Getting your home ready for a new coat of exterior paint can take a little time, but if you take the time to prepare the house properly, the final paint will look and last much longer than if you just paint over the old paint. Using high-quality paint will also make a huge difference in the end result of the paint job.
Protecting Bushes and Flower Beds
Before you start preparing your home for painting, take a few minutes to put some poly sheeting over any bushes or flower beds around the home. Covering the plants will keep paint and debris off the plants and out of the soil around the exterior of the home. You do not need heavy drop cloths; in fact, lightweight sheeting is less likely to damage the plants and is easier to work with.
Once the project is complete, you can roll up the sheeting and throw it in the trash. The sheeting is inexpensive, so once it has done its job, there is no reason to hold onto it, and if it has a lot of paint chips or paint drips on it, disposing of it eliminates the need to try and clean the debris off a drop cloth or tarp.
Scrap the Loose Paint
Using a scraper to remove the loose paint from the exterior of the home is a critical step. Any loose paint that is still on the home when the new paint is put on the home could chip off later, taking the new paint with it.
If your scraping exposes a lot of bare wood, applying primer over the bare wood is important. The primer seals the bare wood and gives the paint something to adhere to, producing a better overall better final paint coat.
Pressure Washing the Old Paint
One alternative that you may want to consider when preparing your home for paint is to pressure wash the home. If you are careful, you can use the pressure washer to remove loose paint from the house but keep the pressure washer moving to avoid damaging the wood. You can also clean dirt off the surface of the paint that is not coming off. This can help improve the surface so the new paint will adhere better.
Painting the House
Once you are ready to apply the paint to the house, you can use a brush, a roller, or a sprayer. If you are short on time, renting a paint sprayer can save a lot of time applying the paint.
Hiring a Painter
The alternative to painting the home yourself is to hire an exterior house painting service to come and handle the entire job for you. While it will cost you more in the long run, it might be the best option for busy homeowners if you don't have the tools to do the job yourself.
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