How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Scottsdale needs to be refreshed, a new coat of exterior paint is an easy, inexpensive way to improve its curb appeal. So if your home exterior is looking shabby or if you are simply ready for something different, consider painting the outside of your home yourself or enlist a professional painter to do the job for you.

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

You can even meet in the middle with a professional painter by completing all the prep work yourself, but then letting their team come over and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever direction is best for you, you will still need 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. Choose which parts to paint, gather the ladders and all other safety equipment. If you are preparing to do the painting yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a plan will help to make the actual painting project go a lot faster once you get started. Gathering your materials beforehand ensures that once you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and look for all of the supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet brush edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose good paint and brushes. The best part of painting your home is choosing the color or color combination. You will also need to choose 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 need synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the exterior of the home for its brand new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your home (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to remove any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the most effective way to eliminate old paint, and it simultaneously cleans the outside of your home. Some sections of paint should peel off as soon as you spray over them. That’s a 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 with a plastic or metal straight edge, being diligent not to dig into the wood surface. Then sand 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 smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not skip priming! Primer is an important part of preparation because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new paint, and a smooth exterior with less imperfections. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t blend into it or produce a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter can look at the forecast and determine the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re professionals! If you plan to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, with little humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only does a new paint job make your house look several years newer, it also creates a layer of protection for the overall structure of your home.

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

Peeling paint is an obvious sign that it is time to be replaced. If your paint is peeling, you really need to go ahead and have it repainted to protect the wood surface.

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

Painting is also a good idea if your home doesn’t seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood (but you want it to). If your home’s exterior color makes it stand out, or if it is the opposite and you really want it to stand out, a different paint color can totally change its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Scottsdale

After the prepping is finished, you can turn the work over to a professional painter in Scottsdale (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the start!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also ensures that the results will exceed your 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 most efficient way to do the job, which means the paint will look a lot better and the project will be done a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t typically make a mess. Their results will be much neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and experience, your new exterior paint will last a lot longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment required to paint areas higher than ground level.

Depending on your DIY abilities and interests, you can trust your painter to do 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 applying the new paint.