How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in San Marcos needs to be refreshed, a new coat of exterior paint is a fast, affordable option to improve its curb appeal. So if your house is starting to look shabby or if you are simply ready for a change, consider repainting the exterior of your house yourself or hire a professional painter to do it for you.

Painting a house is a huge project, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for most homeowners. You have 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 you need to use.

You can also team up with a painter by doing all the prep work on your own, but then having their team come to your home and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever choice is right for you, you will still need to know exactly how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to remember.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts to paint, collect the ladders and all other safety equipment. If you are planning to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will help to make the actual painting go a lot faster as soon as you get started. Gathering your tools ahead of time guarantees that once 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 brush edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your house is deciding the color or color combo. You will also need to pick the right paint finishes for each part 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 for the trim. You’ll need synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also efficient options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to begin prepping the exterior of the house for its brand new paint! Put time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure is the recommended way to remove peeling paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your house. Some areas of paint will peel right off as you spray over them. That’s a sign that the paint was deteriorating and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, get more of it off with a metal or plastic straight edge, being careful not to dig into the wood surface. Then sand bumpy 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 need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not skip the primer! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smoother exterior with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t mix with it or produce a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter is able to look at the forecast and determine the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re professionals! If you plan to do the painting on your own, 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 creates 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 prevents wood from rotting and dirt cannot adhere to paint the way it does to bare wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious signal that it is time to be replaced. If 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 exterior. If you’re concerned 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 too much, 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 Marcos

After prepping is finished, you can hand the work off to a professional painter in San Marcos (if you hadn’t already decided that from the start!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also guarantees that the results will exceed expectations with less effort from you.

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

• A professional painter will know the most efficient way to complete the job, which means the paint will look a lot better and the project will be done a lot quicker.
• Pros 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 exterior paint will last longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment needed to paint areas higher than ground level.

Depending 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 handle every part of the project, from eliminating old paint and cleaning the exterior to actually applying the new paint.