How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Kent has to be refreshed, a new coat of exterior paint is an easy, inexpensive way to improve its appearance. So if your home is looking shabby or if you are simply ready for something different, consider repainting the outside of your home yourself or pay a professional painter to do it for you.

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

You can even compromise with a professional painter by doing all the prep work on your own, but then having their team come to your home and do the painting with their best tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever option is best for you, you will still want to know exactly how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to remember.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Decide which parts to paint, collect the ladders and all 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 painting project go much faster as soon as you begin. Collecting your materials beforehand guarantees that when 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 whole time you are painting.
2. Choose good paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your house is deciding the color or color combo. You will also want to pick the right paint finishes for each part of the home. 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 for the trim. You’ll want to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to begin prepping the exterior of the home for its beautiful new paint! Put time into pressure washing your home (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure water is the most effective way to eliminate peeling paint, and it also cleans the outside of your home. Some of the areas of paint will peel off as soon as you spray over them. That’s a sign that the paint was aging and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, get more of it off with a plastic or metal straight edge, being careful not to dig into the wood. 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 just need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on the home smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not 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 paint, and a smoother exterior with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t blend into it or produce a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the weather forecast and find the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re experts! If you want to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, and with low humidity. This will result in 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 creates a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your home.

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

Peeling paint is an obvious indication that it is time to be replaced. If paint is peeling, you really need to have it repainted to protect the wood beneath.

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

Painting is also a good idea if your home doesn’t 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 really want it to stand out, a different color can change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Kent

After prepping is finished, you have the option to turn the work off to a professional painter in Kent (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the beginning!). 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 most efficient way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look much better and the project will move a lot faster.
• Companies don’t typically make a mess. Their results will be neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will probably last longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment required to paint anything higher than ground level.

Depending on your DIY capabilities and interests, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most pros are fully prepared to take care of every part of the job, from eliminating old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the paint.