 2.25 a foot in and out 3 colors and includes paint..

:The painter has done  the Prep Work and has started the painting.  

It could be a poor surface condition, poor prep, low quality product, a bad painter, or a combination of them.  

From my personal experience, as intuition and common sense would support, working 'around the system' comes with heavy risks.I had one guy (1099 type worker) in working that said he was renting somewhere in DSM where the owner told him that they were without a certificate.The painter said he separately had someone come by that said they were with the city and told him to stop paying rent.Obviously this was impossible for me to verify - but served as a good warning. 

It's a very long story, but I had issues with my first contractor and painter.

As a side note, if anyone knows of a competitively priced painter in the area, I'd love to get the info.