How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Virginia Beach needs to be updated, a fresh coat of exterior paint is a quick, affordable option to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is starting to look worn down or if you’re just ready for something different, consider painting the outside of your house yourself or enlist a local painter to do it for you.

Painting a house is a huge project, but it isn’t an impossible job for most homeowners. You just have to do your research to understand how to prep the exterior surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as which brushes and paints you need to use.

You can compromise with a painter by doing all of the prep work on your own, but then having their crew come to your home and do the painting with their tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever choice is best for you, you’ll 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, collect the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you’re preparing to do the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will help to make the painting project go a lot faster once you get started. Organizing your materials beforehand guarantees that once you begin painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet brush edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The fun part of painting your home’s exterior is deciding the color or color combination. You will 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 is 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 to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also time-saving options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to begin prepping the surface of your house for its beautiful new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure water is the best way to remove old paint, and it simultaneously cleans the outside of your house. Some of the areas of paint may peel off as you spray over them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was deteriorating and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old 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 surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand each surface all the way down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered just need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on the home smooth.
5. Prime. Don’t skip priming! Primer is an important part of preparation because it conceals any previous paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new paint, and a smooth surface with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t mix with it or produce a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the weather forecast and determine the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re professionals! If you plan to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, and with very little humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

Paint will help 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 doesn’t adhere to paint the way it does to bare wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious indication that it is time to be replaced. If paint is peeling, you really need to go ahead and have it repainted in order to protect the wood beneath.

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

Painting is also a good idea if your house doesn’t to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s exterior color makes it stand out, or if it is the opposite and you really want it to stand out, a different paint color can completely change its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Virginia Beach

After prepping is finished, you have the option to hand the work over to a professional painter in Virginia Beach(if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. 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 optimal way to do the job, meaning the paint will look much better and the project will be 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 knowledge, your new exterior paint will likely last a lot longer than if you did the job yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment necessary to paint anything higher than ground level.

Based on your DIY abilities and interests, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most services are prepared to take care of each part of the project, from removing old paint and pressure washing the exterior to actually applying the paint.