How to Prepare Your Home for Painting
If your home in Arlington has to be refreshed, a fresh coat of paint is a fast, inexpensive way to improve its curb appeal. So if your house is looking shabby or if you are simply ready for something different, consider painting the outside of your house yourself or enlist a professional painter to do the job for you.
Painting a home is a big job, but it isn’t an impossible job for some homeowners. You have to do your research to understand how to prepare the surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as which brushes and paints to use.
You can also meet in the middle with a professional painter by doing all the prep work on your own, but then letting their crew come over and do the painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.
Whichever direction is right for you, you’ll still need to know how to prepare your home for painting. Here are some of the most important things to consider.
6 House Painting Preparation Tips
- Choose which parts of the home to paint, collect the ladders and all other necessary safety equipment. If you are preparing to do the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will help to make the painting go a lot faster as soon as you begin. Gathering your equipment beforehand ensures that when you start painting, you won’t have to stop and search for needed supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
- Choose the right paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home is choosing the color or color combo. You’ll also need to choose the right paint finishes for all parts of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is less messy and easier to clean up. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. You’ll need synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are efficient options.
- Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the exterior of the house for its beautiful new paint! Put time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure is the best way to remove peeling paint, and it simultaneously cleans the outside of your house. Some of the sections of paint should peel off as you spray them. That’s a sign that the paint was aging and needed to be replaced!
- Remove peeling paint. Now that the original paint has been loosened, get more of it off with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig into the wood surface. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand every surface all the way down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on smoothly.
- Prime. Don’t skip the primer! Primer is a very important step because it covers up any prior paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smoother exterior with less imperfections. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t mix with it or leave behind a rough patch.
- Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the weather forecast and determine the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re professionals! If you plan to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is somewhere 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 home look years newer, it also provides a layer of protection for 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 inclement weather. Good quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt doesn’t adhere to paint the way it does to wood.
Peeling paint is an obvious signal that it needs to be replaced. If your paint is peeling on your home, you really need to go ahead and have it repainted in order to protect the wood surface.
Deteriorating paint really takes a toll on your home’s exterior. If you’re concerned about curb appeal, painting your house is one of the simplest things you can do.
Painting is a good idea if your house doesn’t to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s color makes it stand out, or if it is the opposite and you really want it to stand out, a different paint color can totally change its look.
Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Arlington
After the prepping is done, you can hand the project off to a professional painter in Arlington (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the start!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also ensures that the results will exceed your expectations with minimal effort on your part.
Hiring a local painter to paint your home has several obvious benefits:
- A professional painter knows the optimal way to do the job, meaning the paint will look much better and the project will be done a lot quicker.
- Companies don’t typically make a mess. Their results will be neater, with no extra paint splattered or spilled on your home.
- Because of their skill and knowledge, your new paint will last longer than if you painted yourself.
- A professional painter will already have the safety equipment necessary to paint surfaces higher than ground level.
Based on your DIY skills and desires, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most services are prepared to handle every part of the job, from removing old paint and cleaning the exterior to actually applying the new paint.