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Painting Preparation for your Home

Preparing your home for an exterior paint job can be a significant undertaking, but the rewards are equally substantial. Not only can you save thousands of dollars, but you can also extend the lifespan of your siding and trim and increase your home’s value by restoring it to its original condition. Plus, keeping your paintwork in good repair hinders any permanent damage and larger costs in the future.

To assist you in completing both interior and exterior painting projects smoothly, we have compiled a comprehensive list of ways to prepare for an all-in-one residential painting prep routine that will make your painting job more manageable while also ensuring your satisfaction with the final results.

House Inspection

A full house inspection is the best place to start to assess the specific requirements of a paint job. Look for things like blemishes, bubbles, bumps, cracks, and other abnormalities on the painted surfaces. These inconsistencies can be a sign weather erosion, physical damage or aging paintwork. Knowing what repairs you have to make will indicate what materials you will need to buy to complete them.

Surface Preparation and Repairs

Have you ever seen a bad paint job? Everywhere you look, the paint layer is peeling, peeling, or uneven. But what went wrong with such a straightforward painting project? This is often caused by a lack of surface preparation.

Repairing any damage is also crucial before painting, as paint with too many cracks or chips can degrade the appearance and longevity of your paint job. Simply applying new paint over damaged old paint will not provide a smooth finish, and the new project will crack and peel much faster than it would otherwise.

Surface preparation does take time but ignoring it can ruin the new paint coating. Cracks, holes, and other flaws are known to prevent the paint from adhering firmly to the surface and can easily look tatty in a short time. Surface preparation techniques differ depending on the type of surface, and even between the interior and exterior surfaces.

Below are just a few recommended steps from a Local Expert to prepare your surface:

  • Remove and replace any rotten or decaying timber
  • Brush clean any surfaces, clearing away dust, dirt and cobwebs.
  • Plastic down pipes and spouting need a clean and a light sand before applying paint.
  • Apply fillers to holes and cracks
  • Sand all areas to a smooth finish
  • Thoroughly wash the walls with to remove grease and dirt. For exteriors a high-pressure cleaner and bristled brush can make the process easier.

Masking of the Surface

Painting is a messy job, and paint can and will adhere to anything that isn’t covered! Surface masking is an important step in the interior and exterior paint preparation process. It cuts cleaning time significantly, saving hours of time afterwards scraping away paint stains.

Furthermore, masking allows you to paint all the way to the edge of the area to be painted without spilling paint on the opposite surface. When a drop of paint gets into the wrong place, any attempt to remove it without further staining the paint can be disastrous.

Some expert tips for masking are:

  • Use a good quality masking tape along any edges you don’t want to paint, including trims or windows.
  • Push the edges of the tape down firmly to ensure straight edges.
  • Remove the masking tape at a 45° angle before the paint dries completely. If the paint is too dry, the masking tape can rip the paint film when it is removed.
  • If the paint dries before the tape is removed, using a sharp blade, score the edge of the tape before removing so that it doesn’t pull paint away from the wall.

Getting the help you need

If you don’t want to do the prep work or the job seems far too much to tackle yourself, it is good to know that there are professional painters that you can hire. Using Local Expert is a great place to start, simply request a quote online and one of our service providers will get in touch and arrange a time to inspect the property and give you a quote. Once you are happy with the quote you can accept it knowing that the work is all backed by the Local Expert service guarantee.

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