If you want to paint the exterior of your home, you will need to prepare your home for the paint job. Follow these steps below to prepare your home's exterior for paint.
Prep Step #1: Pressure Wash Your Walls
The first thing you need to do to prepare your home is pressure wash the walls. When you pressure wash your walls, work from the top to bottom of the house. Work in a controlled manner. You will want to overlap the strokes to ensure that you effectively remove all the dirt and dust that has built up on the outside of your home. This is the first and most important step, as you want a clean surface when applying the new paint to your home.
Prep Step #2: Repair Damaged Structures
Second, once you have cleaned your home, you need to inspect the structure for damage. You need to look and see if the siding on your home has any cracks or holes. If you find any damage, you are going to want to fix it. That may mean applying epoxy filler to cracks, replacing damaged siding, or fixing the masonry work around your home. You don't want to paint over a damaged structure.
Prep Step #3: Get Rid of Lose Paint
Third, you need to get rid of any loose or chipped paint. Loose or chipped paint will not allow new paint to adhere easily. You are going to want to scrape away any pieces of paint you find after pressure washing. You can use a paint scraper or use some sanding paper to smooth down the paint.
Prep Step #4: Caulk Around Doors & Windows
Before you repaint your home, you will want to apply caulk around the doors and windows. The caulk will help seal up any areas where there are cracks. You don't want air leaking into your home around your windows and doors, and caulking before painting will allow you to get this under control.
Prep Step #5: Deal with Stains
If you have any visible stains, you are going to want to deal with them. You can apply a stain-blocking primer to the stain to ensure that the stain won't show through the paint. If you have any visible wood knots, you will want to apply a stain-blocking primer to these as well.
When it comes to painting the exterior of your home, you will want to take care of the outside of your home first. You will want to pressure wash it, repair any structural damage, get rid of loose paint, caulk around the doors and windows, and finally deal with any stains. This will help ensure the paint job looks as good as possible.
An exterior painter can advise or even perform these steps for you. Reach out to a local exterior painter for more information.
