How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Surprise needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of exterior paint is a quick, inexpensive way to improve its curb appeal. So if your home exterior is starting to look worn down or if you’re simply ready for something different, consider painting the exterior of your house yourself or hire a professional painter to do it for you.

Painting a home is a huge job, but it isn’t an impossible job for some homeowners. You just have to do your research to know how to prepare the exterior surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as which brushes and paints you need to use.

You can even meet in the middle with a painter by completing all the prep work on your own, but then having their crew come in and do the actual painting with their tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever direction is right for you, you will still want 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. Choose which parts of the home to paint, collect the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you’re preparing to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will help to make the actual painting go a lot faster as soon as you get started. Organizing your tools beforehand guarantees that when you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and search for needed supplies, meaning that 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 combination. You will also want to pick the right paint finishes for each part of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s less messy and much easier to clean up. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll want synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are time-saving options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to begin prepping the surface of your house for its brand new paint! Invest time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure water is the best way to remove peeling paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your house. Some sections of paint may peel right off as you spray over them. That’s a sign that the paint was deteriorating and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the original paint has been loosened, scrape it off the house with a plastic or metal straight edge, being careful not to dig deep into the wood. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand every surface down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered just need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip priming! Primer is a very important step because it covers up any prior paint (especially with dark colors), results in an even color for your new coat, and a smooth surface with minimal imperfections. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t blend into it or produce a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter can look at the forecast and find the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re experts! If you plan to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, with very low humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only can a brand new paint job make your home look several years newer, it also creates a layer of protection to the overall structure of your house.

Paint can help prevent pests from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also prevents wear and tear from the elements. Good quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt won’t stick to paint the same way it does to bare wood.

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

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

Painting is a good idea if your house doesn’t seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood. 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 totally change its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Surprise

After prepping is complete, you can hand the project over to a professional painter in Surprise (if you hadn’t already decided that from the start!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also guarantees that the results will exceed expectations with less effort on your part.

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

• A professional painter knows the best way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look a lot better and the project will go a lot faster.
• Companies don’t make a big mess. Their results will be much neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Due to their skill and experience, your new exterior paint will probably last longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment needed to paint surfaces higher than ground level.

Based on your DIY capabilities and desires, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most services are fully prepared to handle every part of the job, from removing old paint and pressure washing the exterior to applying the new paint.