subject: How to Apply Proper Prep techniques for Exterior Painting [print this page] How to Apply Proper Prep techniques for Exterior Painting
When you need to make your house more welcoming an exterior painting job might be on the agenda. Painting your house is fun and a great way to express yourself while making a unique exterior. Before you begin, it is essential that you do appropriate preparations; this would provide you the finest home painting results. If you're thinking about ways to make your house, extra inviting in the community an exterior painting job can be the answer. This is a incredibly simple means to express your style and give your house a unique look with your own personal paint scheme. In order to get ideal results it is important that you keep in mind to do proper preparation before you start.
Your first step in preparing for exterior painting is to wash the exterior well. Dirt and stain that builds up over time will stop the paint from adhering well to the surface. In a unusually short time, you'll be dealing with peeling paint.
A pressure washer with at least 2500 PSI (pounds per square inch) is the best tool for cleansing dirt and stain, especially the stuff the hose cannot eliminate. It is a great plan to go over the exterior with a bleach chemical solution to kill mildew or mold before it grows. If you paint over the surface without killing mold or mildew, you provide a dark place for mildew to thrive and eventually damage the exterior of your house.
The next step you must do to complete is a wasp inspection, look for live insects but more importantly their nests. Exterior painting usually means ladder work and you do not need to encounter these nasty bugs while you're in that position. Their stings hurt something fierce and while on a ladder they can be deadly.
After you've done your inspection, you'll need to start scrapping loose paint. Every place that is already shedding or bubbling should be removed to ensure a smooth and uniform application of the paint you have purchased.
In many cases, you will have new wood to contend with, rotten boards ought to be changed before you continue your exterior house painting project. This wood is unfinished and should be prepared before you use your first coat of paint. Primer should keep the wood from soaking up the paint and causing uneven patches on your house.
At this point in the process, you're ready to fill all cracks that have appeared in the exterior. The finest substance for this is a high-grade caulk with a great deal of flexibility, just in case your house continues to settle. Filling these holes and cracks should provide a more durable-finished look to your exterior. Most of the time you'll need to allow the caulk time to dry before begining your house painting project.
If your home has damaged glazing on the window panes, before you can paint the exterior you'll need to fix these areas. They help with insulating your home against water and cold weather, and will have an overall impact on the way your house appears. The procedure is fairly simple and once repaired you must wait a week before painting the glazing to guarantee that the glazing has set correctly. You could work on other parts of house painting that do not involve glazing, then return to these sections a week later.
Just like professional house painters, before you get started on your exterior painting, you'll need to do another walk around. Go around the home and cover up all exterior equipment to protect them from paint splashes and overspray. Tape or cover all light equipment and door handles. If you get paint on these areas, you face additional cleanup time that could be avoided by appropriate preparation.
Tarps and drop cloths are incredibly essential as well. You will want to cover your patio, deck, walkways and possibly even parts of your drive way. Anytime you are doing an exterior painting project, paint will splatter or overspray, which can leave a fine mess if you are not using proper coverings. Moreover, paint drops can be quite difficult to eliminate.
After all this has been completed you're now ready to begin the paint application. These are correctly completed by a painting contractor but with the extra preparation you have done you have increased the value of the paint job and the appearance of the house. By protecting certain places you've also reduced the amount of clean up you'll have to do at the very end.
