How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Bowie needs to be updated, a fresh coat of paint is an easy, affordable option to improve its curb appeal. So if your home is starting to look shabby or if you are simply ready for something different, consider repainting the outside of your home yourself or pay a professional painter to do the job for you.

Painting a house 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 prep the surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as which brushes and paints 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 to your home and do the painting with their tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever choice is right for you, you will still need to know 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 other necessary safety equipment. If you are preparing to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a clear plan will make the painting project go much faster once you begin. Collecting your materials beforehand guarantees that once you begin painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your house 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’s a lot 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 need synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also time-saving options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin prepping the surface of your home for its brand 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 most effective way to eliminate old paint, and it cleans the outside of your home. Some sections of paint will peel 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 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 each surface all the way 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 the home smooth.
5. Prime. Don’t skip the primer! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smoother 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 produce a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter is able to look at the weather forecast and tell you the most opportune day for painting a home. That’s why they’re experts! If you want to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is somewhere 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 will a new paint job make your house look several years newer, it also adds 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 stops wear and tear from the elements. Good quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt won’t adhere to paint the same way it does to wood.

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

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Bowie

After the prepping is complete, you might want to turn the work off to a professional painter in Bowie (if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also guarantees that the results will exceed your expectations with little effort from you.

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

• A professional painter will know the optimal way to complete the job, which means the paint will look much better and the project will go a lot quicker.
• Pros don’t typically make a big mess. Their results will be much neater, with no extra paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Due to their skill and experience, your new paint will probably last a lot longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment required to paint anything above ground level.

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