How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Grand Rapids needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of exterior paint is a fast, inexpensive option to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is starting to look worn down or if you are simply ready for something different, consider painting the exterior of your home yourself or pay a local painter to do it for you.

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

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

Whichever choice is best 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 of the home to paint, collect the ladders and all other safety equipment. If you are preparing to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a plan will make the painting project go a lot faster once you begin. Organizing your materials ahead of time ensures that when you start painting, you won’t have to stop and search for needed supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose good paint and brushes. The fun part of painting your home’s exterior is choosing the color or color combo. You will also need to choose the right paint finishes for each part of the home. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is a lot less messy and much easier to clean up. 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 if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to start prepping the exterior of the home for its beautiful 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 old paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your home. Some sections of paint should peel right off as you spray over them. That’s a sign that the paint was aging and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the original paint has been loosened, scrape it off with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig into the wood. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand each surface down to the bare wood. Any sections 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 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 paint, and a smoother exterior with minimal imperfections. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t blend into it or leave behind a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter is able to look at the weather forecast and determine the most opportune day for painting a home. That’s why they’re professionals! If you want to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, with very little humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

Paint can help prevent insects from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also stops wear and tear from the elements. High quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt cannot adhere to paint the 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 really need to go ahead and have it repainted in order to protect the wood beneath.

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

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Grand Rapids

After prepping is complete, you can hand the work over to a professional painter in Grand Rapids (if you hadn’t already decided that from the start!). 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 knows the most efficient way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look much better and the project will be a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t make a big mess. Their results will be much neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will probably last a lot longer than if you painted by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment necessary to paint anything above ground level.

Based on your DIY abilities and interests, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are fully prepared to take care of each part of the job, from eliminating old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the new paint.