How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Gresham needs to be updated, a new coat of paint is a quick, affordable way to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is looking worn down or if you are just ready for something different, consider painting the exterior of your house yourself or pay a local painter to do the job for you.

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

You can also team up with a professional painter by completing all of the prep work on your own, but then having their crew come in and do the actual painting with their tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever option is right 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. Choose which parts of the home to paint, gather the ladders and other safety equipment. If you are planning to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a plan will help to make the actual painting project go a lot faster as soon as you begin. Gathering your tools beforehand ensures that when you start painting, you won’t have to stop and look for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet brush edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your house is choosing the color or color combination. You will also want to pick the right paint finishes for each part of the house. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s a lot less messy and easier to clean up. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. You’ll want to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also time-saving options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the exterior of the house for its brand new paint! Invest time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the most effective way to eliminate peeling paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your house. Some of the areas of paint will peel off as you spray over them. That’s a sign that the paint was deteriorating and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, scrape it off with a plastic or metal straight edge, being careful not to dig deep into the wood surface. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand every surface all the way 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. Don’t skip priming! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it conceals any prior paint (especially important with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new coat, and a smoother exterior with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t mix with it or create a rough patch on the surface.
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 professionals! 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 lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

Paint will help prevent insects from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also prevents wear and tear from the elements. High quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt doesn’t adhere to paint the 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 really need to have it repainted to protect the wood beneath.

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

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Gresham

After prepping is finished, you can turn the project over to a professional painter in Gresham (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the start!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also ensures that the results will exceed expectations with minimal 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, which means the paint will look a lot better and the project will be done a lot quicker.
• Pros don’t make a mess. Their results will be neater, with no extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new paint will probably last a lot longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment required to paint areas higher than ground level.

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