Giving your home a new coat of paint is a great way to refresh and renew its look and feel. However, it is not simply a matter of deciding on a color and slapping it on. To really make the paint job look its best and last the longest, it is important to prepare the surfaces properly. Here are some tips for preparing your home for painting.
Remove Old Paint
It is always best to start with a fresh canvas. You should remove any paint from the siding of your house before you apply the new coat. You will need to scrape and sand the surface to completely remove the paint. You may need to use sandpaper that can work around corners. When it comes to wood that is close the ground, it may not hold paint because of water absorption from the concrete. After sanding, you can apply a water repellent product to help it hold paint.
Remove Nails and Bad Pieces of Siding
Nails that get painted over can look unsightly. You should remove them with a cat’s paw so you can sand the surface down evenly. You may find that you have many pieces of broken or rotting siding as well. To get these off, you will have to remove the nails in the board itself, and also from the board above it. Siding boards are thin and not that sturdy, so be careful taking out the nails from the one you want to keep.
To get those nails, put a pry bar under it and be very gentle when pulling outward. This will probably pull the nail out of the backing, which you can fully remove with a hammer claw. If a nail just won’t come out, then you can use a hacksaw to cut the nail.
If You Have a Board That Will Not Hold the Paint
You may notice after you start painting that one or more boards of siding are not holding the paint, and are, in fact, peeling. This happens even though all of the surrounding boards are exposed to the same amount of sun and moisture. It is probably an issue with the board itself. When boards are originally planed, there is sometimes a glaze left on some of them. This glaze makes it difficult to hold paint. The easy solution is to sand any boards that have been glazed over. If it is an issue with the grain on the board, then you will have to find another solution. Sometimes the grain on the boards leaves them less porous, so paint will not stick. You must sand these boards more thoroughly than others so that they become rougher and more porous.
For Siding Close to the Roof
You might find that the original builders of the home installed the trim and siding very close to the shingles without sealing the ends of the boards. It may look okay, but the problem with trim and siding absorb moisture from the shingles when it rains. This will cause the paint to peel away not long after you apply it.
To fix this problem you will have to cut back on the siding from the shingles. Even a 1 inch gap will do. This way you will be able to seal the ends of the boards to prevent moisture absorption.
Cutting back on the siding can be a long and frustrating process. You can use a backsaw, but cut very slowly and neatly. If you use a saw with an offset handle, you can avoid scraping your knuckles. You cannot cut all the way through, or else you might slice through the flashing behind it. Go as far as you can without breaking through, and use a precision knife to cut through.
It is vital to prepare your exterior walls for painting so that they hold paint for the longest time possible. Keep these tips in mind before professionals come in and paint your home.
Edina Painting can help you select the best option for your home and can deliver a professional paint job to help your home look elegant for years to come. We also perform exterior services such as fence painting. Contact us online or call us at 612-987-4010. We service cities across the Twin Cities.
