How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Sammamish needs to be updated, a new coat of exterior paint is a fast, inexpensive way to improve its curb appeal. So if your home is looking worn down or if you are simply ready for something different, consider repainting the outside of your home yourself or hire a professional painter to do it for you.

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

You can even compromise with a painter by completing all of the prep work by yourself, 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, gather the ladders and all other necessary safety equipment. If you’re preparing to do the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will help to make the painting project go much faster once you get started. Collecting your tools ahead of time ensures that once you start painting, you won’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning you’ll have to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home’s exterior is choosing the color or color combination. You will also want to pick the right paint finishes for all parts of the home. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is a lot less messy and much easier to clean up. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. You’ll want synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also time-saving options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to start prepping the surface of your home for its beautiful new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your home (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 old paint, and it simultaneously cleans the outside of your home. Some sections of paint will peel off as soon as you spray over them. That’s a sure 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 the house 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 each 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 paint goes on the home smooth.
5. Prime. Do not 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 paint, and a smooth surface with minimal imperfections. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t blend into it or leave behind a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter is able to look at the weather forecast and find the most opportune day for painting a home. That’s why they’re professionals! If you want to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, with low humidity. This will result in 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 adds a layer of protection for the overall exterior of your home.

Paint can help prevent insects from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also stops wear and tear from the elements. High quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt doesn’t adhere to paint the same way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious sign that it needs to be replaced. If your paint is peeling on your home, you need to go ahead and have it repainted in order to protect the wood surface.

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

Painting is also a good idea if your home doesn’t to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s exterior color makes it stand out, or if it is the opposite and you want it to stand out, a different paint color can completely update its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Sammamish

After the prepping is done, you might want to hand the job off to a professional painter in Sammamish (if you hadn’t already chosen 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 most efficient way to do the job, which means the paint will look a lot better and the project will be a lot faster.
• Companies don’t make a mess. Their results will be much neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will likely last a lot longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment necessary to paint anything higher than ground level.

Based on your DIY capabilities 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 job, from eliminating old paint and pressure washing the exterior to applying the new paint.