How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Santa Monica needs to be updated, a fresh coat of exterior paint is an easy, affordable option to improve its curb appeal. So if your house is looking shabby or if you are simply ready for something different, consider painting the exterior of your home yourself or enlist a professional painter to do it for you.

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

You can team up with a professional painter by doing all of the prep work yourself, but then having their crew come in and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever option is best 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. Choose which parts of the home to paint, gather the ladders and other safety equipment. If you are planning to do the painting by yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a plan will make the actual painting go a lot faster as soon as you begin. Gathering your materials beforehand ensures that when 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 whole time you are painting.
2. Choose good paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home’s exterior is choosing the color or color combination. You will also need to pick the right paint finishes for all parts of the home. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s less messy and easier to clean. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. You’ll need synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also time-saving options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin prepping the surface of the home for its brand new paint! Put time into power washing your home (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 exterior of your home. Some areas of paint should peel 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 original paint has been loosened, get more of it off with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig into the wood. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand each 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 paint goes on the home smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip the primer! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it covers up any prior paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smoother surface with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t blend into it or create a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter can look at the weather forecast and tell you the most opportune day for painting a home. That’s why they’re experts! If you want to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, and with low humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

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

Peeling paint is an obvious sign 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 in order to protect the wood beneath.

Aging paint really takes a toll on your home’s exterior. 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 (but you want it to). 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 color can completely change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Santa Monica

After prepping is finished, you have the option to hand the project over to a professional painter in Santa Monica (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 minimal effort on your part.

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

• A professional painter will know the most efficient way to do the job, which means the paint will look much better and the project will go a lot faster.
• Pros don’t make a mess. Their results will be neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will likely last longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment needed to paint areas above ground level.

Depending on your DIY skills 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 cleaning the exterior to actually applying the paint.