Spring is right around the corner and countless homeowners across the country are planning on greeting the warmth and life of the new season by giving their home’s look some new warmth and light of its own! With that in mind, we've spoken with some of the major authorities on exterior house painting to learn some of the tips and tricks that will help to keep your home’s new exterior painting project as efficient, effective, and (above all) beautiful as any home painted by the most reputable exterior painters in the industry today!
Start with a Clean Slate
Winter puts a lot of pressure on the quality of your home’s paint job and before any lasting change can be made with a fresh exterior paint job it’s absolutely critical to clean off the dirt and grime which has accumulated through the long winter months. The fastest and most surefire way to do that is to look into professionally performed pressure cleaning. Pressure cleaning is a specially designed form of exterior cleaning which uses high powered sprays of water and cleaning fluids to blast unattractive and potentially dangerous materials from your home’s siding. Exterior painting which is performed after a thorough and detailed power wash service is proven to adhere better, last longer, and look more even than any other type of application.
Pick the Right Paint
The type of paint you choose for your exterior painting project affects a lot more than just the color of your house! Latex paint options are easier to care for, faster to apply, and typically more affordable which means that many homeowners elect to use this style paint, particularly if they’re completing the paint job on their own. However, the professionals we spoke to were quite vocal about the benefits of oil-based alkyd paint which, while more difficult to remove and expensive to apply, are naturally more durable to the wear and tear that inevitably faces your home’s exterior. In either case, it’s highly advisable for homeowners performing their own exterior painting work to read all the information they can about their paint selection since every different option comes with its own fine print. Everything from the appropriate priming information to the best temperature range for application is included in this information and if followed correctly, this information can help guarantee a longer-lasting more beautiful result for your home’s exterior.
Prepare to Prep
Performing your own exterior painting work is a lot of work, especially if you’re planning a brand new color and style for the entire property. That amount of work often intimidates amateur painters but for those who are committed to completing the work on their own, properly performed prep work is the absolute, most critical part of exterior painting. Aside from thoroughly pressure washing all surfaces that are going to be worked on, homeowners should expect to caulk, scrape, sand, and prime all parts of the home where the surface doesn't allow for easy, high quality paint application. This alone can take quite a lot of time and effort, which is why many homeowners who are interested in exterior painting ultimately choose to hire professionals to perform the work.
