How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Escondido has to be updated, a new coat of paint is an easy, inexpensive option to improve its curb appeal. So if your home exterior is looking worn down or if you’re just ready for a change, consider repainting the outside of your home yourself or pay a professional painter to do it for you.

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

You can also partner with a professional painter by doing all of the prep work by yourself, but then letting their crew come over and do the actual painting with their tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever direction is right 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 of the home to paint, gather the ladders and all other necessary safety equipment. If you are preparing to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a plan will make the actual painting go much faster as soon as you get started. Gathering your materials beforehand guarantees that once you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning you’ll have to maintain a wet edge the entire 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’ll also need to pick 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 easier to clean. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll need synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are efficient options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to start prepping the surface of the home for its beautiful new paint! Put time into power washing your home (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the recommended way to remove old paint, and it also cleans the outside of your home. Some areas of paint may peel right off 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 original paint has been loosened, scrape it off the house with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig deep into the wood. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand each surface all the way down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered just need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on the home smooth.
5. Prime. Don’t skip priming! Primer is an important part of preparation because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smooth surface 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 produce a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter is able to look at the forecast and tell you the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. 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 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 home look several years newer, it also creates a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your home.

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

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

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

Painting is a good idea if your home doesn’t seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s color makes it stand out too much, or if the opposite is true and you want it to stand out, a different paint color can completely change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Escondido

After the prepping is finished, you can turn the work off to a professional painter in Escondido (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 less effort on your part.

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 much better and the project will move a lot faster.
• Companies don’t make a mess. Their results will be neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Because of their skill and experience, your new paint will last a lot longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment needed to paint areas above ground level.

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