How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Athens has to be updated, a fresh coat of exterior paint is a quick, inexpensive way to improve its curb appeal. So if your home is starting to look shabby or if you are just ready for something different, consider painting the outside of your home yourself or hire a professional painter to do it for you.

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

You can even meet in the middle with a professional painter by doing all the prep work on your own, but then letting their crew come over and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever direction is right for you, you will 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. Decide which parts to paint, collect the ladders and other safety equipment. If you are preparing to do the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will make the actual painting go a lot faster as soon as you get started. Collecting your tools ahead of time ensures that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll be able to maintain a wet edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose paint and brushes. The 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. 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 efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin prepping the exterior 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 water is the recommended way to remove peeling paint, and it cleans the outside of your home. Some sections of paint will peel off as soon as you spray them. That’s a sign that the paint was deteriorating and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, get more of it off with a metal or plastic straight edge, being careful not to dig into the wood. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand every 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 smooth.
5. Prime. Do not skip priming! Primer is an important part of preparation because it conceals any previous paint (especially important with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new coat, and a smoother exterior with less imperfections. 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.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter is able to look at the forecast and find the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re experts! If you plan to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, with low 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 home look years newer, it also adds a layer of protection for the overall exterior of your home.

Paint will help prevent insects from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also prevents wear and tear from the elements. High quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt won’t adhere to paint the way it does to wood.

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

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Athens

After prepping is done, you might want to hand the project over to a professional painter in Athens (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also ensures that the results will exceed expectations with less effort from you.

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

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

Depending on your DIY skills and desires, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are prepared to take care of every part of the project, from removing old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the new paint.