How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in San Mateo has to be refreshed, a fresh coat of paint is a quick, inexpensive way to improve its appearance. So if your home is looking worn down or if you are just ready for something different, consider repainting the outside of your home yourself or enlist a professional painter to do the job for you.

Painting a home is a huge project, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for some homeowners. You just need to do your research to know how to prepare the surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as what type of brushes and paints to use.

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

Whichever option is right for you, you’ll still need to know how to prepare your home for painting. Here are some of the most important things to remember.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts to paint, collect the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you are planning to complete the painting yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a clear plan will make the painting go much faster as soon as you get started. Collecting your tools beforehand ensures that when you start painting, you won’t have to stop and look for all of the supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home’s exterior is deciding the color or color combo. You’ll also need to choose the right paint finishes for each part of the home. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s less messy and much easier to clean. The flat surfaces require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. 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 start prepping the surface of the home for its brand new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your home (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to remove any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure is the recommended way to eliminate peeling paint, and it also cleans the outside of your home. Some of the sections of paint may peel right off as you spray over them. That’s a 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 the house with a plastic or metal straight edge, being careful not to dig deep into the wood surface. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand every surface all the way down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered just need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on the home smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip priming! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it covers up any previous paint (especially important with dark colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smooth surface with minimal imperfections. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint doesn’t blend into it or produce a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter is able to look at the forecast and tell you the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. 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, with low humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only does a brand new paint job make your home look several years newer, it also adds a layer of protection for the overall exterior of your home.

Paint will help prevent pests from eating or boring 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 adhere to paint the same way it does to bare wood.

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

Worn paint takes a toll on your home’s appearance. If you’re worried about curb appeal, painting your home is one of the simplest things you can do.

Painting is a good idea if your home doesn’t seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s color makes it stand out, or if it is the opposite and you want it to stand out, a different color can completely change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in San Mateo

After the prepping is done, you can turn the job over to a professional painter in San Mateo (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also ensures that the results will exceed your expectations with less effort from you.

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

• A professional painter will know the best way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look much better and the project will be a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t typically make a mess. Their results will be much neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Because of their skill and experience, your new paint will probably last longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment required to paint anything higher than ground level.

Based on your DIY abilities and desires, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most pros are prepared to take care of every part of the project, from eliminating old paint and pressure washing the exterior to applying the new paint.