How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Hampton needs to be updated, a fresh coat of paint is a fast, inexpensive option to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is looking worn down or if you’re just ready for something different, consider repainting the outside of your house yourself or hire a local painter to do it for you.

Painting a house is a big project, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for most homeowners. You have to do your research to know how to prep 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 painter by doing all of the prep work by yourself, but then letting their crew come in and do the painting with their tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever choice is best for you, you’ll 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 of the home to paint, gather the ladders and all other necessary 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 painting project go much faster as soon as you begin. Organizing your tools ahead of time guarantees that when you begin painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll be able to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home’s exterior is deciding the color or color combination. You will also want to choose the right paint finishes for each part of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s less messy and easier to clean up. The flat surfaces require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll want to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin 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 remove any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the best way to remove old paint, and it simultaneously cleans the outside of your house. Some of the sections of paint may peel off as soon as you spray over them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was deteriorating and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, get more of 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 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 coat of paint goes on smooth.
5. Prime. Do not skip priming! Primer is a very important step because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smooth surface with less imperfections. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t blend into it or result in a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the weather forecast and find the most opportune day for painting a house. 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, and with very low humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

Paint will help prevent pests from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also reduces wear and tear from inclement weather. Good quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt won’t adhere to paint the same 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 surface.

Aging paint takes a toll on your home’s exterior. If you’re worried about curb appeal, painting your house is one of the best 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 color makes it stand out, or if it is the opposite and you want it to stand out, a different paint color can totally change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Hampton

After prepping is done, you might want to turn the work over to a professional painter in Hampton (if you hadn’t already decided that from the start!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also guarantees 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 optimal way to complete the job, which means the paint will look much better and the project will be done a lot faster.
• Companies don’t typically make a big mess. Their results will be neater, with no excess paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and experience, your new paint will likely last longer than if you painted by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment required to paint anything higher than ground level.

Depending on your DIY capabilities and interests, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most services are prepared to handle every part of the project, from removing old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the new paint.