If you are planning to paint your home the home of a friend or customer, you are probably eager to get started. Having a freshly painted house is exciting, but many homeowners often jump in too quickly and end up with a paint job that is less than professional. There is more to it than simply applying paint. Sure, you might successfully change the color of the house, but who knows how long that paint will last. Will it stand up to the elements? Careful preparation before you begin painting will ensure that the exterior of the house will keep its color and smooth surface for years. To get you started, we recommend following these steps to prepare your residential painting job.
Carefully inspect the surface. Do not simply take a peek at the side of the home and assume that everything looks satisfactory. There is a chance that underneath the wood, there are important issues that are not visible from a distance. For instance, if you use a scraper, you might discover that there is rot in the wood. If you do not address the issue, the rot will spread and the paint will shed.
In the end, your inspection will tell you what issues are underneath the wood. Once you address these issues, there will be less maintenance required in the future.
Prepare the surface. Before you begin painting, you will want to clean the exterior surface of the house with commercial cleaning liquid. You can scrub the walls to remove any dirt or mildew buildup that will obstruct your paint job. Another technique would be to use a pressure washer.
If an old paint job has chipped off in certain spots, it would be wise to go over the damaged surface with sandpaper. This will prevent the new coat of paint from chipping and will give the house a smooth surface.
You should consider using a primer on the wood before you paint. This will prevent stains from forming.
Apply caulk (if needed). If you plan to caulk around the windows and cracks, make sure to remove old caulk. When re-caulking, only use caulk that can be painted over. Apply putty if the windows need it as well. Adding caulk around the windows will protect them during extreme weather and will prevent moisture from getting in. The best practice is to wait a few hours to let the caulk settle before you paint over it.
Now it is time to paint.
Additional Tip: If you paint in the early afternoon, the strong sun might damage your paint job. How? The heat will dry the paint quickly and this will lead the early chipping and flaking. It is best to begin your paint job in the evening. That way, the paint has all night to dry and you will avoid having to re-paint in the near future.
Before you begin your residential painting job, use the steps listed above as a guide. If you are in need of a professional painting service, do not hesitate to contact the experts at Edina Painting.
