How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in High Point needs to be updated, a new coat of paint is a quick, inexpensive option to improve its curb appeal. So if your home exterior is starting to look worn down or if you are just ready for something different, consider painting the outside of your house yourself or hire a local painter to do the job for you.

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

You can even compromise with a painter by completing all the prep work by yourself, but then having their crew come over and do the painting with their tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever direction is best for you, you’ll still need to know 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 necessary safety equipment. If you’re planning to do the painting yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a plan will help to make the painting project go much faster once you get started. Organizing your materials beforehand guarantees that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and search for all of the 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 combination. You’ll also need to pick the right paint finishes for each part 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. The flat surfaces require 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 time-saving options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin prepping the exterior of the house for its beautiful new paint! Put time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure water is the best way to eliminate old paint, and it also cleans the outside of your house. Some of the areas of paint may peel right off as soon as you spray them. That’s a sign that the paint was aging and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the original paint has been loosened, scrape it off with a plastic or metal straight edge, being careful not to dig into the wood surface. Then sand bumpy 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 just need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on smooth.
5. Prime. Don’t skip the primer! 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 throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint doesn’t mix with it or produce a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. 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 on your own, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, and with low humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

Paint helps prevent insects from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also stops wear and tear from the elements. Good quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt doesn’t stick to paint the same way it does to bare wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious indication that it needs to be replaced. If your paint is peeling on your home, you need to go ahead and have it repainted to protect the wood surface.

Deteriorating 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 to “fit in” in the neighborhood (but you want it to). If your home’s color makes it stand out, or if the opposite is true and you want it to stand out, a different paint color can completely update its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in High Point

After prepping is finished, you might want to turn the project off to a professional painter in High Point (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also guarantees 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 optimal way to do the job, which means the paint will look a lot better and the project will move a lot quicker.
• Pros don’t typically make a big mess. Their results will be much neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new paint will likely last a lot longer than if you did the job yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment needed to paint surfaces higher than ground level.

Based on your DIY abilities and desires, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are prepared to handle every part of the job, from eliminating old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the paint.