How to Prepare Your Home for Painting
If your house in Jacksonville needs to be updated, a new coat of exterior paint is a quick, affordable way to improve its curb appeal. So if your house is looking shabby or if you are simply ready for something different, consider painting the exterior of your house yourself or enlist a local painter to do the job for you.
Painting a house is a huge project, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for most homeowners. You just need to do your research to know how to prepare the exterior surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as what type of brushes and paints you need to use.
You can even compromise with a painter by doing all of the prep work on your own, but then letting their crew come over and do the painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.
Whichever option is best for you, you will still want to know how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to remember.
6 House Painting Preparation Tips
- Choose which parts of the home to paint, gather the ladders and 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 project go a lot faster as soon as you get started. Gathering your materials ahead of time guarantees that once you begin painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
- Choose the right paint and brushes. The best part of painting your home’s exterior is choosing the color or color combination. You’ll also want to choose the right paint finishes for all parts of the house. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is 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 synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are efficient options.
- Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin prepping the surface of the house for its beautiful 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 water is the recommended way to remove old paint, and it simultaneously cleans the exterior of your house. Some of the sections of paint will peel off as you spray them. That’s a sign that the paint was deteriorating and had to be replaced!
- Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, get more of it off with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig deep into the wood surface. 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.
- Prime. Don’t skip the primer! Primer is an important step because it covers up any prior paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smoother surface with less 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.
- 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 on your own, 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 house look years newer, it also provides a layer of protection for the overall structure of your house.
Paint can help prevent pests from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also prevents wear and tear from inclement weather. High quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt won’t stick to paint the way it does to bare wood.
Peeling paint is an obvious sign that it needs to be replaced. If paint is peeling on your home, you need to have it repainted to protect the wood beneath.
Worn paint takes a toll on your home’s appearance. If you’re worried 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 (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 want it to stand out, a different color can totally change its look.
Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Jacksonville
After the prepping is done, you can hand the project off to a professional painter in Jacksonville (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the start!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also guarantees that the results will exceed expectations with less effort from you.
Hiring a local painter to paint your home has several obvious benefits:
- A professional painter will know the optimal way to complete the job, which means the paint will look much better and the project will be a lot quicker.
- Pros don’t make a mess. Their results will be neater, with no extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
- Because of their skill and experience, your new exterior paint will probably last a lot longer than if you did the job yourself.
- A professional painter will already have the safety equipment necessary to paint surfaces above ground level.
Based on your DIY skills and interests, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are prepared to take care of every part of the project, from eliminating old paint and cleaning the exterior to actually applying the new paint.