How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Costa Mesa needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of exterior paint is a quick, affordable option to improve its appearance. So if your house is looking shabby or if you’re just ready for a change, consider painting the exterior of your house yourself or enlist a local painter to do it for you.

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

You can also partner with a professional painter by completing all the prep work by yourself, but then having their crew come to your home and do the actual painting with their tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever choice is right for you, you will still need to know exactly 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 safety equipment. If you’re planning to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will help to make the actual painting go much faster once you get started. Organizing your materials beforehand ensures that once you begin painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and look for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose good paint and brushes. The best part of painting your home’s exterior is deciding the color or color combination. You will also need to choose the right paint finishes for all parts of the house. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is a lot less messy and easier to clean. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. 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 is time to begin prepping the surface of the house for its beautiful new paint! Invest time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure water is the best way to eliminate peeling paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your house. Some of the areas of paint should peel right off as you spray them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was deteriorating and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the original paint has been loosened, get more of it off 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 necessary to sand each surface down to the bare wood. Any areas where the paint is still adhered need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on the home smooth.
5. Prime. Don’t skip the primer! Primer is an important part of preparation because it conceals any prior paint (especially important with dark colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smooth surface with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t mix with it or leave behind a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. 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 want to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, with very little humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only can a new paint job make your house look several years newer, it also creates a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your house.

Paint will help prevent pests from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also stops wear and tear from inclement weather. High quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt won’t stick to paint the same way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious sign that it is time to be replaced. If paint is peeling, you really need to 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 house is one of the simplest things you can do.

Painting is also a good idea if your house doesn’t to “fit in” in the neighborhood (but you want it to). If your home’s exterior color makes it stand out, or if the opposite is true and you really want it to stand out, a different color can update its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Costa Mesa

After the prepping is complete, you can hand the work off to a professional painter in Costa Mesa (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also ensures that the results will exceed expectations with minimal effort on your part.

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

• A professional painter will know the optimal way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look a lot better and the project will move a lot quicker.
• Pros don’t make a mess. Their results will be neater, without 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 painted by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment required to paint anything above ground level.

Depending on your DIY capabilities and desires, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are prepared to handle each part of the job, from eliminating old paint and pressure washing the exterior to applying the paint.