How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Fayetteville needs to be updated, a new coat of exterior paint is a fast, affordable way to improve its curb appeal. So if your home exterior is starting to look shabby or if you’re just ready for a change, consider painting the outside of your home yourself or hire a local painter to do the job for you.

Painting a house is a big project, but it isn’t an impossible job for most homeowners. You just need to do your research to know how to prepare the exterior surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as what type of brushes and paints to use.

You can also team up with a painter by doing all the prep work by yourself, but then having their crew come in and do the painting with their tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever choice is right for you, you’ll still need to know exactly how to prepare your home for painting. Here are some of the most important things to remember.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Decide which parts of the home to paint, gather the ladders and all other safety equipment. If you’re preparing to complete the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will help to make the painting go much faster as soon as you get started. Organizing your equipment beforehand guarantees that once you start painting, you won’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home’s exterior is deciding the color or color combo. You’ll also need to choose the right paint finishes for each part of the home. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is a lot less messy and much easier to clean. The flat surfaces require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. You’ll need to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also efficient options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the exterior of the home for its brand new paint! Invest time into power washing your home (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to remove any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure is the most effective way to remove peeling paint, and it also cleans the outside of your home. Some of the areas of paint may peel right off as soon as you spray over them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was deteriorating and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, scrape it off with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig deep into the wood. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand each surface down to the bare wood. Any areas where the paint is still adhered just need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on smooth.
5. Prime. Do not skip the primer! Primer is an important step because it covers up any prior paint (especially with dark colors), results in an even color for your new coat, and a smoother exterior with less imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t blend into it or leave behind a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter can look at the forecast and tell you the most opportune day for painting a home. That’s why they’re professionals! If you want to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, with very low humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only can a new paint job make your house look several years newer, it also adds a layer of protection for the overall exterior of your home.

Paint will help prevent pests from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also stops wear and tear from the elements. High quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt won’t adhere to paint the way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious sign that it is time to be replaced. If paint is peeling on your home, you need to have it repainted to protect the wood beneath.

Deteriorating paint takes a toll on your home’s exterior. If you’re worried about curb appeal, painting your home is one of the simplest things you can do.

Painting is also a good idea if your home doesn’t seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood (but you want it to). If your home’s exterior color makes it stand out too much, or if the opposite is true and you want it to stand out, a different color can change its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Fayetteville

After prepping is complete, you have the option to hand the work over to a professional painter in Fayetteville (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the start!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also guarantees that the results will exceed expectations with less effort from you.

Hiring a local painter to paint your home has several obvious benefits:

• A professional painter will know the optimal way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look a lot better and the project will go a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t make a big mess. Their results will be much neater, with no excess paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and experience, your new exterior paint will likely last a lot longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment needed to paint surfaces above ground level.

Depending on your DIY capabilities and interests, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are fully prepared to handle each part of the project, from removing old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the paint.