How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Baytown has to be updated, a fresh coat of paint is a fast, inexpensive way to improve its curb appeal. So if your home is starting to look worn down or if you are simply ready for something different, consider repainting the outside of your house yourself or pay a local painter to do the job for you.

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

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

Whichever direction is best for you, you’ll still need to know how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to consider.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts to paint, gather the ladders and all other necessary safety equipment. If you are preparing to complete the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will help to make the painting go much faster as soon as you get started. Organizing your equipment beforehand ensures that once you start painting, you won’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet brush edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose good paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home’s exterior is choosing the color or color combination. 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 much 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 also time-saving options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the surface of the house for its beautiful new paint! Put time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the most effective way to remove peeling paint, and it also cleans the outside of your house. Some sections of paint may peel right off as soon 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 metal or plastic straight edge, being careful not to dig deep into the wood. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand each surface all the way down to the bare wood. Any areas where the paint is still adhered need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on the home smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip the primer! Primer is a very important step because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new paint, and a smoother surface with less imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint doesn’t blend into it or produce a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the forecast and find the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re professionals! If you want to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, and with very little 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 home look years newer, it also creates a layer of protection for the overall exterior of your house.

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

Peeling paint is an obvious clue that it needs to be replaced. If your paint is peeling, you really need to go ahead and have it repainted to protect the wood surface.

Worn paint really takes a toll on your home’s appearance. If you’re worried about curb appeal, painting your house is one of the best 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 change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Baytown

After the prepping is over, you might want to turn the project off to a professional painter in Baytown (if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is affordable. 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 best way to complete the job, which means 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 extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Because of their skill and experience, your new paint will last longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment necessary 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 fully prepared to take care of each part of the project, from removing old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the new paint.