Exterior Painting Guide: A Few Things That Everyone Should Know

You are thinking about hiring an exterior painting service because you want to renovate your home and give it more curb appeal. However, you want to do something simple that doesn’t necessarily require professional assistance. This is perfectly understandable, and we want to help guide you through the process. You can also contact one of our painters at any time if you have any qualms about undergoing your own DIY home painting project.

Preparation is a multi-step process that you can never overlook. This includes having to scrub down your home and remove any dirt or residue off it that will affect the way the paint adheres to your exteriors. We recommend that you use a pressure washer for a more effective cleaning process. However, if you don’t have any experience using this device, then you would use a regular hose and scrub brush.

Scraping and sanding are the next steps in the process. This will require you to remove any paint that is peeling from your home and smoothening out any rough spots. If your home hasn’t been repainted since before 1978, then it’s likely coated in lead paint. This means that to remove it, you will need to abide by state and federal safety regulations. Also, to smoothen out any bumpy surfaces in your home, you should use 50- to 80-bit sandpaper.

Now you will need to repair any minor defects in your exterior walls. You will likely need to use caulking or two-step epoxies depending on what the repair requires. This includes sealing off cracks and repairing joints where two different materials meet, such as door frames, window frames, molding and fascia boards. An exterior painting service will know every method of exterior wall repair, and it may benefit you to consult them on what you should do.

Last but not least, there is the primer. They help establish a clean and smooth surface that is ideal for receiving paint. You can apply a primer on wood, epoxy coatings, and deteriorated paint. If you do a good enough job cleaning your exteriors, then you shouldn’t need to use a primer. You have different types of primers, such as oil-based and acrylic primers, and then you have paint-and-primer combinations.

You always want to make sure that you are choosing the right paint for your home. You always want to go with a premium water-based or acrylic painting product for the best results. Every type of paint consists of three major components: pigments (for color), binders (for adhesion), and solvents (for spreading the paint). When the paint dries, the solvent evaporates and all that remains are the pigments and binders.

You always want to make sure that you are getting the color right the first time because you don’t want to repaint everything. Here is how you can narrow down your options:

• Consider the elements that you can’t easily alter. This includes your driveway, roofing, and hardscaping throughout your property. Keep them in mind when choosing your color because you want to ensure that everything ties in together. 
• Consider your home architecture. What style is it? Is it classical or modern-looking? For example, a color like bright orange will look horrendous on any colonial-style architecture. 
• Think about the visuals. Does your home sit far back from the road, or is it hidden behind some trees? Try to pick a unique color so that it stands out from some of the other homes in the area. 
• Choose different shades of paint. With an exterior painting service, they will focus on three different techniques, and they include field color, accents, and trim. Field color is the dominant shade of the paint, whereas accents bring more focus to a smaller fixture, such as doors and window shutters. Trimming involves a specific color scheme for the edging, railings, and window casings around your home. 
• Don’t rely on paint chips or samples. A shade of paint will vary visually from the way it appears on a wall versus a chip. To determine the color that works best for you, buy some different paints and try them out on a less seen area of your home. Try to get an idea of how that shade will appear during certain times of the day and in different weather conditions. You always want to be 100% certain when it comes to the color of your home. 

You should always obtain a high-quality brush for the job – preferably something in the $15-$20 dollar range. Cheap brushes tend to shed bristles easily, which will affect your overall efficiency. You also want to avoid angle brushes because they only work for windows. With latex paints, you will want to use a brush with synthetic bristles.

Check the weather. You should avoid painting outdoors in direct sunlight because the paint will often dry too quickly, which often leads to peeling and blemishing. High winds will also dry the paint too fast, and you never want to paint when it’s raining outside.
Only paint what you can reach. There is a degree of risk involved while painting your home on an extension ladder. Paint only what you feel comfortable reaching before moving up and down the ladder.
Avoid brush marks. They appear at the beginning and end of every brushstroke. To avoid any markings, start every stroke in an unfinished section, at an edge or against a window or door trim. Move towards the finished areas while sweeping the brush up and off the surface of the wall.

Undergoing a DIY painting project is fun for many people, but sometimes it can also be overwhelming. Hiring an exterior painting service will be the better option depending on the circumstances. If you want to consult a professional about painting your Missoula home, then feel free to give us a call. One of our representatives will tell you everything you need to know.