Exterior Home Painting Tips from The Pros
Painting a house is a big job, but it is something you can potentially do yourself – especially if you’ve got a second pair of hands to help. You don’t necessarily need to hire exterior services to paint your home, although it will make things easier. With some determination and a few days’ work, you can proudly do your own painting!
So, here are a few pro tips that can help speed up the job, while still creating a great result.
Four Exterior Painting Tips for DIYers
- Always start with a pressure washing
A good coat of paint needs to be applied to a clean surface, both for the best appearance and so the paint will last as long as possible. For most homes, this means starting with a full pressure wash of the exterior. Houses accumulate dirt and grime throughout the year, and it will harm the painting process if you don’t clean it off first.
- You don’t need to prime the whole house
Primer isn’t necessary in places where the existing paint is still in good shape. So you only really need to prime areas where the existing paint is heavily cracked, or where the wood is clearly visible. Only using primer in the spots that need it most can cut a lot of time off your paint job.
Likewise…
- Scraping all the paint isn’t usually necessary
Do you have to scrape off all the old paint? No! If the paint is in good shape, you should be able to simply paint over it. However, the more cracked the paint is, the worse the final result will look, so you will need to scrape off the worst of the old paint.
If the paint is so old and cracked that it all needs to go, just hire exterior services to do it for you. The days of backbreaking effort needed to fully scrape a home’s paint isn’t worth the pain.
- Spray painting can quickly cover large surfaces
Spray paint is tricky to work with since you need tarps or other coverings to keep it confined. However, when you’re working with large sections of a flat exterior wall, spray paint is typically still the fastest way to paint it – even faster than rollers.
C.E.T. Painting are Westchester County’s experts on home painting and other exterior services. If you want your home to have a great new paint job, with minimal effort, just call us!