How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Miramar has to be refreshed, a fresh coat of exterior paint is a quick, affordable option to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is looking shabby or if you are simply ready for a change, consider repainting the outside of your house yourself or enlist a professional painter to do the job for you.

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

You can also meet in the middle with a painter by completing all of the prep work yourself, but then letting their team come in and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever choice is best for you, you will 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

1. Decide which parts of the home to paint, collect the ladders and all other safety equipment. If you’re preparing to do the painting yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a plan will help to make the actual painting go much faster as soon as you begin. Gathering your tools beforehand ensures that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose 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 pick the right paint finishes for all parts of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s less messy and easier to clean up. The flat surfaces require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll need synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are time-saving options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin 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 wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure water is the recommended way to eliminate old paint, and it cleans the outside of your house. Some of the sections of paint may peel right off as you spray over them. That’s a sign that the paint was aging and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, get more of it off with a metal or plastic straight edge, being careful not to dig into the wood surface. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand each surface all the way down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on smooth.
5. Prime. Do not skip the primer! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it covers up any prior paint (especially important with dark colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smoother exterior with minimal imperfections. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t mix with it or create a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter is able to look at the forecast and determine the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re experts! If you want to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, with low humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only will a new paint job make your home look years newer, it also provides a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your house.

Paint will help prevent insects 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 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 beneath.

Deteriorating paint really takes a toll on your home’s appearance. 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 seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s exterior color makes it stand out, or if it is the opposite and you really want it to stand out, a different color can update its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Miramar

After the prepping is over, you can turn the project off to a professional painter in Miramar (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also ensures that the results will exceed your expectations with little effort on your part.

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

• A professional painter knows the best way to do the job, which means the paint will look a lot better and the project will be done a lot quicker.
• Pros don’t make a big mess. Their results will be neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will probably last longer than if you did the job yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment needed to paint anything above ground level.

Depending on your DIY skills and desires, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most pros are prepared to take care of each part of the project, from removing old paint and pressure washing the exterior to actually applying the paint.