How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Inglewood has to be updated, a fresh coat of paint is a fast, inexpensive option to improve its appearance. So if your house is looking shabby or if you are simply ready for a change, consider repainting the outside of your house yourself or pay a local painter to do the job for you.

Painting a house is a huge project, but it isn’t an impossible job for most homeowners. You just need to do your research to understand how to prepare the surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as which brushes and paints you need to use.

You can even partner with a professional painter by doing all the prep work yourself, but then letting their crew come over and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever option is best for you, you will still want to know how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to consider.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts to paint, collect the ladders and all other necessary safety equipment. If you are planning to do the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will make the actual painting go much faster as soon as you get started. Collecting your tools beforehand guarantees that when you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and look for needed 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 best part of painting your house is deciding the color or color combo. You’ll also want to pick the right paint finishes for each part of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s less messy and easier to clean. The flat surfaces need 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 efficient options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the exterior 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 high pressure is the best way to eliminate old paint, and it simultaneously cleans the outside of your house. Some sections of paint will peel right off as you spray over them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was aging and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the original paint has been loosened, get more of it off the house with a metal or plastic 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 down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered just need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on the home smooth.
5. Prime. Do not skip priming! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it conceals any previous paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smooth exterior with less imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t mix with it or create a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter can look at the forecast and find the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re experts! 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 lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only will a brand new paint job make your house look several years newer, it also adds a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your house.

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

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

Worn paint takes a toll on your home’s appearance. If you’re concerned 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 seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood (but you want it to). If your home’s color makes it stand out too much, or if the opposite is true and you want it to stand out, a different color can completely update its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Inglewood

After prepping is over, you can turn the project over to a professional painter in Inglewood (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 little effort on your part.

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

• A professional painter will know the optimal way to do the job, meaning the paint will look much better and the project will go a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t typically make a big mess. Their results will be neater, with no 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 have the safety equipment necessary to paint surfaces higher than ground level.

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