How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Boca Raton needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of paint is a quick, affordable way to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is starting to look worn down or if you’re simply ready for a change, consider repainting the outside of your home yourself or pay a professional painter to do the job for you.

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

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

Whichever choice is right for you, you’ll still want to know 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 of the home to paint, collect the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you’re preparing to do the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will help to make the painting go a lot faster once you begin. Gathering your materials beforehand guarantees that when you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose paint and brushes. The best part of painting your home is choosing the color or color combination. You will also want to pick the right paint finishes for all parts of the home. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s a lot less messy and much easier to clean. The flat surfaces require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll want synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also time-saving options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to start prepping the surface of the home for its beautiful new paint! Put time into pressure washing your home (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 cleans the outside of your home. Some of the sections of paint will peel 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 with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig into the wood surface. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand every surface 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 smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not skip priming! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it covers up any prior paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smooth surface with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint doesn’t blend into it or create 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 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 does a new paint job make your home look several years newer, it also adds a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your home.

Paint helps prevent insects from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also reduces wear and tear from inclement weather. Good quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt won’t stick to paint the way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious sign that it is time to be replaced. If your paint is peeling on your home, you need to go ahead and have it repainted to protect the wood surface.

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

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Boca Raton

After the prepping is finished, you might want to hand the work off to a professional painter in Boca Raton (if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also guarantees 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 optimal way to do the job, which means the paint will look a lot better and the project will be a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t make a big mess. Their results will be much neater, with no excess paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and experience, your new paint will likely last a lot longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment necessary to paint anything higher than ground level.

Depending on your DIY abilities and desires, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are fully prepared to take care of every part of the job, from removing old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the paint.