How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in San Bernardino needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of paint is an easy, affordable way to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is starting to look shabby or if you’re just ready for something different, consider repainting the exterior of your house yourself or pay a local painter to do the job for you.

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

You can also compromise with a professional painter by completing all the prep work by yourself, but then letting their crew come in and do the painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever option is right for you, you’ll still want to know exactly how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to consider.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts of the home to paint, gather the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you’re preparing to do the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will make the painting go much faster as soon as you begin. Gathering your materials ahead of time ensures that when you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose paint and brushes. The fun part of painting your home is deciding the color or color combination. You will also want to choose 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. The flat surfaces require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. You’ll want to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to start prepping the exterior of the house for its brand new paint! Put time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure is the recommended way to eliminate peeling paint, and it cleans the exterior of your house. Some sections of paint will peel right off as you spray them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was deteriorating and had 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 surface. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand every surface down to the bare wood. Any areas where the paint is still adhered just need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip the primer! Primer is a very important step because it covers up any prior paint (especially important with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new paint, and a smoother exterior with minimal imperfections. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the first layer of paint doesn’t mix with it or leave behind a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter is able to look at the weather forecast and find the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re experts! If you plan to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, and with very little humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

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

Peeling paint is an obvious clue that it is time to be replaced. If your paint is peeling, you need to have it repainted in order to protect the wood beneath.

Worn paint 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 a good idea if your house doesn’t to “fit in” in the neighborhood (but you want it to). If your home’s color makes it stand out too much, or if it is the opposite and you want it to stand out, a different paint color can completely update its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in San Bernardino

After prepping is finished, you can turn the project over to a professional painter in San Bernardino (if you hadn’t already decided that from the start!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also ensures that the results will exceed your expectations with little 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, which means the paint will look a lot better and the project will move a lot quicker.
• Pros don’t typically make a mess. Their results will be much neater, with no extra paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Because of their skill and experience, your new paint will probably last a lot longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment necessary to paint areas above ground level.

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