How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Anaheim has to be refreshed, a new coat of paint is a quick, affordable option to improve its curb appeal. So if your home exterior is starting to look worn down or if you’re just ready for a change, consider repainting the outside of your home yourself or pay a local painter to do it for you.

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

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

Whichever option 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 remember.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Decide which parts to paint, collect the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you are planning to do the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will make the painting go a lot faster as soon as you get started. Gathering your equipment beforehand ensures that when you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and look for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet brush edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The fun part of painting your home’s exterior is choosing the color or color combination. You’ll also need to choose the right paint finishes for all parts 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 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 time-saving options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the surface of your 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 high pressure water is the best way to remove old paint, and it cleans the outside of your home. Some areas of paint will peel off as soon 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 old paint has been loosened, get more of it off the house with a plastic or metal 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 all the way down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on smooth.
5. Prime. Don’t skip priming! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smoother surface with minimal imperfections. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t mix with it or produce a rough patch on the surface.
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 home. That’s why they’re professionals! If you plan to do the painting yourself, 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 can a new paint job make your house look years newer, it also creates a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your home.

Paint will help prevent pests from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also prevents wear and tear from inclement weather. High quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt won’t 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 to protect the wood surface.

Aging 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 seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood (but you want it to). If your home’s color makes it stand out, or if it is the opposite and you really want it to stand out, a different paint color can update its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Anaheim

After prepping is complete, you can turn the project over to a professional painter in Anaheim (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the start!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also ensures that the results will exceed your expectations with minimal effort on your part.

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

• A professional painter will know the best way to do the job, which means the paint will look a lot better and the project will go a lot faster.
• Companies don’t typically make a mess. Their results will be much neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and experience, your new paint will probably last a lot longer than if you did the job yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment necessary to paint surfaces above ground level.

Depending on your DIY capabilities and desires, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are prepared to handle every part of the project, from removing old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the new paint.