Visual paint assessments on inspection day

For pre-1978 properties, inspectors perform a visual assessment of paint conditions as part of the inspection — every deteriorated surface they can see is in play. This thread covers what they look for, how findings get documented, and the difference between a paint problem and a paint problem with a child under six in the unit.

A visual assessment is exactly what it sounds like, which is what makes it dangerous: no instruments, no benefit of the doubt, just a trained eye moving across every painted surface in the unit. The stair rail rubbed bare, the window sash chewed by years of friction, the bathroom wall bubbling from moisture — all of it is in play, and all of it was visible to your crew first. What do your own pre-walk paint checks look like — do you walk paint the way an inspector's visual assessment would?