How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in St Petersburg needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of paint is a fast, affordable option to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is starting to look worn down or if you’re simply ready for a change, consider painting the outside of your house yourself or enlist a professional painter to do the job for you.

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

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

Whichever option is right for you, you’ll 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 to paint, gather the ladders and all other necessary safety equipment. If you’re planning to do the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will help to make the painting project go a lot faster once you begin. Organizing your tools beforehand ensures that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose the right 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 require 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 time-saving options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to begin prepping the surface of the house for its brand new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the most effective way to remove peeling paint, and it also cleans the outside of your house. Some of the areas of paint will peel right off as soon as you spray over them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was aging and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, get more of it off with a plastic or metal straight edge, being careful not to dig deep into the wood surface. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand every surface all the way 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 smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip priming! Primer is an important step because it conceals any previous paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smoother surface with minimal imperfections. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the first layer of paint doesn’t blend into it or result in a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the forecast and find 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 result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only will a new paint job make your home look years newer, it also provides a layer of protection for the overall exterior of your house.

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

Peeling paint is an obvious clue that it is time to be replaced. If your paint is peeling on your home, you really need to go ahead and have it repainted to protect the wood beneath.

Worn paint really takes a toll on your home’s exterior. 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 seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s color makes it stand out, or if the opposite is true and you really want it to stand out, a different paint color can completely change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in St Petersburg

After the prepping is done, you might want to turn the job off to a professional painter in St Petersburg (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the start!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also ensures that the results will exceed your expectations with minimal effort from you.

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

• A professional painter will know the best way to do the job, meaning the paint will look much better and the project will be a lot faster.
• Pros don’t make a mess. Their results will be neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new paint will last a lot longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment necessary to paint anything above ground level.

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