How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Riverside has to be updated, a new coat of exterior paint is a quick, inexpensive way to improve its curb appeal. So if your home is starting to look shabby or if you are simply ready for a change, consider repainting the exterior of your house yourself or enlist a local painter to do it for you.

Painting a house is a huge job, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for most homeowners. You have 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 partner with a painter by completing all the prep work on your own, but then letting their team come in and do the painting with their tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

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

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Decide which parts to paint, collect the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you’re preparing to do the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will make the painting go a lot faster as soon as you get started. Gathering your equipment ahead of time guarantees that when 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 good paint and brushes. The best part of painting your house is choosing the color or color combo. You’ll 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 much easier to clean up. The flat surfaces need 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.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the exterior of your house for its beautiful new paint! Put time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure water is the recommended way to remove old paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your house. Some of the areas of paint should peel off as soon as you spray them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was aging and had to be replaced!
4. 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 into the wood surface. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand every surface 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 paint goes on the home smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip priming! Primer is an important step because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smooth exterior with less imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t mix with it or leave behind a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter is able to look at the forecast and find the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re professionals! If you want to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, and 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 several years newer, it also adds a layer of protection to the overall structure of your house.

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

Peeling paint is an obvious indication that it needs to be replaced. If paint is peeling on your home, you really need to have it repainted in order to protect the wood beneath.

Aging paint really takes a toll on your home’s appearance. 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 the opposite is true and you really want it to stand out, a different paint color can completely change its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Riverside

After the prepping is finished, you might want to hand the work over to a professional painter in Riverside (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 little effort on your part.

Hiring a local painter to paint your home has several obvious benefits:

• A professional painter will know the best 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 big mess. Their results will be much neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Due to their skill and experience, your new exterior paint will probably last longer than if you did the job yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment required to paint anything higher than ground level.

Based on your DIY capabilities and interests, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most services are prepared to take care of every part of the job, from removing old paint and pressure washing the exterior to actually applying the paint.