How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Metairie needs to be refreshed, a new coat of exterior paint is a fast, inexpensive option to improve its curb appeal. So if your house is looking worn down or if you’re simply ready for something different, consider repainting the exterior of your house yourself or enlist a professional painter to do the job for you.

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

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

Whichever choice is best for you, you will still need 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 of the home to paint, collect the ladders and all other safety equipment. If you’re preparing to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will help to make the painting project go much faster once you get started. Collecting your materials ahead of time guarantees that once you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll be able to maintain a wet edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home is choosing the color or color combo. You will also need 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’s a lot less messy and much easier to clean up. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll need to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are efficient options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to start prepping the exterior of the house for its beautiful new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to remove any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the recommended way to remove peeling paint, and it simultaneously cleans the exterior of your house. Some of the sections of paint should peel off as you spray them. That’s a sign that the paint was deteriorating and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the original 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 necessary to sand every surface down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not skip the primer! Primer is a very important step because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smoother exterior with less imperfections. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t blend into it or create a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter is able to look at the weather forecast and tell you the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re experts! If you want to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, with 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 several years newer, it also adds a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your house.

Paint helps prevent pests from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also reduces wear and tear from the elements. Good 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 is time to be replaced. If paint is peeling on your home, you really need to go ahead and have it repainted in order to protect the wood beneath.

Deteriorating paint really takes a toll on your home’s exterior. If you’re concerned 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 to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s exterior color makes it stand out too much, or if it is the opposite and you really want it to stand out, a different paint color can change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Metairie

After the prepping is done, you can hand the work over to a professional painter in Metairie (if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also guarantees that the results will exceed expectations with little effort from you.

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 quicker.
• Companies don’t make a big mess. Their results will be much neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will last a lot longer than if you painted by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment needed to paint areas above ground level.

Based on your DIY abilities 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 project, from removing old paint and cleaning the exterior to actually applying the new paint.