How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Fishers has to be refreshed, a new coat of paint is a fast, affordable option to improve its appearance. So if your house is starting to look worn down or if you are just ready for something different, consider painting the outside of your house yourself or enlist a local painter to do the job for you.

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

You can meet in the middle with a professional painter by doing all of the prep work yourself, but then having their team come over and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever option is right for you, you will 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, collect the ladders and other safety equipment. If you are preparing to complete the painting 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 get started. Organizing your equipment beforehand guarantees that once you start painting, you won’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The fun part of painting your home is deciding the color or color combo. You will also need to choose the right paint finishes for all parts of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s less messy and easier to clean. The flat surfaces require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. You’ll need to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the surface of the house for its brand new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to remove any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure is the most effective way to eliminate old paint, and it also cleans the outside of your house. Some of the areas of paint will peel off as soon as you spray over them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was aging and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, get more of it off 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 important to sand each surface 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 paint goes on smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not skip the primer! Primer is a very important step because it conceals any previous paint (especially important with dark colors), results in an even color for your new paint, and a smoother surface with less imperfections. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t blend into it or leave behind a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the forecast and find the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re experts! If you want to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, and with 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 several years newer, it also provides a layer of protection to the overall structure of your house.

Paint helps prevent insects from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also reduces wear and tear from inclement weather. High quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt cannot adhere to paint the same way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious clue that it is time to be replaced. If your paint is peeling, you really need to go ahead and have it repainted in order to protect the wood surface.

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

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Fishers

After prepping is finished, you might want to hand the project off to a professional painter in Fishers (if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also guarantees that the results will exceed your expectations with minimal 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, meaning the paint will look much better and the project will be a lot quicker.
• Pros don’t make a mess. Their results will be neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new paint will likely last longer than if you did the job yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment necessary 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 companies are fully prepared to take care of each part of the job, from removing old paint and cleaning the exterior to actually applying the new paint.