The two issues are clearly laid out in the question.

First, what must Pete do to accept

Hank’s offer? Secondly, can Hank revoke his offer? The UCC supplants the common law in the
sale of moveable goods. Services are not goods, therefore the UCC does not apply to this
transaction. Although the painter will buy paint to complete the work, this paint is not referenced
in the offer and therefore does not override the fact that this is a transaction about a service.
Further, even if paint was referenced, it does not dominate the transaction.
The first issue is what does Pete have to do to accept Hank’s offer? The first question to
answer this more significant issue is whether this is a unilateral or bilateral contract. A unilateral
contract invites performance and can only be accepted by performance. A bilateral contract can
invite either a promise on the part of the offeree or performance. The offer as described does
not specify whether a return promise or simply performance is requested. Therefore, this is a
bilateral contract that can be binding by Pete’s acceptance, by promise or performance.
The second issue is can Hank revoke his offer? To clarify, it appears this question of
revocation is at the time that Pete has already completed 25% of the work. When a bilateral
contract does not specify that acceptance requires a return promise or performance, either is
acceptable. In this case, Pete has started performance by hiring a crew, buying paint and
completing a substantial portion of the project. Since performance is underway, not “mere
preparation”, such as picking paint colors or talking about the job with prospective
subcontractors, Pete has legally accepted the offer. At this time Hank cannot revoke the offer.