How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Atlanta needs to be refreshed, a new coat of exterior paint is a fast, inexpensive option to improve its curb appeal. So if your house is looking shabby or if you are just ready for a change, consider painting the outside of your house yourself or hire a professional painter to do the job for you.

Painting a house is a big job, but it isn’t an impossible job for most homeowners. You just 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 also meet in the middle with a painter by completing all of the prep work yourself, but then letting their team come over and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever direction is right for you, you’ll still need to know exactly 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 to paint, gather the ladders and all other safety equipment. If you’re preparing to do the painting by yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a clear plan will help to make the actual painting go a lot faster as soon as you begin. Gathering your tools ahead of time ensures that once you start painting, you won’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning that you’ll have 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 combo. You will also need to pick the right paint finishes for all parts of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is less messy and much 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 efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to start prepping the surface of your house for its beautiful new paint! Invest time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to remove any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the best way to eliminate peeling paint, and it also cleans the outside of your house. Some sections of paint will peel right off as you spray them. That’s a sign that the paint was deteriorating and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the original paint has been loosened, scrape it off the house with a metal or plastic straight edge, being careful not to dig 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 sections where the paint is still adhered just need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on the home smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not skip the primer! Primer is a very important step because it conceals any prior paint (especially important with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new paint, and a smoother surface with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the first layer of paint doesn’t blend into it or create a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter can look at the forecast and tell you the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re professionals! If you plan to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, and with very low 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 adds a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your house.

Paint will help prevent insects from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also reduces wear and tear from the elements. Good quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt cannot stick to paint the same way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious indication that it needs to be replaced. If your paint is peeling, you need to go ahead and have it repainted to protect the wood beneath.

Deteriorating paint takes a toll on your home’s exterior. If you’re worried about curb appeal, painting your house is one of the best things you can do.

Painting is also a good idea if your house doesn’t seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s exterior color makes it stand out, 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 Atlanta

After the prepping is done, you can turn the work off to a professional painter in Atlanta (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also ensures that the results will exceed your expectations with little effort from you.

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

• A professional painter knows the most efficient way to do the job, which means 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 excess paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will last longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment required to paint anything higher than ground level.

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