How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Naperville has to be updated, a new coat of paint is a quick, affordable way to improve its appearance. So if your house is looking worn down or if you’re just ready for a change, consider repainting the exterior of your house yourself or hire a local painter to do it for you.

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

You can even compromise with a professional painter by doing all the prep work on your own, but then letting their crew come in 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 the most important things to remember.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts to paint, collect the ladders and all other necessary safety equipment. If you are preparing to do the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will help to make the painting project go much faster as soon as you begin. Gathering your tools ahead of time ensures that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and look for all of the supplies, meaning you’ll have to maintain a wet edge the entire 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 house. 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 require 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 efficient options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin prepping the surface of your house for its beautiful new paint! Put time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to remove any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure water is the most effective way to remove peeling paint, and it cleans the exterior of your house. Some of the sections of paint will peel off 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 metal or plastic straight edge, being careful not to dig into the wood. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand each surface all the way 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 coat of paint goes on the home smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not skip priming! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smoother surface with minimal imperfections. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the first layer of paint doesn’t blend into it or create a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter is able to look at the weather forecast and find the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. 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, with little humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

Paint can help prevent insects from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also reduces wear and tear from the elements. High quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt cannot stick to paint the way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious sign that it needs to be replaced. If your paint is peeling on your home, you really need to have it repainted in order to protect the wood beneath.

Deteriorating paint really 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 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, or if it is the opposite and you really want it to stand out, a different color can completely change its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Naperville

After prepping is finished, you have the option to hand the project over to a professional painter in Naperville (if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also ensures that the results will exceed your expectations with less effort on your part.

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

• A professional painter will know the most efficient way to do the job, which means the paint will look a lot better and the project will go a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t typically make a mess. Their results will be much neater, with no extra paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new paint will probably last a lot longer than if you painted by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment necessary to paint surfaces above ground level.

Depending on your DIY skills and interests, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most services are fully prepared to take care of each part of the job, from eliminating old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the paint.